Director of EHS

 

Director of Environmental Health & Safety

Confidential Advanced Manufacturing Organization
Northern Virginia

Summary

A rapidly growing advanced manufacturing organization near Richmond, Virginia, is seeking a Director of Environmental Health & Safety to lead and elevate its EHS function during a critical phase of expansion.

This organization designs and builds large, engineered electrical systems and power infrastructure equipment in a complex, repeatable, production-based environment that includes fabrication, electrical wiring, integration, energized testing, assembly, and testing. As the business scales, leadership is investing in a senior EHS leader to strengthen systems, reduce risk, and help transition the operation toward more disciplined, mature manufacturing practices.

While anchored at a multi-building manufacturing campus, this role also supports a broader business unit responsible for construction, installation, and deployment of these systems across multiple sites in the U.S. and select global location.

This is a high-impact, visible role with direct access to senior leadership. The Director will have the opportunity to shape safety culture, implement proactive risk systems, and embed EHS into engineering and operational decision-making across a multi-building campus.

This is not a maintenance role. It’s a transformation opportunity for a leader who wants to build structure, influence operations, and drive meaningful change in a growing, complex high-energy manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

EHS Leadership & Strategy

• Own and elevate EHS across a multi-building manufacturing campus
• Build and drive leading indicators and proactive risk systems
• Strengthen ISO-aligned management systems and audit readiness
• Align EHS with lean / continuous improvement initiatives
• Present performance and risk insights to senior leadership

Operational Integration

• Partner with engineering on equipment design, line setup, and plant expansion
• Embed safety into electrical, high-energy, and manufacturing processes
• Support growth while ensuring risk mitigation scales with operations
• Participate in customer audits and external reviews
• Engage with project teams during system installation, commissioning, and startup to ensure safe execution in high-risk environments
• Ensure EHS alignment between manufacturing operations and field/project activities across multiple sites

Culture & Leadership

• Build a credible, on-the-floor safety culture with operations
• Lead and develop an EHS team (scaling with growth)
• Shift the organization from reactive to proactive risk management
• Influence leadership decisions tied to safety, performance, and reputation

Systems & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with OSHA and environmental regulations
• Lead incident investigations and root cause analysis
• Improve system discipline, data quality, and reporting rigor

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Engineering preferred
• 10+ years EHS experience; 5+ years leading in manufacturing
• Background in electrical, high-voltage, or heavy industrial manufacturing strongly preferred
• Experience in environments with fabrication, assembly, and electrical integration within a repeatable, production-based manufacturing setting (e.g., panel shops, switchgear, or similar) 
• Proven ownership of ISO 45001 or structured EHS systems
• Track record of building leading indicators and proactive safety programs
• Experience partnering with manufacturing engineering on capital projects, including direct involvement with contractor management in industrial environments
• Strong leadership presence with floor credibility and executive communication skills
• Ability to operate effectively across both manufacturing and project-based environments

Preferred:

• Power distribution, switchgear, or electrical equipment manufacturing
• Arc flash / energized work / high-energy hazard environments
• Lean / CI-driven operations

Location & Compensation

• Based in Northern VA (onsite)
• Relocation available
• Travel: ~25% (domestic + occasional international)
• $150–200K base + bonus + full benefits