Environmental, Health & Safety Program Manager

About TerraFirma

At TerraFirma, we’re redefining how the world moves earth for construction. Founded by former SpaceX engineers and backed by Kleiner Perkins and Bain Capital Ventures, TerraFirma is automating construction to make it faster, cheaper, and safer.

Our mission stems from our experience at SpaceX, where we learned that infrastructure is everything. The biggest barrier to launching missions to Mars wasn’t building the rocket—it was the slow, expensive, and complex process of constructing the infrastructure around it. By applying the principles of simplification, iteration, acceleration, and automation to construction, we aim to unlock a new era in how the world builds, accelerating progress across every domain and laying the groundwork for future technologies, including settlement on Mars.

About the Role

You'll build our Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) program from the ground up, establishing the policies, processes, and site standards that keep our people safe as we build and deploy autonomous heavy equipment across active construction sites. You'll provide timely, clear, and high-quality technical expertise across civil construction safety, with hands-on experience in heavy equipment operation, excavation, earthwork, and welding and fabrication. This role is hands-on by nature and thrives in a fast-paced environment where you're defining the playbook, not following one. As we scale, you'll be the person who builds the EHS function into what it becomes, directly impacting the success of every program at TerraFirma.

Responsibilities

• Own the day-to-day EHS site management of fast-paced, high-impact construction and deployment projects.
• Implement, enforce, and audit our site-level construction and contractor EHS management program, ensuring TerraFirma employees, contractors, and subcontractors understand and follow requirements.
• Develop and maintain documented safety observations from regular hazard identification inspections of facilities, machinery, safety equipment, and on-site construction to identify and mitigate hazards, ensuring compliance with OSHA, NFPA, NIOSH, and other applicable regulations, with particular attention to heavy equipment, autonomous machine operation, excavation, and welding and fabrication activities.
• Collaborate with department leadership to complete job hazard assessments, establish PPE requirements, determine safeguards, and implement health and safety policies across all construction sites and projects, with a strong emphasis on civil construction activities.
• Provide technical oversight and support for high-risk civil construction tasks including heavy equipment and autonomous machine operation, excavation, grading, and welding and fabrication.
• Monitor and evaluate employee exposure to hazards during nominal operations and emergency situations.
• Develop recommendations for remedial action when safety policies aren't met.
• Educate and train construction personnel on safety, including technical training on heavy equipment, excavation, and welding and fabrication.
• Investigate and write reports for incidents, spills, injuries, or occupational illness to determine root causes and establish corrective and preventive measures, with focused analysis on events involving heavy equipment, excavation, and welding and fabrication.
• Develop and maintain compliance with EPA, RCRA, DOT, and other applicable regulations.
• Ensure resources are allocated appropriately to safety-related priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree.
• 5+ years of experience in the design, development, and operational oversight of environmental, health, and safety disciplines within the construction industry.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Must be willing to relocate to Austin, TX if not within commuting distance.
• Must be willing to work extended hours or weekends when needed to support critical construction, deployment, or operational deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering with an emphasis in mechanical engineering or occupational health and safety.
• Experience in health and safety on commercial/industrial construction projects.
• OSHA 30 Construction certification.
• Competent Person — Excavation certification.
• Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) certification.
• Certified Safety Professional (CSP).
• Proficient in managing high-risk activities including earthwork, excavation, and trenching; grading and site development; heavy equipment and autonomous machine operation; utility installation; welding and fabrication; confined space; electrical safety; fall protection; and material handling.
• Strong knowledge and experience interpreting, applying, and documenting federal, state, and local safety and environmental regulations.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Familiarity with and implementation of machine guarding and industrial hygiene programs.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook).