SAFETY ENGINEER

Location: Martinez, California
Employment: Full-Time | Permanent
Salary: $92,846 – $196,756 USD, commensurate with experience, qualifications, and internal equity

THE OPPORTUNITY

IN DEMAND Recruitment & Consulting Inc. is currently assisting our client in their search for an experienced Safety Engineer for their refinery operations in Martinez, California.

Reporting to the Safety Manager, this position will serve as a key site resource for personal safety, incident investigations, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement. The Safety Engineer will maintain a strong field presence, working directly with Operations, Maintenance, contractors, and employees to identify risk, strengthen safety programs, and prevent incidents.

This is an excellent opportunity for a safety professional with refinery or chemical manufacturing experience who enjoys being in the field, solving problems, analyzing safety performance, and influencing a strong safety culture.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Serve as the primary site lead for incident and near-miss investigations, root-cause analysis, and corrective/preventative actions.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and county regulations, industry standards, and company safety requirements.
• Develop, evaluate, and continuously improve site safety programs.
• Support critical programs including permit to work, energy isolation, hot work, confined space entry, contractor safety, and turnaround safety.
• Maintain a visible field presence, providing safety coaching, observations, inspections, and audits across active operating units.
• Provide hands-on safety support during major turnarounds, maintenance outages, and high-risk field activities.
• Utilize ABS Causal Analysis and Triangle of Prevention (TOP) methodologies for incident investigations.
• Track corrective actions and present investigation findings and recommendations to site leadership.
• Develop and monitor safety KPIs and metrics, using data to identify trends and improve safety performance.
• Develop and deliver safety training for employees and contractors.
• Partner with the Industrial Hygienist to identify and mitigate workplace health risks.
• Collaborate with safety professionals across the organization to share best practices and support internal health checks.

WHAT YOU BRING

• Bachelor’s degree in Safety Engineering, Occupational Safety, or a closely related field.
• 5–10 years of relevant field safety experience within an industrial or processing facility.
• Previous safety engineering experience within petroleum refining or chemical manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of industrial safety programs, including permit-required confined spaces, hot work, energy isolation, and contractor safety.
• Experience supporting turnarounds and maintenance outages.
• Experience working directly with a unionized hourly workforce.
• Experience with an industrial fire brigade.
• Strong root-cause investigation experience; knowledge of ABS Causal Analysis and TOP preferred.
• Ability to analyze safety data, develop KPIs, identify trends, and translate findings into corrective actions.
• Strong leadership, communication, coaching, and influencing skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and safety database systems.
• Active TWIC® card or ability to obtain one.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

This role combines office-based responsibilities with significant hands-on field involvement throughout an active refinery.

Candidates must be comfortable climbing ladders and multiple flights of stairs, working at heights and outdoors in varying weather conditions, entering permit-required confined spaces, and lifting up to 50 pounds.

The position also requires availability for off-hours emergency response and on-call rotations, with modified schedules, including nights and weekends, during major turnarounds and maintenance outages.

WHY THIS ROLE IS IN DEMAND

This is an opportunity to play a highly visible role in the safety performance of a complex refinery operation. Rather than simply administering safety programs, you will be in the field working directly with employees, contractors, Operations, and Maintenance, leading investigations and identifying opportunities to prevent incidents before they occur.

For an experienced refinery or chemical safety professional who combines technical safety expertise with strong field presence and the ability to influence people at all levels, this role offers significant responsibility, visibility, and long-term career opportunity.

Qualified and interested applicants are encouraged to apply today in confidence by sending their resume as an MS Word document to info@indemand.ca.

ONLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED

Disclosure of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use

IN DEMAND Recruitment & Consulting Inc. may use artificial intelligence (AI)–enabled tools to support certain aspects of our recruitment process, including the screening and assessment of applications. These tools are used to assist with organizing, reviewing, and evaluating candidate information and do not replace human judgment or decision-making.