USC Viterbi School of Engineering seeks to recruit a Safety Specialist to join its outstanding team in the Viterbi Business Affairs – Facilities unit. The Safety Specialist provides broad-based facility safety expertise to Viterbi School leadership and additionally serves as a key resource to faculty to ensure safe and complaint laboratory operations across the Viterbi School’s 18 buildings. This role provides expert support across a wide of areas, including chemical, biological, electrical, optical, mechanical, civil, environmental, radiation, fire/life safety, and laboratory safe practices.

This position reports directly to the Sr. Director, Facilities Management and Operations. The Safety Specialist is a member of Viterbi School’s emergency response and business continuity team, and is expected to work on an on-call basis as needed to respond to emergencies and other safety issues.

Primary Responsibilities Include:

• Works closely with University Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S), Viterbi faculty Principal Investigators (PIs) and Viterbi research staff to develop, implement, and monitor safety programs for Viterbi research laboratories and other facilities to ensure compliance with University and regulatory requirements. In coordination with others, establishes, documents, and communicates standards, guidelines, and procedures, including creating educational and training materials as needed.

• In coordination with PIs, ensures research lab faculty, staff, and students are trained in safety protocols associated with their laboratories. Works with PIs to ensure standard operating procedures are established and communicated. Ensures PIs update EH&S on-line databases, chemical inventories, etc., in a timely manner per university policies and procedures.

• Conducts routine safety inspections of laboratories and other facilities to ensure lab occupant attire/activities and lab equipment/infrastructure are following University EH&S standards and regulations. Documents results and recommends corrective action as needed. Works with PIs, lab staff, and other personnel to correct deficiencies, and follows-up until deficiencies are corrected.

• Maintains current knowledge of existing safety and health regulations that pertain to Viterbi School laboratories and other facilities. Communicates information as needed.

• Works with the academic department instructional laboratory managers and coordinators as needed to ensure all instructional laboratories are operated in a safe manner.

• Trains laboratory staff in the proper dispensing of liquid nitrogen from the Seaver Science Center liquid nitrogen tank. Supervises liquid nitrogen dispensing. Oversees monitoring of school’s liquid nitrogen usage and vendor payments.

• Acts as the point of contact to laboratory facilities regarding shared infrastructure, including but not limited to equipment such as the DI water systems, ice machines, autoclaves, scrubbers, and toxic gas monitoring systems, and responsible for working with researchers in maintaining these systems in excellent condition.

• Works with Viterbi School student teams to ensure their respective spaces are operated in a safe manner and comply with University EH&S standards and procedures.

• Assists with development and coordination of emergency response procedures for experimental laboratories.

• Acts as the Viterbi School’s Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) Program Representative and works with USC’s Office of Risk Management and Office of Fire/Safety and Emergency Planning in maintaining AED units and that established protocols are followed, including training requirements and post incident support.

• Responds to emergency calls or events and assist as needed.

Job duties may be added or modified as needed.

The Safety Specialist is expected to demonstrate impeccable ethics and collegiality, and to promote an environment that fosters inclusive relationships and upholds principles of the USC Code of Ethics.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate degree in chemistry/chemical engineering, physics/electrical engineering physics, biology or materials sciences, or experimental science/engineering strongly preferred.

• Certified Safety Professional certification from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (http://www.bcsp.org/csp) strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated experience with design and research using sophisticated experimental equipment and facilities. Candidates should be able to demonstrate familiarity and experience with handling chemicals and gases.

• Analytical, energetic, self-starter with demonstrated ability to work well both in collaborative, cross-functional teams, and independently with excellent personal initiative.

• Excellent, demonstrable written and oral communication skills.

• Demonstrated initiative in project management. Able to manage people, time, and resources to accomplish goals.

• Able to effectively manage multiple priorities and adapt to constantly changing priorities.

• Strong sense of urgency and can-do attitude.

Additional Information:

This is an onsite position at USC’s University Park Campus located in Los Angeles, California. This position is not eligible for remote work

The annual base salary range for this position is $83,550.08 - $99,881.68. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope of responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to the mission of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Viterbi staff are expected to facilitate a culture of support and service, to model civility and respect across all facets of their work, and to maintain the highest ethical standards and to maintain strict confidentiality across all facets of their work. We seek a candidate that will promote an environment that fosters inclusive relationships and creates unbiased opportunities for contributions through ideas, words, and actions that uphold principles of the USC Code of Ethics.

Required Applicant Documents:

A resume/CV and a cover letter are required. Please feel free to upload your application materials in a single document.

USC and the Viterbi School:

The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is in the heart of downtown L.A. and is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the “Trojan Family,” which is comprised of the faculty, students, and staff that make the university what it is.

Founded in 1905, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is named for Andrew Viterbi who developed an algorithm to connect the world’s citizens. Similarly, the school, located in Los Angeles, a global center for arts, technology and international business in the heart of the Pacific Rim, is a hub for entrepreneurship that connects students from 64 countries.

USC Viterbi is a pioneer in restoring sight to the blind; restoring memory to sufferers of Alzheimer’s; and socially assistive robots to aid seniors with stroke or children with autism. It is the home of the first operational quantum computing center in academia. Our alumni include Neil Armstrong, first human on the moon; A.C. Mike Markkula, co-founder of Apple; and Wanda Austin, former CEO of the Aerospace Corporation.

The USC Viterbi School is consistently ranked among the top graduate programs (U.S. News and World Report). Under the leadership of Dean Yannis C. Yortsos, the school helped re-imagine the 21st century engineer, pioneering the Grand Challenge Scholars Program in schools across the globe. Our mission is to serve California, the nation and the world. At USC Viterbi, we call this the enabling power of Engineering+.