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What is a senior safety engineer and how to become one
Did you know that the lives of a company's employees are in the hands of a senior safety engineer? When it comes to occupational safety and health regulations, a senior safety engineer has them covered. A senior safety engineer can work in any industry but is highly in demand in industries such as public works, hospitals, oil and gas, aerospace, and transportation. They direct the development of a project safety plan, check potential hazards in the work environment, conduct safety training, and ensure compliance with federal and state safety regulations.
To qualify for the job, a senior safety engineer is required to have at least a Bachelor's degree in construction engineering or related fields and plenty of field experience in infrastructure, health, and safety, or major accident risk industry. Their essential skills include communication, technical writing, leadership, and attention to detail. Because the role of a senior safety engineer is critical to the operations of a company, they earn an average of $49.7 per hour, with a lot of opportunities for promotion.
Avg. Salary $82,142
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 4%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%
Asian 9.75%
Black or African American 4.74%
Hispanic or Latino 11.63%
Unknown 3.95%
White 69.76%
Genderfemale 14.95%
male 85.05%
Age - 41American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 41Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Senior safety engineer career paths
Key steps to become a senior safety engineer
Explore senior safety engineer education requirements
Start to develop specific senior safety engineer skills
Skills Percentages OSHA 7.96% Safety Standards 6.80% ISO 6.04% Safety Analysis 5.47% Safety Engineering 4.81% Complete relevant senior safety engineer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior safety engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior safety engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior safety engineer resumes.Research senior safety engineer duties and responsibilities
- Manage hazardous and special waste programs and profiles including audits/inspections, vendor compliance, documentation and recordkeeping.
- Resolve compliance questions (from both OSHA and company requirements) and comment on propose OSHA regulations.
- Provide training at all levels of the operation including OSHA compliance, behavior-base safety, and ergonomics.
- Review contractors' and subcontractors' asbestos and leadrelate submittals for compliance with contract documents and applicable laws/ regulations.
Get senior safety engineer experience
Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior safety engineer. The most common roles before becoming a senior safety engineer include safety engineer, safety manager team lead and safety supervisor.Prepare your senior safety engineer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior safety engineer resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior safety engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable senior safety engineer resume templates
Build a professional senior safety engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior safety engineer resume.
Apply for senior safety engineer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a senior safety engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first senior safety engineer job
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Average senior safety engineer salary
The average senior safety engineer salary in the United States is $82,142 per year or $39 per hour. Senior safety engineer salaries range between $57,000 and $116,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do senior safety engineers rate their job?
Senior safety engineer reviews
You have the satisfaction of keeping the employees safe and you know that higher management gives you support. If you go through an OSHA inspection you are confident that you've done your due diligence.
It takes time to implement and see the safety culture grow.
I've got limited official background in OSH and find it difficult to navigate the corporate environment to find answers at times. Knowing who to include in what meetings and information sharing sessions has been somewhat of a challenge as well.
All about safety and health and taking care of the company.
They don't report any information
Updated January 8, 2025
