Director of Global EHS & Facilities

Job Description

Job Description

Be yourself at Protolabs  

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification.  We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace.  So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply!  You can help make our company even better.  We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself.  We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams. 

Why Protolabs? 

We are the leaders in digital manufacturing.  We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit.  Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds.  We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do.  It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home. 

Join our team as a Director of Global EHS & Facilities!

This is a HYBRID role - onsite Tuesday-Thursday in Maple Plain, MN. 

Lead the vision for the future of Protolabs' global workplace ecosystem. As the Director of Global EHS & Facilities, you will drive the strategy behind safe, sustainable, and high-performing environments that empower our teams and fuel business growth worldwide. This influential leadership role oversees global Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), facilities, and real estate operations, ensuring our sites remain compliant, resilient, scalable, and ready for what's next.

Partnering closely with leaders across Operations, Engineering, Quality, Human Resources, Finance, Legal, and site leadership, you will shape and execute a global facilities roadmap that supports both today’s business needs and tomorrow’s ambitions. From establishing enterprise-wide standards and governance to leading major site expansions, construction projects, infrastructure investments, and long-range real estate planning, you'll play a critical role in building the foundation for Protolabs' continued success around the globe.

• Develop and execute a global EHS and facilities strategy aligned with business objectives, operational growth, and risk priorities.

• Establish global EHS policies, standards, governance, accountability, and reporting while enabling regional and site compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• Lead enterprise-wide programs for occupational safety, environmental compliance, industrial hygiene, emergency preparedness, contractor safety, and incident prevention.

• Oversee significant incident and environmental release investigations, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, regulatory reporting, and organizational learning.

• Define global safety measures, review leading and lagging indicators, and provide regular risk and performance updates to senior leadership.

• Provide strategic leadership for facility operations, maintenance, workplace services, critical building systems, and infrastructure reliability across global locations.

• Direct site due diligence, government incentives, permitting, design, construction, commissioning, and transition planning for expansion projects.

• Oversee global facility operating budgets and capital investments, ensuring appropriate prioritization, financial discipline, and project delivery.

• Establish global standards for facility conditions, security coordination, accessibility, employee experience, and professional workplace appearance.

• Lead selection, negotiation, performance management, and governance of real estate partners, architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, and facility service providers.

• Partner with Engineering, Operations, and Quality to incorporate EHS and facility requirements into equipment, process, work instruction, and site design decisions.

• Identify opportunities to reduce energy use, waste, environmental impact, and total occupancy cost while improving operational resilience.

• Build and lead a global network of EHS and facilities professionals and site resources, including clear roles, operating rhythms, capability development, and succession planning.

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Facilities Management, Business, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in EHS, facilities, real estate, engineering, manufacturing operations, or a related function.

• 5+ years of leadership experience, including responsibility across multiple sites or regions.

• Experience leading facility expansion, construction, real estate, infrastructure, or major capital projects.

• Experience developing enterprise standards, governance, metrics, and executive-level recommendations.

• Experience in a manufacturing or industrial environment.

• Strong knowledge of occupational safety, environmental, and facility-related regulatory requirements and risk management practices. Experience with international EHS and facilities requirements.

• Ability to translate business growth and operating requirements into practical facility footprint and investment strategies.

• Strong financial and analytical capability, including operating budgets, capital planning, business cases, and total-cost evaluation.

• Demonstrated ability to lead complex projects across functions, geographies, and cultures, including influence without direct authority.

• Effective executive communication, decision support, negotiation, change leadership, and stakeholder management skills.

• Ability to balance global consistency with local legal, regulatory, operational, and cultural requirements.

• Ability and willingness to travel globally up to 30% of the time.

• CSP, CIH, CHMM, CFM, PMP, or comparable professional certification.

• Experience supporting rapid growth, acquisitions, facility consolidations, or greenfield and brownfield expansions.

• Experience with sustainability, energy management, and business continuity programs.

• We offer a competitive salary and total rewards package
• We offer amazing benefits including but not limited to:
  • Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
  • Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
  • Dental and Vision
  • Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
  • Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
  • Paid caregiver leave
• Unlimited PTO + Wellness + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours
• 401k with company match and immediate vest
• Employee Stock Purchase Program at a discounted rate
• Matching grants through Protolabs foundation
• And More!

Protolabs offers a competitive total rewards package, and compensation mix vary based on position, such as base wage, as well as other earnings including incentives and commissions. Actual pay offered will vary depending on multiple factors which may include, without limitation, job function, work experience, specialized skills, training, education, and certifications. 

Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities.  Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status.  Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.

Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Physical Demands:

While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear.  The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment:

Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.