Position OverviewWe are seeking an experienced Director, Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) to own and elevate the EH&S function across FuelCell Energy's multi-facility operations. Reporting to the Vice President, Chief of Staff Operations, this leader sets the enterprise EH&S vision, strategy, and management systems; ensures regulatory compliance; and drives a proactive, employee-driven safety culture during a period of major manufacturing scale-up.
This is both a strategic and hands-on leadership role. The Director will build, lead, and develop a multi-disciplinary EH&S team - including managers, engineers, and site safety representatives - while partnering closely with Operations, Manufacturing, Field Service, Engineering, Facilities, Quality, Human Resources, Finance, and senior leadership to embed EH&S into daily operations, capital projects, and every stage of the company's production ramp. The role carries executive- and Board-level visibility and accountability for EH&S performance across the enterprise.
Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesLeadership & Strategy- Set and own the enterprise EH&S vision, multi-year strategy, and annual objectives; establish standards, policies, and continuous-improvement expectations across all FCE sites and field operations.
- Build, lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing EH&S team; provide coaching and career development to managers, engineers, and site safety representatives.
- Drive a management-supported, employee-driven safety culture that proactively eliminates hazards through achievement of daily, monthly, and annual safety goals.
- Serve as the senior EH&S advisor to executive leadership; prepare and deliver Board-level slides, communications, and technical reports.
- Define, track, and achieve sustained improvement to top-quartile performance in EH&S KPIs - including recordable incidents, near misses, leading indicators, risk scores, and audit findings.
- Own the EH&S budget, resources, systems, and vendor relationships to support effective program execution and scale.
Regulatory Compliance- Ensure compliance with all federal, state, local, and corporate environmental and safety regulations (e.g., OSHA, EPA, DOT, State Environmental Agencies - i.e. CT, NY, CA), and with corporate EH&S policies and procedures.
- Own OSHA compliance programs, including but not limited to OSHA 300 recordkeeping, hazard communication, lockout/tagout, confined space, machine guarding, respiratory protection, electrical safety, fall protection, hot work, and personal protective equipment.
- Direct environmental compliance programs, including air permitting (Clean Air Act), stormwater (SWPPP), spill prevention (SPCC), hazardous waste generation and disposal (RCRA), chemical management, and emergency planning and community right-to-know (EPCRA).
- Maintain required regulatory and agency permits and paperwork in a timely manner, and own the corporate EH&S compliance calendar.
- Serve as the primary liaison with regulatory agencies, external auditors, consultants, and insurance representatives; lead regulatory inspections and agency interactions.
- Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of formal EH&S management systems, including ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 where pursued.
Manufacturing Scale-Up & Capital Projects- Own the EH&S aspects of the Torrington capacity expansion and manufacturing scale-up - embedding safety and environmental requirements into new production lines, equipment installation, and facility build-out.
- Lead management-of-change (MOC) and front-end process and design reviews - assessing new processes, equipment, chemicals, and facility layouts for safety, ergonomic, and environmental considerations before commissioning.
- Establish and lead contractor and construction safety management programs for capital projects, including pre-qualification, orientation, permitting, and on-site oversight.
- Scale EH&S staffing, training, and infrastructure to keep pace with headcount growth, new shifts, and expanded production throughput.
- Anticipate emerging regulatory and permitting requirements associated with increased production volumes and communicate business impacts to leadership.
Operations & Risk Management- Oversee EH&S compliance audits, inspections, risk assessments, job hazard analyses, and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) tracking to closure.
- Lead accident/incident investigations and re-enactments to identify root causes; develop, recommend, and implement corrective actions and share lessons learned.
- Lead and sustain EH&S continuous improvement / kaizen activity across the organization.
- Develop and maintain emergency preparedness, crisis-response, evacuation, fire-prevention, and business-continuity safety plans; manage Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and all fire and emergency-response equipment.
- Partner with HR and Finance to administer the workers' compensation program and facilitate employees' safe return to work.
- Ensure timely communication of critical metrics, incident reporting, incident-reduction activities, training, and employee involvement.
