Principal Product Safety Engineer

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Michigan.

📋 Description

• Create, sustain, and enhance safety procedures, work instructions, and technical safety documentation specific to Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

• Manage and uphold lockout/tagout protocols for electrical, mechanical, stored-energy, and auxiliary-energy isolation.

• Formulate safe work practices for commissioning, troubleshooting, preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, component replacement, and various field-service activities.

• Establish procedures and guidance for battery thermal incidents, thermal runaway, smoke, fire, off-gassing, abnormal temperature scenarios, and other hazards related to batteries.

• Develop and maintain Emergency Response Plans and product-specific emergency response protocols for BESS locations.

• Offer technical safety guidance during battery-system emergencies to field teams, customers, first responders, and internal stakeholders.

• Create electrical safety procedures that address high voltage, arc-flash hazards, grounding, stored energy, absence-of-voltage verification, and safe approach boundaries.

• Assist in job hazard analyses, job safety analyses, pre-task planning, and risk evaluations.

• Review field procedures and service instructions to ensure they incorporate safety requirements.

• Design and implement safety training and qualification standards for commissioning personnel, technicians, contractors, and other BESS staff.

• Provide technical safety support during commissioning, energization, troubleshooting, maintenance, and significant repairs.

• Conduct field observations and site safety evaluations.

• Investigate safety incidents, near misses, thermal events, electrical occurrences, and unexpected product behaviors.

• Support root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive measures.

• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, EHS, Service, Quality, Operations, customers, and site operators to enhance product and field safety.

• Enhance product design, serviceability, labeling, guarding, interlocks, isolation points, and technician safety.

• Integrate field lessons learned into procedures, training, documentation, and future product designs.

• Assist in the creation of warning labels, safety manuals, service manuals, commissioning documentation, and technical bulletins.

• Represent Ford Energy in standards organizations and lead certification, testing, and compliance initiatives.

• Keep safety documentation current as products, configurations, and field practices evolve.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of 12 years of experience with a Bachelor's degree or 10 years with a Master's degree in electrical safety, field safety, product safety, industrial safety, engineering, field service, commissioning, or a related technical area.

• Experience with high-voltage electrical equipment, energy storage, renewable energy, power generation, utilities, industrial equipment, or analogous infrastructure.

• Strong understanding of lockout/tagout and hazardous-energy control measures.

• In-depth knowledge of safety codes, standards, and regulations related to electrical equipment and energy storage, including UL product certifications, NFPA standards, and OSHA requirements.

• Proven experience in developing technical safety procedures, work instructions, job safety analyses (JSAs), job hazard analyses (JHAs), risk assessments, or similar documentation.

• Background in supporting technicians or field personnel engaged in complex electrical or mechanical tasks.

• Ability to interpret electrical schematics, system architecture, equipment manuals, and technical service procedures.

• Experience in investigating incidents, near misses, or equipment failures, and translating lessons learned into corrective actions.

• Strong skills in technical writing and training delivery.

• Effective communication abilities with technicians, engineers, customers, contractors, management, and emergency response teams.

• Willingness to travel to BESS sites as necessary, up to 50% of the time.

• Visa sponsorship is not available.

• Must have legal authorization to work in the United States.

• Preferred: direct experience with utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems.

• Preferred: familiarity with lithium-ion batteries and associated thermal-event hazards.

• Preferred: experience in BESS commissioning, field service, operations, or maintenance.

• Preferred: background in developing or implementing emergency-response procedures for battery or high-voltage equipment.

• Preferred: collaboration with fire departments, emergency responders, utilities, or Authorities Having Jurisdiction.

• Preferred: knowledge of electrical safety, fire protection, battery energy storage, and occupational safety standards pertinent to utility-scale BESS.

• Preferred: understanding of UL 9540, UL 9540A, UL 1973, NFPA 855, NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, and related certification, testing, or compliance activities.

• Preferred: active involvement in standards development organizations or technical committees such as UL, NFPA, or IEEE.

• Preferred: certifications in CSP, CHST, ASP, electrical safety, NFPA, OSHA, or similar professional safety training.

• Preferred: degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, safety engineering, fire protection, occupational safety, or a related field.

🏝️ Benefits

• Immediate access to medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage.

• Paid parental leave.

• Programs to support new parents as they transition back to work.

• Subsidized backup childcare services.

• Family building benefits, which include reimbursement for adoption and surrogacy expenses as well as fertility treatments.

• Discounts on vehicles for employees and their family members.

• Management lease options.

• Tuition assistance programs.

• Active and established employee resource groups.

• Paid time off for individual and team community service initiatives.

• Generous vacation allowances.

• Sick and personal leave.

• Paid holidays, including time off between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.

• Performance-based bonuses.

• A competitive compensation package.