VP, Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE)

Job description

Job Purpose VulcanForms is hiring a VP, Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE) to lead, shape, and elevate our enterprise-wide Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental programs. Yo u will be the driving force behind a world-class safety and sustainability culture across our advanced digital manufacturing footprint. You will serve as an essential strategic partner to our engineering and production teams, ensuring our state-of-the-art facilities - utilizing multi-kilowatt lasers, advanced robotics, and precision post-processing - operate at the highest levels of physical safety, environmental stewardship, and regulatory health. We are at an inflection point of growth; this role is critical as we build out new facilities and hire rapidly across our teams, ensuring safety remains a critical top priority. Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Safety Governance Design, launch, and champion a modern, enterprise-wide safety management operating framework (MOS) that empowers team members and drives continuous improvement. Develop, analyze, and drive health and safety metrics, establishing impactful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that highlight proactive behaviors, near-miss resolutions, and training excellence. Own the Enterprise Near Miss Program: Architect, incentivize, and govern VulcanForms’ corporate Near Miss Program, leveraging shop-floor data to eliminate hazards proactively before they cause injury. Incident Lifecycle & Liability Management: Oversee the corporate framework for incident investigations, root-cause closure, and the strategic management of Worker’s Compensation claims, partnering with HR and legal to minimize enterprise liability and optimize return-to-work protocols. Lead our executive risk review cadence, aligning forward-looking production capacity scaling with strategic safety and compliance asset allocation. Advanced Manufacturing Safety & Systems Environmental & Dust Controls: Oversee best-in-class safety systems for advanced material handling (including Titanium and Inconel), implementing proactive containment, automated housekeeping, and absolute compliance with NFPA combustible dust standards. Laser & Automation Safety Excellence: Guide and support our specialized Laser Safety initiatives, ensuring our proprietary, multi-kilowatt automated laser systems and machine-guarding safety interlocks represent the gold standard of industry compliance (ANSI Z136). Standardize Material Handling & PIV Frameworks: Manage the regulatory and licensing framework for all Powered Industrial Vehicles (PIVs)—including fork trucks, scissor lifts, and boom lifts—ensuring site-level trainers are qualified and multi-site certification records are meticulously maintained. Continuous Improvement of Safety SOPs: Drive a continuous improvement loop for safety and the work environment, standardizing safety-critical work instructions and operational SOPs across all factories. Engineering Collaboration: Partner collaterally with Engineering to speak their language and seamlessly bridge deep technical process engineering with operational shop-floor execution. Green Manufacturing & Environmental Sustainability Renewables & Resource Circularity: Champion enterprise-wide sustainability efforts, spearheading the strategic implementation of renewable energy integration, rigorous waste minimization plans, and aggressive corporate waste targets. Material & Substance Mapping: Own comprehensive material mapping initiatives across the manufacturing lifecycle. Act as the primary gatekeeper for customer restricted substance lists, collaborating directly with process owners to identify, track, and manage any restricted chemicals or substances used in production. Automated Environmental Monitoring: Revolutionize our compliance data collection by designing and owning the build-out of automated environmental monitoring and waste tracking systems, eliminating antiquated manual reporting in favor of scalable, real-time digital dashboards. Lifecycle Management: Lead the overarching management, optimization, and absolute compliance of multi-site industrial environmental and air quality permits. Physical Security Form and direct a Security team to safeguard our cutting-edge manufacturing facilities, multi-million dollar assets, and proprietary intellectual property (IP). Implement advanced, user-friendly access controls, badging grids, and perimeter protocols optimized for ITAR boundaries and defense-contract manufacturing requirements. Federal Compliance & FFL Oversight Provide strategic guidance to ensure flawless tracking, precise serialization workflows, and audit-readiness across all regulated lines. Maintain highly collaborative, cross-functional processes that ensure seamless compliance with ATF timelines and documentation requirements. Foster strong, professional relationships with regulatory agencies, keeping our teams prepared, confident, and audit-ready at all times. Team Leadership & Growth Attract, hire, and mentor top talent to build a cohesive, collaborative, and dedicated team supporting our growth. Qualifications 8+ years of leadership experience within high-technology manufacturing, aerospace, defense, automotive, or similar advanced industrial environments Proven track record of successfully managing and aligning safety, environmental, and compliance programs across a multi-facility or growing footprint. Strong working familiarity with industrial safety standards, OSHA frameworks, and EPA environmental guidelines. Experience with advanced manufacturing workflows, including a strong technical comfort level discussing powder safety, machine safety, and highly automated process safety. Experience or strong exposure to specialized industrial standards, such as NFPA combustible dust controls, ANSI laser safety protocols, or automated data-driven environmental reporting systems. Familiarity with the BlueSky Restricted Substance List (RSL), manufacturing material mapping, or sustainability targets (waste minimization, renewables) is highly advantageous. Knowledge of defense-related physical security frameworks, ITAR boundaries, or ATF manufacturing compliance is a major plus. Strong communication & approachability with everyone from shop-floor technicians and advanced engineering teams to executive leadership. A forward-thinking strategist who utilizes modern root-cause analysis tools to turn operational and technical challenges into competitive advantages. Ability to articulate complex compliance and sustainability concepts into clear and actionable goals that motivate teams toward operational excellence. Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline preferred. An advanced degree, MBA, or specialized professional certifications (e.g., CSP, CHMM) are highly valued. VulcanForms offers a competitive salary and equity package. Actual compensation is based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience. In addition, VulcanForms provides comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; generous paid time off; and a 401(k) plan with company match. The annual base salary range for this position is $230,000 to $287,800. About Us Founded in 2015 to develop the world’s first industrially scalable laser metal additive manufacturing solution, VulcanForms is reshaping how the world manufactures critical products. We build and operate advanced digital infrastructure that enables innovation, accelerates growth, and supports sustainability across aerospace, defense, medical, and other essential industries. Through our vertically integrated capabilities, including scalable additive manufacturing and precision machining, we deliver true end-to-end production at scale by combining cutting-edge technology with a foundation of proven industrial craftsmanship. Our team brings deep expertise in manufacturing, materials science, software, automation, and operations, united by a shared commitment to quality, curiosity, and accountability. We foster an inclusive culture where people take ownership, solve meaningful problems, and continuously learn, because we believe diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes.