Process Safety Manager

Process Safety Manager

Position Title: Process Safety ManagerJob Family: EngineeringLocation: Onsite - Tampa, FL Safety is the foundation of everything we do at Paligen Technologies. We are seeking an experienced Process Safety Manager to champion operational safety and lead all process safety and hazardous materials programs across its high-hazard and energetic materials processing design and construction projects. This role ensures the safe design, scale‑up, construction, and commissioning of hazardous and energetic materials used in Paligen's technology platforms. The Process Safety Manager provides technical leadership, coordination and execution of PSM specific activities, regulatory compliance oversight, and cross‑functional collaboration to support Paligen's mission to develop innovative, high‑performance solutions while maintaining the highest standards of safety. Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and continual improvement of Paligen's process‑safety frameworks for new hazardous an energetic material facility designs, including PSM/RMP applicability assessments for greenfield and brownfield projects.
• Facilitate Process Hazard Analyses (PHA), including HAZOP, What‑If, FMEA, and LOPA for high‑hazard unit operations during design and scale‑up.
• Oversee hazardous materials management, including design‑phase chemical hazard classification, inventory threshold analysis, siting, segregation, and engineered‑controls for energetic and reactive materials complaint with regulatory requirements.
• Ensure full compliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119, EPA RMP, NFPA chemical safety standards, DOT hazardous materials requirements, DOD 4145.26 (DoD Contractors Safety Manual for Ammunition and Explosives), and relevant state and local regulations as they apply to facility design, construction, and commissioning.
• Drive the Management of Change (MOC) process for process safety items to include design modifications, process revisions, equipment selection changes, changes to operational approaches, and technology updates during project execution.
• Partner with R&D, Engineering, Operations, Risk Management, and EHS teams to identify process risks associated with high-hazard operations and emerging technology development, pilot scale demonstrations, scale up, and transition to first article production.
• Lead or support investigations, failure/root‑cause analysis, and implementation of corrective actions related to design‑phase hazards, construction‑phase events, commissioning near-misses and/or incidents, and energy‑release scenarios identified during design and demonstration testing.
• Conduct design reviews, pre‑startup safety reviews (PSSR), and construction phase safety audits focusing on hazardous and energetic material storage, blast-resistant design, ventilation, containment, and engineered safeguards.
• Develop and deliver training for employees and contractors on hazardous and energetic material hazards, construction‑phase chemical safety, commissioning‑phase process safety requirements, and emergency response expectations.
• Support emergency response planning and coordination with internal teams and stakeholder for hazardous material incidents/events and abnormal commissioning conditions.
• Develop design‑phase process safety deliverables, including hazard analyses, siting studies, consequence modeling, and engineered‑control specifications, and provide structured reporting to leadership on project risk posture

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Safety Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, or related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in process safety for high-hazard manufacturing or industrial design/build projects.
• Strong working knowledge of PSM, RMP, NFPA codes, GHS, DOD 4145.26 and hazardous materials regulations.
• Demonstrated experience conducting PHAs, risk assessments, and use of tools such as HAZOP and LOPA, and incident investigations for high‑hazard chemical or energetic material processes.
• Excellent cross‑functional communication and ability to influence in a fast‑paced engineering and project‑delivery environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional credentials such as CSP, CCPSC, CIH, CHMM, or PE.
• Experience in energetic materials, explosives manufacturing, propellants, pyrotechnics, other energetic materials, hazardous chemical synthesis, or defense related facility designs.
• Familiarity with dispersion modeling or consequence analysis tools (ex: PHAST, ALOHA) and blast/fragmentation modeling tools.
• Experience supporting scale‑up of energetic or hazardous chemical processes from laboratory to pilot and first‑article production.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

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