Safety Specialist

Vulcan Elements•Benson, NC

14d•Onsite

About The Position

Vulcan Elements is seeking a Safety Specialist to assist with developing and implementing the safety program at its R&D facility in Durham, North Carolina. The role supports cross-functional efforts to identify and control hazards, reduce operational risk, promote a strong safety culture, and ensure compliance with applicable health and safety regulations and company standards. The position is full-time and day shift. The Safety Specialist will support field safety leadership and core occupational health and safety programs, maintain safety checks and documentation, monitor safety performance indicators, and provide technical guidance to engineering and operations teams. The role also partners with R&D and process engineering during scale-up and supports environmental compliance activities as needed. Responsibilities and tasks are not exhaustive and may change with business needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or equivalent education and/or experience.
At least 4 years of job-specific experience.
Working knowledge of OSHA standards, job hazard analyses (JHAs), and incident investigation methodology.
Comfort operating with real authority and autonomy.
Strong communication skills and ability to build trust and credibility.
Completed OSHA 30-hour training.
Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.
Must be able to climb ladders and scaffolds, lift up to 35 pounds, walk, balance, and stoop.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual.
First aid/CPR/AED certified.

Responsibilities

Assist in developing and implementing the site safety program in accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.
Drive occupational health and safety programs, including incident reporting and investigation, control of hazardous energy, PPE, hot work, and fire prevention.
Own the weekly tailgate program, establish relevant content and cadence, and build supervisors’ ability to run it independently.
Build and run a safety observation and suggestion program that turns employee input into trend data for leadership.
Lead floor self-assessments and safety checks, complete associated paperwork, evaluate risks and trends, address gaps, and support best-in-class safety performance.
Provide technical guidance to engineering and operations teams on safety requirements, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation.
Perform monthly equipment checks, including emergency exit signs, fire extinguishers, eyewash stations, and ladders.
Monitor safety equipment inventories and ensure supplies such as PPE are available to employees.
Provide supplemental environmental compliance support as required by the Environmental department, including hazardous waste audits and shipping.
Own and use safety KPIs, including tailgate completion, observation closure, self-assessment trends, and corrective-action aging, to direct attention and improvements.
Monitor how new processes and equipment affect risk and keep documentation audit-ready.
Facilitate root cause analysis for safety incidents and higher-potential near-misses, and contribute the same rigor to analyses led by others.
Partner with R&D and process engineering during scale-up to integrate safety before new work reaches the floor.
Build trust with supervisors and area owners so they take ownership of tailgates, self-assessments, and corrective actions.