Director R&D EHS Program Lead

Scorpion Therapeutics; Chesterfield (MO); Hybrid; USD 177,000 - 294,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with matching

Paid time off

Health coverage

Job summary

Scorpion Therapeutics seeks a senior leader to serve as the principal industrial hygiene technical expert for GWE R&D, guiding exposure assessment, control strategies, and containment across sites. The role leads global EH&S risk-reduction actions, chairs leadership teams, and shapes enterprise IH standards.

You will design and govern exposure programs, interpret results vs. OELs/OEBs, and elevate lab safety across analytical, chemistry, biology, and related labs.

Qualifications

• Must have 10+ years progressive IH and EH&S experience in life sciences/high-hazard environments.
• Experience leading enterprise EH&S programs across multiple sites.

Responsibilities

• Serve as principal IH technical lead for GWE R&D; anticipate, recognize, evaluate, and control exposure hazards across sites.
• Lead global EH&S risk-reduction actions and elevate safety performance.
• Design exposure-assessment programs and interpret results against OELs/OEBs.
• Lead hazard-control strategies, containment, and engineering controls.

Skills

Industrial hygiene expertise

EH&S leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Global/matrix leadership

Data analysis

Investigation leadership

Effective communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in IH/OEH/chem/engineering

MS/MPH/PhD in relevant field

Tools

EH&S management systems

Job description

Role Responsibilities:

• Serve as principal industrial-hygiene technical subject matter leader for GWE R&D; lead anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of chemical, physical, and biological exposure hazards across all sites.
• Act as a member of the GWE R&D Leadership Team and extended member of the Safety & Environmental Operations Leadership Team; drive actions to reduce EH&S risk and elevate performance.
• Design and govern qualitative/quantitative exposure-assessment programs (air, surface, personal monitoring; sampling strategies) and interpret results vs. OELs and OEBs.
• Lead hazard/control banding for potent compounds, high-hazard biologics/ADCs, and novel molecules; define containment strategies, engineering controls, and PPE.
• Provide oversight for ventilation, fume hoods, isolators, and containment systems; ensure performance verification and IH sign-off for lab/pilot operations.
• Support/implement IH risk-assessment methodologies with SEO; establish one consistent toolset/documentation standard across R&D sites.
• Ensure consistent laboratory safety programs across analytical, chemistry, biological, and other lab types.
• Lead a global R&D EH&S Community of Practice (10–12 experts); set priorities/deliverables and standards/tools/best practices.
• Represent R&D in enterprise EH&S programs; shape industrial-hygiene standards and secure governance/decision rights.
• Lead/sustain site-level EH&S risk registers; roll up into network-wide forward-looking view; establish action plans and elevate as needed.
• Advise scientific/operational leaders with practical IH solutions; balance exposure risk with business needs.
• Establish portfolio-level EH&S/industrial-hygiene performance reporting (exposure trends; leading/lagging indicators).
• Explore and implement AI to support EHS processes, risk assessments, change control, and metrics.
• Manage escalation, lead root-cause investigations, and communicate lessons learned after significant EH&S events.
• Represent R&D for EH&S vendor programs and lead EH&S/IH due diligence for BD/M&A.
• Develop talent/capability through the Community of Practice for bench strength and succession planning.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in industrial/occupational hygiene, environmental/occupational health, chemistry, engineering, or related.
• 10+ years progressive industrial hygiene and EH&S experience in life sciences/high-hazard regulated environments.
• Deep industrial-hygiene expertise (exposure assessment/monitoring/sampling, OELs/OEBs, hazard/control banding, engineering-control evaluation) in lab/R&D.
• Director-level EH&S leadership across multiple sites/enterprise-level programs/communities.
• Ability to lead/influence outcomes without solid-line authority in a global matrix.
• Working knowledge of applicable EH&S regulations/standards (e.g., OSHA, EPA, ACGIH; biosafety/containment; process safety) across U.S. and international jurisdictions.
• Technical breadth across core EH&S disciplines beyond industrial hygiene.
• Excellent communication skills across locations/functions/cultures.
• Experience leading/supporting EH&S investigations and technical program development.

Preferred Qualifications:

• CIH (strongly preferred); CSP/CBSP-RBP or equivalent a plus.
• MS/MPH/PhD in relevant field.
• R&D/lab IH experience with high-potency compounds/ADCs, novel chemistries, BSL-3 and/or Select Agent programs.
• Experience with EH&S management systems/digital platforms and portfolio metrics reporting.
• BD/M&A EH&S due diligence and enterprise vendor/service program experience.
• Active professional-body membership with formal CPD requirement.

Physical/Mental Requirements:

• Ability to analyze data and synthesize global EH&S metrics; periodic access to labs/operations with PPE/containment protocols.
• Ability to perform high-judgment work; travel for walkthroughs/audits/inspections and use PPE.
• Daily virtual collaboration via video conferencing.

Work Schedule/Travel:

• Travel domestically/internationally to R&D sites (up to ~30%); flexibility for global time zones and occasional outside standard hours.

Work Location:

• Hybrid; may be based at a Pfizer R&D location (preference for U.S. East Coast).

Benefits/Compensation (if included in posting):

• Base salary range: $176,600–$294,300; bonus target 20% of base under Global Performance Plan; eligibility for share-based long-term incentives; comprehensive benefits including 401(k) with matching, paid time off, caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health coverage.