Director of Construction Safety

Job Description

Job Description

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals, or resumes from external recruiters or staffing agencies.

Location: This is a hybrid role requiring candidates to reside in Southern California within LA, OC, or IE. Due to the travel requirements of the Director of Construction Safety role, candidates must be comfortable with frequent travel throughout Southern and Northern California, as well as occasional out-of-state travel.

Background Check Requirement

As part of our hiring process, Frontline Wildfire Defense conducts comprehensive background checks for all new hires. These checks typically cover the past 7–10 years and may include employment and education verification. For roles that require work in the field, driving record verification is also required. Employment offers are contingent upon the successful completion of these background checks.

About Frontline Wildfire Defense

Founded in 2017 by landscape ecologist and fire mitigation expert Harry Statter, Frontline developed the first fully integrated wildfire defense system to stop the leading cause of home loss in wildfires: ember-driven ignition. The system combines exterior sprinklers, full-coverage design, and connected software for remote monitoring and response, allowing homes to protect themselves long after families evacuate or infrastructure fails.

Proven effective during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, 96% of homes with Frontline systems survived. That success has earned top industry recognition, including Frontline being recognized as one of TIME's Best Inventions 2025 in the Green Tech category and receiving the PCBC Gold Nugget Award for "Most Innovative Housing Concept" and the Best of IBS Award for "Best Home Technology."

As wildfires grow hotter and more frequent, our vision is to give people the tools and strategies to live safely with fire. We're building a mission-driven team creating real-world solutions in wildfire safety and climate tech.

About This Opportunity

We are seeking a builder-minded Director of Construction Safety to lead safety across Frontline's rapidly expanding residential and commercial construction and installation operations. As our senior safety leader, you will set the strategy, build the multi-state safety program, and lead the team that carries it out in the field.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will partner with the In-House Counsel, Operations, Project Management, Field Leadership, and Finance to make safety a core operating pillar as we scale nationally. You will have full stop-work authority and the mandate to build the safety function the right way.

This role is ideal for a construction safety leader who has already built a safety program at a multi-location construction company and is ready to do it again, with more ownership, at a mission-driven company protecting homes and communities from wildfire.

What the work looks like: Frontline field teams and a network of subcontractors install and service Frontline systems on residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) properties, from occupied homes to active commercial job sites and new builds. The work includes daily rooftop and ladder access, plumbing and low-voltage electrical tie-ins, trenching and water-line work where required, and material handling, often in hot, remote, and wildfire-prone terrain.

What Success Looks Like in Your First Year

• First 90 days: Assess current practices, audit active job sites and subcontractors, and deliver a written safety strategy, gap analysis, and 12-month roadmap to the executive team.
• By 6 months: Core written programs are live (IIPP, fall protection, ladder safety, heat illness, wildfire smoke); subcontractor prequalification and onboarding are launched.
• By 12 months: An audit program is running across all regions, a safety KPI dashboard is reported monthly to leadership, all active subcontractors are qualified and scored, and a team and budget plan is in place for the next stage of growth.

Key Responsibilities

Safety Leadership & Strategy

• Serve as Frontline's senior safety leader, setting the vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap for construction safety across all regions and lines of business.
• Lead, coach, and develop the safety team, starting with an Area Safety Manager, and build the hiring plan and structure to scale the function as we grow.
• Own the safety budget, including training, PPE and fall protection equipment, safety technology, and third-party services.
• Report safety performance, risk trends, and program priorities to the COO and executive team, and to the board as needed.
• Hold stop-work authority and build a culture where every employee and subcontractor is empowered to stop unsafe work.

Field & Job Site Safety

• Maintain a strong field presence, traveling frequently to job sites across California and other states for site walks, crew observations, and leadership safety visits with installation crews, project managers, and subcontractors.
• Own the construction safety program under OSHA 29 CFR 1926 and Cal/OSHA Title 8 Construction Safety Orders, adapted for each state we operate in, including OSHA State Plan states.
• Develop hazard-specific written programs for our work, including fall protection and roof tie-off, ladders, heat illness prevention, wildfire smoke protection, excavation/trenching, electrical and water-system work, hand and power tools, and vehicle safety, with competent person designations where required.
• Require Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs) and site-specific safety plans for residential and commercial job sites, including protection of homeowners, building occupants, other trades, and the public.
• Ensure safe operations on general contractor-led commercial sites, including GC and owner safety requirements, aerial lift/MEWP use, and coordination with other trades.
• Oversee fleet and driver safety for field teams traveling between job sites.

Safety Program Development

• Design and build a scalable, multi-state safety program, including policies, procedures, and written programs that flex across geographies and regulatory environments.
• Own the Cal/OSHA Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), Code of Safe Practices, and equivalent programs in other states.
• Build standardized training, including new-hire orientation, OSHA 10/30, toolbox talks, and refresher courses, with training records tracked for every worker.
• Run a structured audit and inspection program across job sites and regions, including unannounced rooftop field audits.
• Define and report safety KPIs, covering lagging indicators (TRIR, DART, lost-time rate, EMR) and leading indicators (near-miss reports, audit scores, training completion, corrective action closure).
• Lead serious incident investigations using root cause analysis, and make sure findings drive changes to training, policy, and field practice across all regions.
• Maintain OSHA 300/300A/301 recordkeeping and manage reporting of serious injuries within regulatory deadlines.

