Robotics Safety & Compliance Lead

Welocalize, Inc; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Welocalize, Inc is seeking a Robotics Safety & Compliance Lead to own safety, risk, and compliance across robotics operations. This builder-leader role will establish standards, frameworks, and scale the program, growing the team while keeping labs audit-ready.

You will set the safety strategy, develop SOPs, lead risk assessments and incident response, and influence senior stakeholders across operations and engineering. This on-site role requires strong leadership and hands-on safety execution.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in safety, compliance, or EHS roles (technical or lab environments preferred).
• Demonstrated leadership experience — owning a program, leading cross-functional initiatives, or managing/mentoring others.
• Experience developing and implementing safety programs or frameworks from the ground up.
• Strong understanding of risk assessment and incident management.
• Ability to translate standards into practical, operational processes.
• Clear communication and proven ability to influence senior and technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own safety and compliance end to end across robotics labs and data collection environments.
• Set the safety strategy and roadmap as programs scale across sites, and define what 'good' looks like for the function.
• Develop and implement safety standards, SOPs, and risk mitigation frameworks.
• Conduct risk assessments across different lab setups (humanoid, teleoperation, motion capture, etc.).
• Serve as the escalation point and decision-maker on safety risk — including the authority to pause work when conditions require it.
• Lead incident response processes, reporting, and root cause analysis.
• Conduct regular audits and maintain audit readiness across sites.
• Build and lead safety training, onboarding, and a safety champion network across lab teams.
• Influence senior stakeholders and report on safety posture, risk trends, and program maturity to leadership.
• Hire, mentor, and grow safety and compliance support as the program expands.
• Partner with engineering on safe system design — cell layout, e-stops, guarding, interlocks, and operating envelopes.
• Balance operational speed with safety and compliance requirements.

Skills

Safety leadership

Risk assessment

Incident management

Stakeholder influence

Translate standards

Communication

Python

ROS

Tools

ROS

Python

Job description

Job Responsibilities

Role Overview We're hiring a Robotics Safety & Compliance Lead to own safety, risk, and compliance across our robotics operations — and to lead the function as it scales. This is a builder-leader role: you'll set the standard, establish the frameworks, and grow the program (and eventually the team) that keeps our labs and data collection environments safe, compliant, and audit-ready. You'll be the senior voice on safety in the room with operations, engineering, and EHS — setting direction rather than waiting for it, and building practical frameworks that support both speed and control.

What You'll Do

• Own safety and compliance end to end across robotics labs and data collection environments
• Set the safety strategy and roadmap as programs scale across sites, and define what "good" looks like for the function
• Develop and implement safety standards, SOPs, and risk mitigation frameworks
• Conduct risk assessments across different lab setups (humanoid, teleoperation, motion capture, etc.)
• Serve as the escalation point and decision-maker on safety risk — including the authority to pause work when conditions require it
• Lead incident response processes, reporting, and root cause analysis
• Conduct regular audits and maintain audit readiness across sites
• Build and lead safety training, onboarding, and a safety champion network across lab teams
• Influence senior stakeholders and report on safety posture, risk trends, and program maturity to leadership
• Hire, mentor, and grow safety and compliance support as the program expands
• Partner with engineering on safe system design — cell layout, e-stops, guarding, interlocks, and operating envelopes
• Balance operational speed with safety and compliance requirements

What Good Looks Like

Clear, practical safety frameworks that teams actually follow A safety culture the org owns, not one that depends on one person policing it Strong risk awareness without slowing down execution High audit readiness and clean compliance posture Proactive identification and mitigation of safety risks Credibility with engineering — seen as a technical partner, not a gate Strong partnership with operations and engineering teams

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in safety, compliance, or EHS roles (technical or lab environments preferred)
• Demonstrated leadership experience — owning a program, leading cross-functional initiatives, or managing/mentoring others
• Experience developing and implementing safety programs or frameworks from the ground up
• Strong understanding of risk assessment and incident management
• Ability to translate standards into practical, operational processes
• Clear communication and proven ability to influence senior and technical stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in robotics, manufacturing, industrial, or lab-based environments
• Familiarity with safety standards (e.g., ISO frameworks such as ISO 10218, ISO/TS 15066, ANSI/RIA R15.06)
• People management experience, or experience building a function and its first hires
• Software or technical background as a plus — comfort with ROS, robot control software, teleoperation and motion capture systems, or scripting (e.g. Python) to analyze incident and sensor data
• Experience building or automating compliance tooling — audit tracking, incident dashboards, or safety checklists integrated into lab workflows
• Experience supporting high-growth or rapidly scaling operations
• Background working with cross-functional technical teams

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

• Onsite lab environment (robotics lab, warehouse, or similar setup)
• Must be able to stand for extended periods during audits and inspections
• Must be able to occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 lbs
• Fast-paced environment with evolving operational needs

Why This Role Matters

As robotics programs scale, safety and compliance become critical to sustainable operations. This role leads how we operate responsibly, reduce risk, and build systems that scale without compromising safety.

Additional Job Details

Welocalize is a leading technology-enabled provider of translation, localization, and AI-driven content solutions, helping businesses communicate, innovate, and grow globally. Specializing in complex and regulated industries, Welocalize delivers precise, scalable multilingual content through a powerful combination of advanced AI technologies and expert human talent. At the core is Welocalize’s AI-enabled OPAL platform, which transforms translation workflows by integrating machine translation (MT) and large language models (LLMs) to provide fast, accurate, and culturally relevant content in over 300 languages. With a commitment to excellence, Welocalize holds 7 ISO certifications. Welocalize is headquartered in New York with offices all over the globe.