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Salary: USD 130,000 - 165,000 / annual
Arbor Energy is building advanced power systems that deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at scale. The company combines aerospace engineering, combustion expertise, and systems thinking to develop fuel-flexible, modular power technology.
You will be Arbor's first dedicated EHS hire, building and owning the company's safety program across multiple locations: the El Segundo shop and lab, a hot-fire test site in San Bernardino (where the team runs a direct-fired supercritical CO₂ combustion loop on natural gas and oxygen), and the first-of-a-kind power plant currently in engineering. This is a hands-on engineering role that bridges safety expertise with operational reality.
Key responsibilities include:
- Building Arbor's EHS program from the ground up: site-specific Injury and Illness Prevention Programs, hazard communication, lockout/tagout (pressurized and fluid energy systems), hot work, confined space, electrical safety, contractor control, incident investigation, and associated training.
- Formalizing test-operations safety with the engineering team: developing hazardous-operations procedures, managing exclusion zones and personnel control, conducting pre-test readiness reviews, and participating in post-test debriefs. You will be on site for first-time hazardous operations.
- Leading hazard analyses (JHA, What-If, PHA/HAZOP-style) for new hardware and operations, and managing change to keep analyses current.
- Applying engineering judgment to oxygen, natural gas, high-pressure CO₂, and cryogenic systems—including oxygen compatibility, siting and separation, relief and venting, and asphyxiation monitoring. You will review designs early to engineer controls in rather than relying on procedures.
- Leading incident and near-miss investigations focused on learning and closing corrective actions.
- Owning the technical side of environmental permitting and compliance: air permitting for combustion test equipment, hazardous-materials inventory and filings, hazardous waste management.
- Serving as the safety interface with the test-site host, contractors, and regulators, and carrying the program into plant design, construction, and commissioning.
You will report to the Head of Systems Engineering and split your time between El Segundo and the test site, with more time on site during first-time operations and later at the first-of-a-kind plant during construction and commissioning. Today, safety at Arbor is owned by the engineers who do the work; your role is to give them the structure, tools, and expertise to do it well as the team grows. You co-sign procedures and readiness reviews; the responsible engineer owns the go decision, and you ensure it's made with hazards understood and controls in place.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.
- 5+ years of EHS, process safety, or test safety experience in an environment with hazardous operations (engine or vehicle test, launch, propellants or energetics, chemical or power plant, or industrial gas).
- Hands-on experience with pressurized fluid and gas systems, oxygen, flammable gases, or cryogens, and the hazard analysis methods used on them.
- Experience building or substantially rebuilding a safety program, and writing procedures and hazard analyses that engineers and technicians actually use.
- Working knowledge of Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA requirements and NFPA codes covering compressed gases, cryogenic fluids, hot work, and electrical safety.
- Track record of getting hazardous work done safely and on schedule, and earning credibility with engineers who don't report to you.
- Available on site for hazardous operations, including early mornings, extended days, and occasional weekends during test campaigns.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- EHS or process-safety experience at a rocket engine or vehicle test site, launch site, or first-of-a-kind energy pilot plant.
- Experience as the sole or first safety professional at a site or company.
- Combustion, oxy-fuel, or high-pressure CO₂ system experience; oxygen-system cleaning and materials compatibility practice.
- Safety experience with metal additive manufacturing and powder handling (combustible and reactive metal dust, inert-gas atmospheres, respiratory exposure, housekeeping controls).
- California environmental permitting experience (air permits for combustion equipment, CUPA programs, hazardous waste); construction and commissioning safety on an industrial project.
- CSP, ASP, CIH, or PE; OSHA 30 or HAZWOPER 40.
- Background in startup environments or first-of-a-kind hardware development.