Field Service & Multi-Site Operations- Extend EH&S programs, standards, and oversight to field service, installation, commissioning, maintenance, and customer-site work.
- Assess and mitigate EH&S risks related to equipment, installations, and high-risk field activities - including electrical safety, crane and rigging operations, and work at customer and project sites.
- Develop, deliver, and sustain safety orientation and required training for employees, supervisors, managers, contractors, and field personnel to comply with OSHA, corporate, and site protocols.
General- Stay current on regulatory changes and industry best practices, and translate them into practical, business-aware guidance for leadership.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
QualificationsEducation & Experience- Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health & Safety, Occupational Health & Safety, Environmental Science, Engineering, Industrial Hygiene, or a related field is required; a Master's degree is preferred.
- Minimum of eight to ten (8 - 10) years of progressive EH&S experience in a manufacturing, industrial, energy, or technical-operations environment, including at least three (3) years of EH&S leadership or people-management responsibility.
- Demonstrated experience managing EH&S programs across multiple sites, departments, or geographically dispersed teams.
- Demonstrated experience developing EH&S management systems, risk assessments, and process-control tools, and leading regulatory inspections, compliance audits, and corrective-action programs.
- Experience supporting capital projects, plant expansions, or manufacturing scale-up (including contractor safety and management-of-change) is strongly preferred.
- Experience with ISO 14001 / ISO 45001 or other formal EH&S accreditations is strongly desired.
Certifications- Certified Safety Professional (CSP) - required or strongly preferred.
- Associate Safety Professional (ASP), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), or Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) are desirable.
- OSHA 30-Hour General Industry certification.
Critical Competencies & Skills- Deep knowledge of EH&S regulatory requirements at the federal and state level (e.g., OSHA, EPA, State Environmental Agencies - i.e. CT, CA, NY), in addition to corporate environmental and safety policies and procedures.
- Executive presence and leadership skills to guide business leaders and employees with technical expertise, EH&S knowledge, and hands-on implementation of related initiatives.
- Strong interpersonal skills that foster teamwork and collaboration, and the ability to build high-quality relationships that influence, gain support, and achieve results - with coworkers, senior leadership, and external agencies.
- Program- and project-management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously with attention to detail and accuracy.
- Professional oral, written, and presentation skills - communicating clearly, persuasively, and credibly to all levels of the organization, including executive leadership and the Board.
- Problem-solving, critical-thinking, and analytical skills, including the ability to identify underlying issues, trends, and cause-and-effect relationships and to make data-driven decisions.
- Results-oriented, with a strong sense of urgency and the discipline to meet deadlines under time pressure.
- Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
Core Leadership Competencies- Strategic leadership & operational execution: sets vision and delivers results in a fast-scaling environment.
- Regulatory compliance expertise: authoritative command of EH&S law and standards.
- Risk assessment & hazard mitigation: proactively identifies and reduces risk.
- Incident investigation & root-cause analysis: drives learning and prevention.
- Safety culture & employee engagement: builds an employee-driven safety culture.
- Cross-functional collaboration & influence: aligns partners across the enterprise.
- Change management & communication: leads through growth and change.
- Continuous improvement: advances EH&S maturity and performance over time.
Working Conditions & Physical Requirements- Must be able to work throughout the 170,000-square-foot Torrington manufacturing facility - including the production floor, mechanical rooms, and outdoor grounds; the Danbury location, and outdoor fuel cell power plant installations.
- Role requires work in office, manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, field, and customer-site environments, including walking the manufacturing floor, accessing field work areas, and participating in inspections and incident reviews.
- Travel as needed (estimated 15-25%), including to other FCE locations and job sites; international travel may be required as the company grows.
- Must be able and willing to work outside of core business hours in response to business needs.
- Willing and able to wear required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including safety glasses, safety shoes, hard hats, hearing protection, gloves, and other designated PPE.
- Must be able to effectively read, write, and speak English to ensure team communication and to follow written procedures.
- Must have, or be able to obtain, a valid driver's license and be willing to travel locally for company business.
We offer a competitive compensation package as well as comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, company-paid life/disability insurance, 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, and generous paid leave.
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