This position is a site-level EHS leadership role responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing comprehensive Environmental, Health, and Safety programs at an AbbVie research and development facility. This role supports and promotes laboratory safety, chemical safety, biological safety, and promotion of sustainability initiatives within site operations, while maintaining compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements. The position will be responsible for leading and continuously developing a team of EHS professionals. This position will engage, communicate and collaborate closely with site leadership, research scientists, lab stakeholders, facilities, security, and cross-functional AbbVie EHS partners to create and maintain a culture of safety excellence. This position is critical to protecting employees, maintaining operational continuity, and supporting innovative research in a safe and compliant environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive site-specific EHS programs ensuring full compliance with California OSHA, local county environmental requirements, EPA, Department of Transportation safety, and other regulatory requirements across the entire R&D facility.
• Directly manage and mentor a team of EHS professionals, provide performance management, career development, and foster a high-performing and high well-being culture aligned with the AbbVie values.
• Oversee all laboratory safety programs including chemical safety, biological safety, vivarium safety, and safe handling of hazardous materials at the site.
• Maintain comprehensive regulatory compliance, serve as primary site contact for regulatory agency inspections, and manage environmental permits and regulatory reporting site wide.
• Manage injury/illness prevention program and oversee accurate OSHA recordkeeping for the site.
• Develop and maintain site-specific emergency response plans, serve as the primary EHS member on the site’s Crisis Action Team, and ensure readiness for all EHS emergencies.
• Lead continuous improvement EHS initiatives through behavioral safety methodologies, implementation of corrective/preventive actions, benchmark against industry best practices, and champion safety culture initiatives, which deliver long-term business value and advance the site's EHS program maturity.
• Lead and/or participate on cross functional teams as an EHS representative or EHS subject matter expert, such as front-end planning/engineering design reviews or capital project reviews.
• Develop, track, and report site EHS metrics which measure safety performance, conduct data analysis and trend identification, and drive continuous improvement.
• Communicate regularly with site leadership, research scientists, facilities, security, and cross-functional AbbVie partners and provide EHS updates including key performance indicators, EHS business updates, and initiative progress.