Specialist - Environmental Health and Safety

Merck; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 79,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ, seeks an EHS professional to provide technical leadership and program support for high‑risk work, fire life safety, and contractor safety at the Rahway site. You will partner with operating departments and contractors to integrate EHS requirements into daily operations and help develop procedures, training, and management systems.

Qualifications include a BS in a relevant field and at least 3 years in industrial safety or EHS, plus strong communication and a proactive,

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years applied professional experience in industrial safety, environmental and/or general EHS
• Self-motivated, proactive, and can-do attitude with the ability to work independently.
• Possess critical thinking, analytical and logical problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to prioritize, focus on and obtain business results.
• Flexibility to perform various tasks to support the business.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Service and result-oriented mindset.
• Ability to handle potentially stressful situations with a positive attitude.
• Experience in HRW program management, contractor management, process safety, research and pilot scale operations.
• Experience with EHS regulatory agency inspections.
• Strong systems and IT knowledge including Microsoft applications a plus.
• Demonstrated performance in a highly regulated industry with strict standards adherence and compliance initiatives.
• Relevant professional certification(s) preferred including ASP, CSP, CHMM, and/or CHST.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Rahway site SME to manage HRW safety programs (lockout-tagout, electrical, hot work, line breaking, elevated work, confined space, crane, trenching).
• Support HRW programs through reviews of permit to work, HRW training delivery, and program assessments with area management.
• Support contractor safety as liaison with project and site teams to ensure compliance with contractor safety requirements.
• Provide EHS support for fire life safety, management of change, incident investigations, risk assessments, EHS standards & inspections.
• Participate in EHS agency regulatory inspections and correspondence.
• Manage EHS information and compliance using site EHS management systems including data collection, modeling, trending, tracking and scorecard metrics.
• Partner with stakeholders to administer EHS management system and maintain compliance.
• With knowledge of EHS regs, develop procedures, guidelines and training programs as assigned.
• Support implementation of EHS compliance initiatives for customer areas.
• Support regulatory submissions, notifications to maintain compliance with federal, state, and local EHS requirements.

Skills

Accident Investigation

Detail-Oriented

EHS Program Management

Employee Training

Environmental Audits

Food Safety and Sanitation

Goal Setting

Hazardous Material Safety

Incident Investigations

Industrial Hygiene

Project Risk Assessments

Quality Auditing

Regulatory Compliance

Spill Containment

Technical Reporting

Education

BS in Occupational Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering, Environmental Science, or Science

MS degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft applications

Job description

Basic Functions and Responsibility

As a member of the Rahway Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) team, provide technical leadership and program support for high-risk work, fire life safety, contractor safety, and related EHS compliance programs at the Rahway site.

Job Description

Basic Functions and Responsibility

As a member of the Rahway Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) team, provide technical leadership and program support for high-risk work, fire life safety, contractor safety, and related EHS compliance programs at the Rahway site.

Work collaboratively with operating departments, area management, contractors, and other stakeholders to integrate EHS requirements into daily operations. Support the development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of EHS procedures, guidelines, training programs, and management systems.

Primary Activities

• Serve as the Rahway site subject matter expert (SME) to manage the safety of high-risk work (HRW) programs, including lockout-tagout, electrical safety, hot work, line breaking, elevated work, confined space entry, mobile crane, trenching and excavation.
• Support HRW programs through reviews of the permit to work system, delivery of HRW training, and program assessments in partnership with area management
• Support contractor safety as a liaison with project and site teams to ensure compliance with our company's contractor safety requirements and regulatory obligations.
• Provide EHS support for fire life safety, management of change, incident investigation, risk assessments, EHS standards compliance, inspections and auditing and capital project work as assigned.
• Participate in EHS agency regulatory inspections and correspondence.
• Manage EHS information and compliance using site’s EHS management systems including data collection, modeling, trending, tracking and communication of EHS score card metrics.
• Partner with stakeholders to administer EHS management system and maintain compliance.
• With knowledge of EHS regulations and applicability, develop EHS procedures, guidelines and training programs as assigned.
• Support implementation of EHS compliance initiatives for customer areas.
• Support the completion of regulatory submissions, notifications, etc. required to maintain compliance with federal, state, and local EHS requirements.

Position Qualifications

Education Minimum Requirement

• BS with preference for Occupational Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering, Environmental Science, or Science, relevant MS degree a bonus.

Required Experience And Skills

• Minimum 3 years applied professional experience in industrial safety, environmental and/or general EHS role.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and can-do attitude with the ability to work independently.
• Possess critical thinking, analytical and logical problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to prioritize, focus on and obtain business results.
• Flexibility to perform various tasks to support the business.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Service and result-oriented mindset.
• Ability to handle potentially stressful situations with a positive attitude.

Preferred Experience And Skills

• Experience in high-risk work program management, contractor management, process safety, research and pilot scale operations.
• Experience with EHS regulatory agency inspections.
• Strong systems and IT knowledge including Microsoft applications a plus.
• Demonstrated performance in a highly regulated industry with strict standards adherence and compliance initiatives.
• Relevant professional certification(s) preferred including ASP, CSP, CHMM, and/or CHST.

Required Skills

Accident Investigation, Detail-Oriented, EHS Program Management, Employee Training, Environmental Audits, Food Safety and Sanitation (Inactive), Goal Setting, Hazardous Material Safety, Incident Investigations, Industrial Hygiene, Project Risk Assessments, Quality Auditing, Regulatory Compliance, Spill Containment, Technical Reporting

US And Puerto Rico Residents Only

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

San Francisco Residents Only:

We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only:

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific.

Employee Status

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship

No

Travel Requirements

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements

Not Applicable

Shift

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License

No

Hazardous Material(s)

n/a

Job Posting End Date

10/3/2026

• A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID

R417719

The salary range for this role is

$79,200.00 - $124,700.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.