Sr. PSM Engineer

Colonial Group; Hopewell (VA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

Colonial Group is seeking a Senior Process Safety Management Engineer to lead OSHA PSM and EPA RMP compliant programs across a large chemical facility. You will partner with Operations, Maintenance, Process Design, and leadership to drive a strong process safety culture and governance.

Responsibilities include leading PHAs/LOPAs, managing change, incident investigations, and safeguarding effectiveness, while mentoring teams and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication, leadership, and project management skills.
• Experience with incident investigation and root cause analysis methods.
• Experience with risk assessment methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and facilitate PHAs, HAZOPs, LOPAs for various processes and projects.
• Serve as site SME for one or more PSM elements.
• Drive continuous improvement of process safety programs and risk management practices.
• Mentor engineers and cross-functional teams on process safety principles.
• Support MOC governance and pre-startup safety reviews.
• Lead investigations of process safety incidents and near misses.

Skills

Communication

Leadership

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Position Summary

The Senior Process Safety Management (PSM) Engineer serves as a technical leader responsible for the implementation, continuous improvement, and governance of Process Safety Management programs across a large chemical manufacturing facility. This role partners closely with Operations, Maintenance, Process Design, Technical Services, Health & Safety, Environmental, and plant leadership to ensure compliance with OSHA PSM, EPA Risk Management Program (RMP), and company process safety requirements while driving a strong process safety culture. Reporting into the Site Process Safety Leader, the position provides technical leadership for risk identification, hazard analysis, incident investigations, management of change, and safeguard effectiveness programs.

Key Responsibilities

Process Safety Leadership

• Lead and facilitate Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs), Human Factors and Facility Siting assessments, and Layers of Protection Analyses (LOPAs) for global process revalidations, MOCs, Projects, and Incidents
• Serve as a site subject matter expert for one or more PSM elements
• Drive continuous improvement of process safety programs and risk management practices
• Partner with site leadership to strengthen process safety culture and competency across the organization
• Mentor engineers, operations personnel, and cross-functional teams on process safety principles

Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with OSHA Process Safety Management (29 CFR 1910.119), EPA Risk Management Program requirements, and applicable corporate standards
• Support process safety audits and regulatory inspections
• Lead closure of audit findings, recommendations, and compliance actions.
• Support development and maintenance of process safety procedures, standards, and training programs

Risk Management and Hazard Analysis

• Evaluate process hazards and recommend effective layers of protection and risk reduction measures
• Assess the effectiveness of engineered, administrative, and procedural safeguards
• Conduct consequence analyses and release modeling

Management of Change (MOC)

• Provide technical leadership and governance for Management of Change activities
• Review proposed process modifications for process safety impacts and regulatory compliance
• Ensure hazards are appropriately identified, evaluated, documented, and mitigated before implementation
• Verify completion of pre-startup safety reviews and required documentation updates

Incident Investigation and Learning

• Lead and facilitate investigations of process safety incidents and near misses
• Apply root cause analysis methodologies to identify systemic causes and corrective actions
• Track corrective actions through completion and verify effectiveness
• Share lessons learned across site and corporate networks

Mechanical Integrity and Safeguard Management

• Support Mechanical Integrity programs for critical process equipment
• Assist reliability and maintenance teams in the management of process safety-related equipment
• Verify process safety safeguards are functioning as intended and continue to provide the required protection

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related engineering discipline
• Minimum 5 years of chemical manufacturing or industrial process experience
• Experience with incident investigation and root cause analysis methods
• Experience with risk assessment methodologies
• Experience working in an OSHA PSM and/or EPA RMP regulated environment
• Excellent communication, leadership, and project management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience leading Process Hazard Analyses
• Strong working knowledge of OSHA PSM and EPA RMP regulations
• 3 years of Process Safety Management experience
• Six Sigma certification or equivalent continuous improvement training
• Experience with consequence modeling
• Mechanical Integrity program experience

Base salary range for this position is $95,000 to $142,600 annually.