What does a safety engineer do?
The duties of a safety engineer depend on one's industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the implementation of the safety policies and regulations in a company by conducting regular inspections and maintenance checks, coordinating with department personnel to gather data, assessing risks, and arranging precautionary measures. A safety engineer must also address issues and concerns, responding to them in a timely and efficient manner. Furthermore, there are instances when they have to lead safety orientations and seminars to maintain a safe and productive environment for everyone.
Safety engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real safety engineer resumes:
- Manage hazardous and special waste programs and profiles including audits/inspections, vendor compliance, documentation and recordkeeping.
- Develop SWPPP and SPCC programs.
- Design new Lockout/Tag-out (LOTO) system for production floor and facilities.
- Direct subcontractors in safely deploying spill response equipment to enforce EPA / TDEQ regulations.
- Provide safety support for construction projects -Conduct audits for LOTO, environmental, IH surveys, safe work practices etc.
- Create site-specific EHS orientations for contractors.
- Develop and implement mainframe MSDS database.
- Document EHS issues and addressed issues immediately affecting daily operations.
- Provide oversight for renovation, demolition, and decontamination projects.
- Direct safety oversight efforts for all construction and demolition activities.
- Provide safety conscious solutions to manufacturing processes while maintaining company conformance to OSHA safety requirements.
- Respond to OSHA site inspections and investigations and provide assistance to senior management for violation mitigation.
- Develop and maintain training materials using PowerPoint presentations and computer-base training for new and current employees.
- Review design specs for numerous complex remodeling, demolition and construction projects addressing many utility system impacts.
- Participate in, execute, and analyze occupational injury and illness data to include ergonomics and general wellness initiatives.
Safety engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Safety Engineers are proficient in OSHA, Safety Standards, and Safety Program. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Observational skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Safety Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- OSHA, 10%
Maintain accident/incidents reports for OSHA recording while in consistent communication with Insurer and HR department for accident reduction methodologies.
- Safety Standards, 6%
Tested and evaluated prototype electrical equipment for compliance with international and domestic electrical safety standards.
- Safety Program, 5%
Rendered supervision to various site personnel safety programs and contractor guest safety program for chemical manufacturing site of 1500.
- Safety Regulations, 4%
Performed safety activities to successfully comply with contractual responsibilities as well as federal, state, and local safety regulations.
- ISO, 4%
Managed and internally audited ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
- Corrective Action, 4%
Reduced employee exposure to industrial hygiene hazards, by implementing a region-wide industrial hygiene comprehensive survey and developing corrective actions.
Common skills that a safety engineer uses to do their job include "osha," "safety standards," and "safety program." You can find details on the most important safety engineer responsibilities below.
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a safety engineer to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "health and safety engineers produce designs showing potential problems and remedies for them." Additionally, a safety engineer resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "maintain and manage the onsite safety equipment inventory and make purchases as necessary. "
Observational skills. Another essential skill to perform safety engineer duties is observational skills. Safety engineers responsibilities require that "health and safety engineers must observe and learn how operations function so that they can identify risks to people and property." Safety engineers also use observational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "monitor associate worker knowledge of safety compliance through observational behavior auditing and provide feedback to workers after observations. "
Communication skills. This is an important skill for safety engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how safety engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "health and safety engineers must be able to interpret federal and state regulations and their intent so that they can propose proper designs for specific work environments." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a safety engineer: "ensured that all safety programs (lockout/tagout, hazard communication, hearing conservation, personal protective equipment, etc. )".
Problem-solving skills. For certain safety engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a safety engineer rely on this skill, as "in designing solutions for entire organizational operations, health and safety engineers must take into account processes from more than one system at the same time." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what safety engineers do: "provided corrective action plan/mechanical recommendation for facility/pump station/equipment problem/resolution and prepared technical documentation for implementation of modifications. "
The three companies that hire the most safety engineers are:
- UniFirst12 safety engineers jobs
- BWX Technologies10 safety engineers jobs
- Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)9 safety engineers jobs
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Compare different safety engineers
Safety engineer vs. Manager, environmental and safety
An Environmental and Safety manager is responsible for overseeing environmental sustainability concerning production and manufacturing processes and mitigating nature's hazardous effects. Environmental and Safety managers evaluate the methods and resources used to produce and eliminate procedures that violate safety laws and internal regulations. They also facilitate training and programs for the employees to ensure adherence to protocols and prevent accidents during operations. An Environmental and Safety Manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in reviewing incident reports and conducting root-cause analysis to avoid reoccurrence.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between safety engineers and manager, environmental and safety. For instance, safety engineer responsibilities require skills such as "safety standards," "fmea," "safety equipment," and "fault tree analysis." Whereas a manager, environmental and safety is skilled in "environmental health," "continuous improvement," "regulatory agencies," and "oversight." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Managers, environmental and safety earn the highest salaries when working in the construction industry, with an average yearly salary of $85,529. On the other hand, safety engineers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $91,164.managers, environmental and safety tend to reach similar levels of education than safety engineers. In fact, managers, environmental and safety are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Safety engineer vs. Industrial hygienist
An Industrial Hygienist plans and conducts health programs to educate employees about cleanliness, safety, and sanitation in the workplace. They investigate adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, and other conditions that can affect employees' health, comfort, or efficiency.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, safety engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "safety regulations," "safety procedures," "safety issues," and "fmea." Meanwhile, an industrial hygienist has duties that require skills in areas such as "environmental health," "indoor air quality," "occupational health hazards," and "exposure assessments." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Industrial hygienists may earn a lower salary than safety engineers, but industrial hygienists earn the most pay in the energy industry with an average salary of $93,692. On the other hand, safety engineers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $91,164.industrial hygienists earn similar levels of education than safety engineers in general. They're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for safety engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Linsay Hale
Professional Standards Director/Interim Training Division Director, IADLEST Member - International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training
Safety engineer vs. Environmental health safety manager
An Environmental Health Safety Manager supervises the compliance of an organization with environmental legislations regarding safety in the workplace. They are responsible for applying state and federal environmental policies.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from safety engineer resumes include skills like "safety standards," "fmea," "safety equipment," and "fault tree analysis," whereas an environmental health safety manager is more likely to list skills in "environmental health," "continuous improvement," "regulatory agencies," and "workers compensation. "
Environmental health safety managers earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $90,664. Safety engineers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $91,164.Most environmental health safety managers achieve a similar degree level compared to safety engineers. For example, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Safety engineer vs. Health and safety coordinator
A health and safety coordinator is responsible for identifying the potential safety risks of an organization, recommending solutions to mitigate hazards that may affect the company's operational performance and productivity. Health and safety coordinators inspect the safety and security of the facilities, including the production tools, equipment, and machinery, and analyze findings to develop procedures that would eliminate work-related threats. They also facilitate safety training and programs for the employees, as well as emergency drills and reiteration of safety policies and protocols for strict compliance.
Types of safety engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