Subcontractor Safety Management

• Prequalification: Build and own a prequalification process that reviews each subcontractor's EMR, TRIR, OSHA logs, citation history, written safety program, licenses, and insurance before they are approved to work.
• Contracts: Partner with Legal so subcontractor agreements include Frontline's safety requirements, insurance minimums, incident reporting obligations, stop-work rights, and remedies for non-compliance.
• Onboarding: Ensure every subcontractor crew completes Frontline safety orientation before their first job, with required training (e.g., fall protection, OSHA 10) verified for each worker on site.
• Field oversight and performance: Audit subcontractor crews on active job sites, track corrective actions to closure, and maintain a subcontractor safety scorecard reviewed quarterly with Operations, including probation, retraining, or removal decisions.
• Incidents: Require subcontractors to report injuries, near misses, and property damage within set timeframes, and participate in or lead the investigation.
• Compliance tracking: Build and manage a central system (e.g., ISNetworld, Avetta, Highwire, or similar) for subcontractor certifications, insurance certificates, license status, and expiration alerts.
• Multi-employer worksites: Act as the company authority on Frontline's responsibilities as a controlling, creating, or exposing employer, working with Legal on the right level of oversight.

Regulatory & Market Compliance

• Lead safety and compliance readiness for every new market before work starts there.
• Build and maintain a central compliance framework tracking requirements in each operating state, including OSHA State Plan programs.
• Serve as the company's subject matter expert on safety regulations, and lead the response to agency inspections, citations, and abatement.
• Ensure regulatory filings, documentation, and reporting are timely and accurate in every jurisdiction.

Risk & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Operations, Project Management, Field Leadership, Legal, and executives to build safety into scheduling, job planning, hiring, and vendor selection.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and our insurance broker on workers' compensation, claims management, return-to-work, and EMR strategy to reduce injury costs and insurance premiums.
• Turn safety data and field insights into recommendations that shape operational and risk decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement so safety processes scale efficiently while standards stay high across all regions.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• 10+ years of construction safety experience, including 5+ years in a safety leadership role, in residential and/or commercial construction, solar, roofing, HVAC, electrical, fire sprinkler/fire protection, or other field installation work involving daily rooftop work and fall protection.
• A proven track record of building a construction safety program from the ground up, or substantially rebuilding one, at a construction company operating in multiple locations or states, and driving adoption across field teams.
• Experience leading safety professionals, including hiring, developing, and managing safety managers or coordinators.
• Experience managing subcontractor safety, including prequalification, field oversight, and holding contractors accountable to company standards.
• Deep working knowledge of OSHA 29 CFR 1926 and Cal/OSHA Construction Safety Orders, especially fall protection, ladders, and multi-employer worksite responsibilities.
• Experience owning OSHA recordkeeping, agency inspections, and workers' compensation and EMR performance with insurance partners.
• Hands-on experience leading incident investigations, root cause analysis, and preventive programs at scale.
• Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to influence field crews, project managers, and executives across multiple regions.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel frequently, including overnight, to job sites across California and other states as needed.

Nice-to-Have

• CSP (Certified Safety Professional) or CHST (Construction Health and Safety Technician) strongly preferred; ASP also considered.
• Authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer (OSHA 500).
• Experience across both residential and commercial work, including occupied homes and general contractor-led commercial sites.
• Experience with multiple OSHA State Plan programs (e.g., Cal/OSHA, Oregon OSHA, Washington DOSH).
• Experience with subcontractor management platforms (e.g., ISNetworld, Avetta, Highwire) and safety management software (e.g., Procore, SafetyCulture, HammerTech).
• Bilingual English/Spanish.
• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Health, Construction Management, or a related field.

Physical Requirements

This role includes regular field audits and requires the ability to climb ladders, work on residential and commercial rooftops using fall protection, walk active job sites, and work outdoors in heat and variable conditions. Reasonable accommodations are available.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive Base Salary: $165,000 to $200,000 annually DOE
• Company-provided cell phone and laptop
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Flexible time off + 14 paid holidays (yes, your birthday is one of them!)
• Work-from-home stipend to support your remote setup
• Remote-first work environment, fostering work-life balance and autonomy
• Company-provided equipment
• Join a high-performing, mission-driven team doing work that truly matters
• And much more!

Join Our Mission!

If you're excited about building technology that protects homes and families from wildfire disasters, we want to hear from you! Apply today and become part of a fast-growing team with purpose and innovation at its core.

Diversity and inclusion are essential values at Frontline. We know we'll do our best and most impactful work when we feel represented, and we belong. We encourage talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.