Senior Specialist Safety & Environment

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

Reporting to the Associate Director, Safety & Environment, the Senior Specialist provides technical and program leadership for High Risk Work and Machinery Safety across West Point, North Wales, and Springhouse Innovation Park, supporting Vaccines Manufacturing, Research & Development, and site support functions. The role serves as a trusted subject matter expert and partners with operations, engineering, maintenance and other various organizations to prevent serious injuries and operational events. This individual translates regulatory, consensus-standard, and company requirements into practical risk-based solutions; strengthens critical controls in design and field execution; and uses program data, event learning, and field insights to drive sustainable improvement aligned with site priorities and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the West Point HRW Steering Committee and HRW Councils, aligning all site organizations to one site program, following GSE procedures and training.
• Serve as the site subject matter expert and procedure owner for high-risk work, including hazardous energy control, line breaking, confined space entry, work at height, hot work, and other critical-risk activities.
• Develop and deliver technical training and qualification support for employees, contractors, and program owners responsible for high-risk work and machinery safety.
• Manage HRW contractor, partnering to deploy the HRW Auditing Tool and drive timely, effective improvement to permit compliance.
• Partner with Facilities, Engineering, Operations, and project teams on P&ID reviews, commissioning, and equipment handover.
• Provide technical leadership for machinery safety, including machine risk assessments, safeguarding controls, and verification of risk‑reduction measures across the equipment lifecycle.
• Conduct and facilitate field risk assessments, machinery safety reviews, pre‑startup reviews, and critical‑control verifications; document gaps, establish risk‑based priorities, and drive actions to timely closure.
• Lead or support investigations of high‑potential events, near misses, and machinery‑related incidents; identify systemic causes, evaluate control failures, and ensure corrective and preventive actions are effective and sustained.
• Support regulatory inspections, internal audits, management reviews, and enterprise or divisional initiatives related to high‑risk work and machinery safety.

Position Qualifications

• Education Minimum Requirement: Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Required Experience and Skills:
  • At least 5 years of safety program or technical safety experience in a manufacturing, laboratory, engineering, or similarly complex environment.
  • Strong knowledge of high-risk work controls, including hazardous energy control and activities such as line breaking, confined space entry, work at height, excavation, lifting and rigging, or hot work.
  • Working knowledge of machinery risk assessment, safeguarding, safety‑related controls, interlocks, emergency stops, and control verification.
  • Ability to apply OSHA, consensus, and company standards to field work, work planning, equipment design, and capital projects.
  • Strong investigation, risk assessment, problem‑solving, project management, and corrective‑action skills.
  • Ability to influence cross‑functional teams and communicate technical requirements clearly, using Microsoft Office and relevant digital systems.
• Preferred Experience and Skills: Experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, or other highly regulated manufacturing or research environments. Experience applying recognized machinery safety standards and methodologies, such as ANSI, NFPA, ISO, or equivalent risk‑based frameworks. Professional certification or relevant credential such as CSP, CHST, CMSE, CFSE, or an equivalent qualification.

Required Skills

• Adaptability, Biosafety, EHS Auditing, EHS Compliance, EHS Program Management, Environmental Regulatory Compliance, Health and Safety Legislation, Incident Investigations, Industrial Hygiene, Interpersonal Relationships, Occupational Safety and Health Programs, Process Safety Management, Safety Programs, Self Motivation, Training and Development

Equal Employment Opportunity

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.