Machine Safety Program Leader & Functional Safety Engineer

Richards Manufacturing Co.; Irvington (NJ); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Richards Manufacturing Company in Irvington, NJ seeks a Machine Safety Program Leader & Functional Safety Engineer to own and advance the site’s Machine Guarding Program. The role focuses on risk reduction, capital projects, and lifecycle management of machinery, with ~80% time on safety assessments and governance and ~20% on broader manufacturing engineering initiatives.

The successful candidate will be the site SME for machine guarding and safety, ensuring compliance with NFPA 79, ISO 12100,

Qualifications

• Minimum 5–10 years of proven experience in manufacturing engineering, machine safety, or automation.
• Experience leading machine safety risk assessments and safeguarding projects.
• Experience with capital improvement and remediation projects.
• Experience working with equipment suppliers and cross‑functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Serve as site owner of the Machine Guarding Program and risk reduction initiatives.
• Develop, maintain, and improve the written Machine Guarding Program.
• Lead machine safety risk assessments and lifecycle management.
• Coordinate with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, EHS, and leadership for program execution.
• Provide training on machine safety risk assessment methodologies.

Skills

Leadership & project management

Bilingual (Spanish a plus)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechatronics Engineering

Job description

Machine Safety Program Leader & Functional Safety Engineer

About Richards

Richards Manufacturing Company is a producer of electrical and gas distribution equipment for utility and commercial/industrial markets. For over 70 years Richards has served the industry with quality, dependability, and outstanding customer service. With humble beginnings as a family owned and operated business—originally entering the market as a producer of a single style of underground connector—Richards has evolved to offer a wide selection of products across several product lines. Our offices and manufacturing facilities are located in Irvington, NJ—approximately 14 miles west of New York City.

Job Description

The Machine Safety Program Leader & Functional Safety Engineer serves as the site owner and technical authority for the Machine Safety Program at the Newark, New Jersey manufacturing facility. This position is responsible for leading machine safety, functional safety, machine risk assessments, and machine lifecycle management activities to ensure compliance with applicable U.S. regulatory requirements, recognized industry standards, and internal corporate standards.

The role will spend approximately 80% of time leading machine safety risk assessments, managing risk reduction projects, overseeing the Machine Guarding Program, and supporting machinery throughout its lifecycle. The remaining 20% of time will support broader Manufacturing Engineering initiatives, capital projects, process improvements, and operational excellence efforts.

The successful candidate will serve as the primary machine safety subject matter expert, ensuring new and existing equipment achieve required safety performance levels and that machine-related risks are reduced to acceptable, low, or negligible levels through engineered solutions and program governance. This is an exciting role with the opportunity to make an immediate impact and offers future career growth opportunities.

Location: Onsite, Richards Manufacturing Facility (Irvington, NJ)

Reports to: Senior Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Travel: Approximately 15–20%, including periodic support to facilities in Ohio and Puerto Rico

Key Responsibilities

Machine Guarding Program Leadership, Functional Safety, & Risk Reduction (80%)

• Serve as the overall site owner of the Machine Guarding Program and associated machine risk reduction initiatives.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve the site’s written Machine Guarding Program.
• Maintain ownership of the Site Master Machine List and ensure equipment inventories remain current and accurate.
• Maintain ownership of the Priority Assessment List and establish prioritization criteria for machine assessments and remediation activities.
• Develop, approve, and lead machine guarding gap closure plans, including annual and multi-year capital budget proposals.
• Develop, approve, and oversee corrective action strategies including equipment elimination, machine consolidation, machine upgrades, automation improvements, or new machine procurement.
• Establish machine safety objectives, KPIs, project plans, and performance metrics.
• Influence and coordinate all stakeholders necessary to ensure successful execution of the Machine Guarding Program, including Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, EHS, Leadership, and external suppliers.
• Create and lead site machine safety team.
• Organize, coach, mentor, and provide training to site Machine Guarding team members on machine safety risk assessment methodologies and company requirements.
• Lead regular meetings to track assessment status, remediation progress, project execution, and compliance metrics.
• Conduct annual reviews of the Machine Guarding Program effectiveness with required stakeholders and site leadership.
• Perform annual machine safety program self‑assessments.
• Serve as the site’s primary technical expert on machine guarding and machinery safety principles.
• Lead and facilitate machine safety risk assessments using recognized industry methodologies and company requirements.
• Evaluate machinery and manufacturing processes to identify hazards and determine required risk reduction measures.
• Develop and manage machine risk reduction projects from concept through implementation, validation, and closure.
• Specify, review, and validate functional safety systems and safety‑related control systems to achieve required Performance Levels (PL) and Safety Integrity Levels (SIL), as applicable.
• Ensure all newly purchased machinery meets applicable safety requirements, company machine safety specifications, and required safety performance criteria before acceptance and commissioning.
• Participate in equipment design reviews, factory acceptance testing (FAT), site acceptance testing (SAT), and commissioning activities.
• Develop machine safety requirements for capital projects and equipment procurement packages.
• Review and approve machine safety documentation including machine safety risk assessments, hazard analyses, safety requirements specifications, validation plans, functional safety calculations and verification and validation reports.
• Lead machinery lifecycle management activities including installation, modification, relocation, modernization, and decommissioning.
• Validate engineered safeguarding solutions.
• Conduct machine safety compliance assessments and gap analyses against applicable standards and regulations.
• Support investigations of machine‑related incidents, near misses, and audit findings, including development of corrective and preventive actions.
• Provide machine safety and functional safety technical guidance to engineering, maintenance, operations, and plant leadership teams.
• Provide periodic machine safety support to manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Puerto Rico.

Manufacturing Engineering Support (20%)

• Support capital project execution and equipment installation activities.
• Assist with manufacturing process improvements, productivity enhancements, and equipment reliability initiatives.
• Collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering teams to improve equipment performance and operational efficiency.
• Participate in facility modernization, automation, and expansion projects.
• Support Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and operational excellence initiatives.
• Provide technical engineering support for troubleshooting, equipment modifications, and root cause investigations.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or related engineering or automation discipline.

Certifications

Experience

• Minimum 5–10 years of proven experience in manufacturing engineering, machine safety, functional safety, automation engineering, or a related industrial environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading machine safety risk assessments and machine safeguarding and risk reduction projects and programs within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience developing and executing capital improvement and remediation projects.
• Experience working with equipment suppliers, integrators, and cross‑functional teams.
• Strong technical understanding of machine guarding and machinery safety principles.

Technical Knowledge

• NFPA 79 – Electrical Standard for Industrial Machinery
• ISO 12100 – Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction
• ISO 13849 – Safety‑Related Parts of Control Systems
• IEC 62061 – Functional Safety of Machinery
• Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Requirements
• Industrial Automation and Control Systems
• Safety PLCs and Functional Safety Architectures
• Robotics and Automated Manufacturing Systems

Special Skills

• Bilingual / Spanish a plus.