Director of Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS)

Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc.•Graham, KY

About The Position

The Director of Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) leads EHS across Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense (EBAD), supporting the company’s growth and addressing risks associated with complex aerospace and defense manufacturing. The role combines strategic leadership with a strong presence on manufacturing floors and is responsible for EHS at sites in Simsbury, Connecticut; Graham, Kentucky; and Moorpark, California. The Director reports to the Vice President of Operations. The role develops EBAD’s EHS strategy, strengthens the capabilities of EHS professionals across sites, establishes consistent policies and standards, and advises senior leaders on risks, resources, and investments. It leads OSHA, EPA, and other applicable federal, state, and local compliance, while partnering with technical and security leaders on relevant DoD and DHS requirements. The Director works with Operations, Engineering, Facilities, and technical experts to prevent injuries and high-consequence events through risk assessments, process hazard analyses, engineering controls, and verified operating practices. The role integrates EHS into projects and operational changes, oversees industrial hygiene, occupational health, contractor safety, and emergency preparedness, and embeds continuous improvement through the Ensign-Bickford Operating System (EBOS). It also develops a culture of employee ownership, hazard reporting, and continuous learning.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
15 or more years of progressive manufacturing EHS experience, including leadership of EHS professionals across multiple sites or complex, high-hazard operations.
Extensive knowledge of OSHA General Industry and applicable EHS regulations, with experience leading compliance programs, inspections, audits, and injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting.
Strong EPA and environmental compliance knowledge, including hazardous waste, air permitting, stormwater, wastewater, spill prevention, documentation, and reporting.
Technical depth in manufacturing safety, industrial hygiene, risk assessment, PHAs, and management of change, including the ability to evaluate controls and guide site teams.
Success leading incident investigations, root-cause analysis, lean daily management, and verified corrective actions that prevent recurrence.
Ability to develop EHS talent, translate requirements into practical standards, and influence leaders and employees through change and resistance.
Experience building EHS training, safety committees, and observation programs that sustain employee engagement and ownership in lean manufacturing.
Ability to travel regularly among EBAD sites.

Nice To Haves

Aerospace and defense, energetics, explosives, or other high-hazard manufacturing experience, including applicable DoD and DHS requirements.
CSP, CIH, or related credentials.
OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer authorization.
Lean operating system experience.

Responsibilities

Develop EBAD’s EHS strategy to support growth and manage complex aerospace and defense manufacturing risks.
Lead and develop EHS professionals across sites, building technical expertise, leadership capability, and the talent pipeline.
Establish consistent EHS policies and standards, clear ownership, leading and lagging indicators, and routine effectiveness reviews.
Advise senior leaders on emerging risks, resources, and investments in safe and reliable operations.
Lead OSHA, EPA, and applicable federal, state, and local EHS compliance, partnering with technical and security leaders on relevant DoD and DHS requirements.
Set standards and verify execution for LOTO, machine guarding, electrical safety, hazard communication, hot work, confined spaces, hearing conservation, and respiratory protection.
Ensure hazard-based PPE and safety equipment are selected, available, used, maintained, and inspected.
Direct regulatory readiness, inspections, and audits; manage agency relationships and ensure findings are closed effectively and on time.
Ensure accurate injury and illness records, required reporting, and timely adoption of regulatory changes.
Oversee air permitting, stormwater, wastewater, spill prevention, and hazardous-waste storage, labeling, containment, disposal, inspections, documentation, and reporting.
Partner with Operations, Engineering, Facilities, and technical experts to control energetic material, chemical, equipment, and process hazards.
Prevent serious injuries and high-consequence events through risk assessments, PHAs, engineering controls, and verified operating practices.
Integrate EHS into capital projects, equipment selection, process development, facility changes, and production readiness; ensure management-of-change reviews and controls precede implementation.
Oversee industrial hygiene, occupational health, contractor safety, and site-specific emergency plans, response capabilities, training, and drills.
Embed safety into daily management, gemba walks, visual management, leader standard work, and kaizen through EBOS.
Lead root-cause analysis of incidents, near misses, environmental events, and recurring compliance gaps; coach teams to identify process and organizational causes.
Assign countermeasure owners and deadlines, verify effectiveness through observation and data, and incorporate cross-site lessons into standards, training, and processes.
Engage employees and leaders in hazard identification, safety observations, and solutions; foster speaking up, stopping unsafe work, and resolving concerns.
Develop leaders’ ability to recognize risk, reinforce standards, and fulfill commitments.
Set role-based training and qualification expectations, verify their application, and strengthen safety committees and observation programs.