Senior EHS Manager

Saronic Technologies•Austin, TX

20d

About The Position

The Senior EHS Manager is a hands-on people leader responsible for building, scaling, and implementing Environmental, Health & Safety programs across Saronic shipyards and maritime operations. In a startup and high-growth environment, the role balances day-to-day execution with program development, team leadership, and change management. The manager partners with operations, engineering, and leadership to establish scalable EHS systems that support growth, regulatory compliance, risk reduction, and a culture of learning and operational excellence. The position leads and develops the EHS team, builds scalable programs and management systems, and supports shipyard, vessel maintenance, repair, testing, and on-water operations. It oversees regulatory compliance, environmental programs, high-risk work practices, incident investigations, audits, and emergency preparedness. The role also integrates safety into facility, equipment, and vessel design and adapts programs as operations and facilities evolve.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in occupational health and safety, environmental science, engineering, public health, or a related field.
At least 7 years of experience in EHS, preferably in boat building, aerospace, manufacturing, or industrial environments.
Experience leading, coaching, and developing team members to achieve individual and organizational goals.
Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local EHS regulations, including OSHA, EPA/TCEQ, DOT, and USCG requirements, and marine safety practices applicable to small vessels.
Hands-on experience supporting complex manufacturing operations, such as welding, composites, machining, electrical systems, testing, and integration.
Experience in incident investigation, root cause analysis, and corrective action management.
Strong communication skills and the ability to influence employees from frontline teams through executive leadership.
Ability to operate with limited structure and balance urgency, risk, and business objectives.

Nice To Haves

Professional certification such as ASP, CSP, CIH, or CHMM.
At least 7 years working with industrial hygiene, exposure assessments, indoor air quality, or ventilation.
Experience building, scaling, or formalizing EHS programs in startup, scale-up, or rapidly growing manufacturing organizations.
Experience hiring, onboarding, coaching, and developing EHS teams in evolving environments.
Experience supporting marine or maritime operations, including vessel launch and recovery, sea trials, dockside work, or field operations involving vessels under 60 feet.
Experience integrating EHS into engineering and operational decision-making, including safety-by-design and design-for-manufacturability considerations.
Experience managing environmental compliance programs such as hazardous waste, stormwater, chemical management, and spill prevention (SPCC).
Familiarity with federal, state, and local regulatory inspections, audits, and permitting.
Experience driving safety culture initiatives during organizational change.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop the EHS team; hire, onboard, train, coach, and set priorities and performance expectations for team members.
Manage team performance, development plans, engagement, retention, and succession planning.
Drive a proactive, HOP-based EHS culture and support organizational change as processes, teams, facilities, and operations evolve.
Lead EHS initiatives including regulatory reports, inspections, information requests, internal audits, emergency drills, management system improvements, and program assessments.
Build and implement scalable EHS programs, policies, procedures, and foundational management systems for shipyards and vessel-testing environments.
Adapt EHS programs to new yards, test sites, vessels, and operational profiles while balancing execution speed, risk management, and regulatory requirements.
Oversee EHS programs for shipyard activities including fabrication, welding, blasting, coating, electrical work, rigging, and heavy equipment operations.
Ensure safe practices for dry dock, pier-side, and yard-based work, including hot work, confined spaces, work at heights, lifting operations, and contractor safety.
Establish and maintain environmental compliance programs for hazardous waste, stormwater, air emissions, chemical management, and spill prevention.
Partner with engineering and operations to incorporate safety into yard layout, work planning, equipment selection, facilities, and vessel design.
Ensure compliance with OSHA and applicable marine safety standards for vessels under 60 feet, including USCG and ISM requirements as applicable.
Develop and enforce EHS procedures for vessel commissioning, dock trials, sea trials, and operational testing.
Ensure safe vessel launch, recovery, mooring, and towing operations, and support safe test plans involving propulsion, electrical systems, autonomy, and mission equipment.
Coordinate emergency response readiness for on-water testing activities.
Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, USCG, ISM, and state and local regulations.
Lead incident investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective action implementation.
Prepare for and support regulatory inspections and audits; identify emerging risks associated with growth and operational change.
Monitor emerging EHS regulations, trends, and best practices and communicate relevant updates to stakeholders.
Develop individual and team objectives and key results and track progress.
Establish and track leading and lagging EHS metrics to support data-driven decision-making.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical insurance; the company pays 100% of employee premiums and 80% of dependent premiums.
Dental and vision coverage; the company pays 100% of the basic-plan employee premium and 80% of dependent premiums.
Generous paid time off and holidays.
Paid maternity and paternity leave.
Competitive salary with opportunities for performance-based bonuses.
401(k) plan with company match.
Stock options.
Basic life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage.
Discounted pet insurance, including a 24/7 telehealth helpline.
Free lunch and unlimited free drinks and snacks in the office.