Senior Safety & Machinery Risk Leader

Merck; West Point (PA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck is seeking a Senior Specialist to provide technical and program leadership for High Risk Work and Machinery Safety across West Point, North Wales, and Springhouse Innovation Park. This role partners with operations, engineering, maintenance, and other teams to prevent injuries and events, translating regulatory and company requirements into practical risk-based solutions.

You will strengthen critical controls in design and field execution, drive improvements from data and field insights,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• At least 5 years of safety program or technical safety experience in a manufacturing, lab, or similar complex environment.
• Strong knowledge of high-risk work controls and machinery safety.
• Ability to apply OSHA and company standards to field work and capital projects.
• Strong investigation, risk assessment, and project-management skills.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams and communicate technical requirements clearly.

Responsibilities

• Lead the West Point HRW Steering Committee and HRW Councils to align all site organizations to one program.
• Serve as SME and procedure owner for high-risk work including hazardous energy control and critical activities.
• Develop and deliver technical training and qualification support for employees and contractors.
• Manage HRW contracting, deploying the HRW Auditing Tool and driving improvements.
• Partner with Facilities, Engineering, Operations on P&ID reviews and handover.
• Provide technical leadership for machinery safety across lifecycle and safeguarding controls.
• Conduct field risk assessments, machinery safety reviews, and pre-startup verifications.
• Lead or support investigations of high-potential events and driving corrective actions.
• Support regulatory inspections and internal audits related to HRW and machinery safety.

Skills

Adaptability

Biosafety

EHS Auditing

Incident Investigations

Process Safety

Regulatory Compliance

Communication

Training

Cross-functional

OSHA Standards

Education

Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Engineering, or a related technical field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Digital Systems

Job description

Merck is seeking a Senior Specialist to provide technical and program leadership for High Risk Work and Machinery Safety across West Point, North Wales, and Springhouse Innovation Park. This role partners with operations, engineering, maintenance, and other teams to prevent injuries and events, translating regulatory and company requirements into practical risk-based solutions.

You will strengthen critical controls in design and field execution, drive improvements from data and field insights,