Principal Consultant, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

Environmental Resources Management (ERM); Walnut Creek (CA); On-site; USD 138,000 - 171,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Parental leave

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401(k) or equivalent retirement plan

Job summary

ERM, the world’s leading sustainability advisory, seeks a Principal Consultant to lead transformative EHS programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. You will guide safety initiatives for tech, biopharma, and manufacturing clients, manage risk, and ensure regulatory compliance. Travel across the Bay Area is required.

You will mentor a team of expert consultants and collaborate with ERM’s global network to deliver innovative safety solutions and measurable business impact.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of relevant EHS experience in technology, biopharma, manufacturing, or energy sectors.
• Strong knowledge of California and federal EHS regulations.
• Ability to manage projects, budgets, and teams.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement innovative safety programs for local and global clients.
• Conduct audits, risk assessments, and industrial hygiene evaluations.
• Provide training and coaching to improve client safety performance.
• Analyze data and deliver actionable insights to reduce hazards.
• Build strong client relationships and contribute to business growth.
• Collaborate with ERM’s global network to solve multidisciplinary challenges.
• Identify and secure new business opportunities through strong client relationships.

Skills

EHS experience

Project management

Regulatory knowledge

Leadership

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor degree in Safety, Occupational Health, or related science

Master degree preferred

Tools

Auditing

Industrial hygiene

Job description

Ready to lead transformative safety initiatives for some of the world’s most innovative companies? Join ERM—the largest global team of Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals—and help shape the future of sustainability and workplace safety for tech giants, biopharma leaders, and advanced manufacturers.

Why This Role Matters

ERM partners with the most dynamic organizations to tackle their toughest EHS and sustainability challenges. As a Principal Consultant, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) within the San Francisco Bay Area, California (San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara, etc.), you’ll be at the forefront of creating safer workplaces, driving compliance, and influencing strategic decisions that protect people and the planet.

What Your Impact Is

• Drive strategic growth for ERM’s Health & Safety Services.
• Build and nurture trusted relationships with senior leaders in Technology, BioPharma, Power, Media, and Telecommunications sectors.
• Lead transformative EHS programs that improve safety performance, reduce risk, and deliver measurable business value.
• Inspire and mentor a team of expert consultants, fostering innovation and operational excellence.

What You’ll Bring

• Required: Bachelor degree in Safety, Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, or related science degree. Or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of relevant EHS experience, ideally within technology, biopharma, manufacturing, or energy sectors.
• Strong knowledge of California and federal EHS regulations.
• Proven ability to manage projects, budgets, and teams.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset.
• Ability to travel throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
• Driver's License Required: This position requires a valid driver's license and/or the ability to operate a company vehicle due to the nature of job duties, which include frequent travel to various client locations across a large geographical area.
• This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship.
• Preferred: Master degree in Safety, Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, or related science degree.
• 10+ years of progressive EHS experience, ideally within Technology, BioPharma, Power, Media, or Telecommunications industries.
• Project management experience.
• Professional certifications such as CSP or CIH (strongly preferred).
• Experience with auditing, process hazard assessments, industrial hygiene, and safety process improvement.
• Familiarity with advanced safety topics (e.g., robotics safety, NFPA 70E, machine guarding, radiation safety, EHS Design such as Building and Fire Code experience.).

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement innovative safety programs, to help our growing local and global clients address a wide array of Safety challenges including: Auditing/Assessments, Behavior-Based Safety, Biohazards, Chemical or Lab Safety, Data Analysis, Electrical Safety and NFPA 70E, Fire Prevention, Industrial Hygiene, Laser Safety, Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO), Machine Guarding, Process Hazard Assessments, Robotics Safety, Safety Process Improvement.
• Conduct audits, risk assessments, and industrial hygiene evaluations.
• Provide training and coaching to improve client safety performance.
• Analyze data and deliver actionable insights to reduce hazards and ensure compliance.
• Build strong client relationships and contribute to business growth through exceptional service delivery.
• Collaborate with ERM’s global network to solve multidisciplinary challenges.
• Identify and secure new business opportunities through strong client relationships and technical proposals.
• Design and lead large-scale programs and multi-disciplinary project teams.
• Deliver the full spectrum of ERM’s safety consulting services, including compliance audits, leadership training, and risk management systems.
• Drive innovation to anticipate client needs and differentiate ERM in the marketplace.
• Achieve financial targets while ensuring client satisfaction and operational excellence.

For the Principal Consultant, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) position, the anticipated annual base pay is $138,425–$170,592 (USD). Actual pay will depend on factors such as education, experience, skills, location, performance, and business needs. In some cases, pay may fall outside this range. This role may be eligible for bonus pay (casual and fixed term/flex force employees are not bonus eligible).

• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life
• Disability
• AD&D insurance
• 401(k) or RRSP/DPSP
• Other applicable benefits to eligible employees

Note: Bonuses, commissions, and other forms of additional compensation are not guaranteed and subject to the sole discretion of ERM and its policies and procedures.

Who We Are

As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, we partner with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.

At ERM we know that creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment is an essential part of making our company a great place to build a career. We also see our diversity as a strength that helps us create better solutions for our clients.

Our diverse team of world-class experts supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability, underpinned by our deep technical expertise in addressing their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues.

We call this capability our "boots to boardroom" approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.

ERM is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Thank you for your interest in ERM!

At ERM, sustainability is our business. We are the world’s largest advisory firm focused solely on sustainability, offering unparalleled expertise across business and finance.

ERM partners with clients to operationalize sustainability at pace and scale, through our unique combination of strategic transformation and technical delivery capabilities.

Our diverse global team of experts works with the world’s leading organizations to help them set clear sustainability targets, measure progress and operationalize strategy through deep implementation and business transformation.

With more than 50 years of experience, our ability to integrate sustainability solutions and our depth and breadth of technical knowledge are why organizations choose to partner with us as their trusted advisor.

Every one of us firmly believes in the potential to create value for our clients through an integrated approach to sustainability (because we have personally seen it and professionally achieved it). Our team members are passionate about client service. We work closely with our clients to help them operationalize their sustainability goals and meet their environmental, health and safety objectives while advancing ERM’s purpose through delivering tangible progress in what the United Nations coined The Decade of Action.

Organizing our people across globally integrated communities of technical and strategic talent positions ERM to be a "boots to boardroom" leader in bringing that value creation to our clients, partners, and the world.

We recruit exceptional professionals with a personal and professional passion for sustainability and nurture them to even greater success as specialists. We prepare our consultants to bring integrated, innovative and sustainable solutions to our clients and provide opportunities for ongoing development across a variety of subject areas related to technical, business, and personal growth.

At ERM, effort pays off and becomes career defining work that leaves a positive imprint on our planet.