Systems Safety Engineer

Background

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project has been established to design, build and operate an Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) with a primary mirror diameter of 30 meters. ELT’s will be the successors of the present day 8-­10 meter world class telescopes. When complete the TMT will be the largest ground based optical/infrared telescope in the Northern Hemisphere providing the capability to study exciting astronomical problems from the nature of extra­solar planets to the first stars in the universe. An international collaboration consisting of the University of California, the California Institute of Technology, Canada, Japan, India and China has been formed to deliver this exciting project.

The TMT project recently entered construction and will be completed and ready for science operations late in the next decade. The TMT project office is located in Pasadena, CA, USA. The design and build of the various telescope systems will be distributed amongst the TMT partner institutions, collaborators, industry, and the Project Office.

Job Summary

The Systems Safety Engineer will provide oversight and leadership for safety and environment protection for all sub systems during the design, fabrication, assembly and early operation of TMT . This will be at the TMT Project Office and the Hawaii site, but also at the TMT Partner Institutes in collaboration with Partner ES&H staff.

The Systems Safety Engineer will report to the TMT ES&H Officer/Group Leader. Initial work location for the Systems Safety Engineer will be at the TMT Project Office in Pasadena, California. Overseas travel to TMT Partner locations is expected as part of this position. Relocation to the site may be required beginning with the start of assembly of the telescope structure.

Job Duties

The Systems Safety Engineer will:

• Perform review of systems designs and work with engineers to ensure compliance with all TMT safety programs and policies including all applicable regulatory and legal polices and laws for work place safety.
• Analyze and recommend safety criteria in system design and specialized equipment to identify potential deficiencies and to control and eliminate potential hazards.
• Provide systems safety engineering management, audits of subsystems safety designs to ensure compliance with requirements during observatory design, construction and operation.
• Oversee environmental stewardship and compliance for all TMT activities. 
• Serve on design review panels on formal design, development, readiness and fabrication reviews.
• Work with the TMT Work Package (WP) Managers, Group Leaders and Partner WP Managers to ensure that adequate and appropriate systems safety requirements are included in the WP and Statement of Work (SOW) and are adequately addressed during execution of that WP.
• Provide guidance, information and oversight on systems safety for WP Managers and WP contractors and suppliers. This would include the review of system safety plans and designs from contractors and suppliers and provide guidance as needed, to ensure system safety requirements are met and adequate for implementation for TMT work.
• Provide guidance to system and subsystem teams on System and Functional Safety requirements and methods, including failure mode and fault tree analysis, hazard/risk assessments and hazard/risk mitigations.
• Participate in TMT Project Reviews and Planning activities for observatory subsystems. Provide expert  systems safety engineering comments and assessments and recommendations.
• Provide input to project level Risk Register of major ES&H risks and proposed mitigations.
• Lead/and or participate in TMT Incident investigations and reporting. Including follow-up Lessons Learned response.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, environmental science, occupational health and safety, or a similar field.
• Six or more years of systems safety engineering experience with the design, construction and operation of a large optical­ infrared telescope or complex machines and/or dynamic structures or other major scientific facilities and work in a R&D organization.Strong analytical Skills.
• Knowledge and experience with application of System and Functional Safety hazard/risk analyses and hazard/risk mitigation, failure mode and fault tree analysis methods.
• Available for overseas travel to TMT Partner locations in Canada, China, India and Japan. Ability to work effectively at the TMT site at an elevation of 13,200 ft.
   

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences including multi­cultural groups. Excellent English written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work as part of a team on a large distributed project.
• Have extensive knowledge of applicable Federal, State and local  building, mechanical, electrical safetyenvironmental protection, legal regulations, policies, codes, regulations and standard (for example EPA and OSHA standards).
• Familiar with safety requirements for laser system design and operation.
• Knowledge of Hawai’i cultural and natural resources concerns and issues would be advantageous.