Environmental Health and Safety

Periodic Labs•Menlo Park, CA

1d•$200,000 - $250,000•Onsite

About The Position

Periodic Labs is an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond. We are seeking an Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) professional to build our safety architecture. This role is integral to our mission of creating an AI that can simulate science and verify its own predictions. The EHS role will involve defining permitting strategy, designing life safety systems, conducting process hazard analyses, and training our AI to reason about risk during experimental planning and execution. Our high-throughput experimental materials science lab handles hazardous chemistries, high-pressure and high-temperature processes, air-sensitive synthesis, and toxic gas exposure risks.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in EHS, process safety, or chemical operations in labs, pilot plants, or manufacturing environments preferably in solid-state chemistry, materials science processing, or lab automation.
Strong knowledge of EH&S regulations, standards, and best practices.
Hands-on experience conducting HAZOPs or FMEAs and designing or reviewing functional safety systems.
Comfort working on-site in a fast-paced, high-complexity lab environment where experiments run 24/7 and the hazard profile evolves as new processes and equipment are introduced.
Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and training or experience.

Nice To Haves

Certification in EH&S (e.g., Certified Safety Professional, Certified Industrial Hygienist) is a plus.
Experience designing EHS systems for autonomous or semi-autonomous lab environments where processes run without continuous human supervision.
Background supporting the build-out of a new laboratory facility, including coordinating permitting and safety system design in parallel with construction.
Familiarity with AI or ML tools as applied to risk assessment, safety documentation, or experimental planning or genuine curiosity about how to apply them.
Active participation in technical committees contributing to OSHA, NFPA, or IEC standard development.
Demonstrated accomplishments recognized in your field.

Responsibilities

Own and manage all permitting processes with local, state, and federal agencies, including Fire Department/CUPA via Accela, CERS submissions for hazardous materials, AQMD/BAAQMD air permits, and TSDF coordination for hazardous waste.
Maintain and update chemical inventory systems, SDS library, and hazard labeling in compliance with OSHA, CalEPA, and permitted MAQ thresholds.
Manage the expansion of our chemical inventory as new thin-film processes introduce HF-based wet chemistry, fluoride compounds, and specialty gases.
Lead Hazard Communication (HazCom) and SDS training programs for lab staff, including night shift and autonomous overnight operation protocols.
Coordinate EHS inspections and maintain required documentation and postings across both the existing powder lab and thin-film facility.
Design and review life safety systems, including fire suppression, e-stop networks, gas detection (including toxic gas alarms for HF, H2Se, and other process chemistries), interlocks, alarm interfaces, and emissions/waste abatement systems.
Conduct and document HAZOPs, PHA/FMEA, and risk assessments for new processes and lab systems.
Establish operational readiness and laboratory reliability systems for autonomous operations, including pre-startup safety reviews (PSSR), commissioning validation, alarm rationalization, startup/shutdown procedures, and critical equipment inspection programs.
Partner with automation and controls teams to implement machine safeguarding, fail-safes, interlocks, robotics safety controls, functional safety validation, safety PLC reviews, and automated motion hazard assessments.
Collaborate with ML/AI engineers on training an LLM to reason through process hazards, risk assessments, and safety constraints during experimental planning and autonomous execution.
Lead the site EH&S team through a hands-on approach to problem solving and operational support while promoting a strong safety and environmental culture.
Ensure compliance with applicable EH&S regulations and standards, develop and improve programs aligned with company goals, and actively partner with lab and operations teams on day-to-day safety challenges.
Own the digital EHS infrastructure, integrating inspections, training records, incident reporting, compliance tracking, KPI dashboards, action-item tracking, and audit workflows into a unified operational safety platform.