System safety engineer vs safety manager

The differences between system safety engineers and safety managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a system safety engineer and a safety manager. Additionally, a system safety engineer has an average salary of $81,790, which is higher than the $74,754 average annual salary of a safety manager.

The top three skills for a system safety engineer include safety analysis, fault tree analysis and system design. The most important skills for a safety manager are OSHA, safety program, and safety procedures.

System safety engineer vs safety manager overview

	System Safety Engineer	Safety Manager
Yearly salary	$81,790	$74,754
Hourly rate	$39.32	$35.94
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	33,353	16,155
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	2

What does a system safety engineer do?

A system safety engineer specializes in designing and developing safety protocols and policies to ensure smooth operations against unforeseen circumstances. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify and meet the company's needs, evaluating existing safety measures to find areas needing improvement, recommending and implementing solutions, and conducting regular maintenance checks to ensure a safe and productive work environment. Furthermore, as a system safety engineer, it is essential to implement and enforce the company's policies and regulations, recommending new ones as needed.

What does a safety manager do?

A safety manager is someone who ensures that a company is compliant and adhering to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines. Safety managers are responsible for planning and implementing OHS policies and programs. They regularly prepare educational seminars and educate employees on various safety-related topics. They conduct enforcement of preventative measures as well as risk assessment. Also, they prepare reports on accidents and violations and determine what caused them. Safety managers must have excellent attention to detail to find the hazards, discover ways to improve conditions, and execute safety programs.

System safety engineer vs safety manager salary

System safety engineers and safety managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	System Safety Engineer	Safety Manager
Average salary	$81,790	$74,754
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $139,000	Between $48,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	Foster City, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	NVIDIA	NVIDIA
Best paying industry	Technology	Energy

Differences between system safety engineer and safety manager education

There are a few differences between a system safety engineer and a safety manager in terms of educational background:

	System Safety Engineer	Safety Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	Northeastern University	Stanford University

System safety engineer vs safety manager demographics

Here are the differences between system safety engineers' and safety managers' demographics:

	System Safety Engineer	Safety Manager
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5%	Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 11.6% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 9.6% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between system safety engineer and safety manager duties and responsibilities

System safety engineer example responsibilities.

Manage site s OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 3rd party contractors.
Manage the material safety data sheet database and secure all MSDS's within the facility.
Lead accident claims investigation to establish root cause of report safety issues in market and assist with litigation as needed.
Manage drawing database and engineering changes.
Create test plans, evaluate, test, and write reports to relevant IEC, CSA and UL standards.
Evaluate fuel cell power systems and components for safe operation and compliance to UL, CSA, CE and NEBS standards.

Safety manager example responsibilities.

Train and lead industrial Hazmat response team.
Manage consultants to complete air permit application and SPCC plan reviews.
Coordinate and conduct JHA, safety stand downs, accident investigation and manage individual WC claims.
Meet with PPE vendors and manage PPE inventory and PPE use compliance on the production floor.
Train and manage a team of competent persons and gas-free technicians under the direction of NFPA standards and marine chemist.
Manage financial oversight and budget management including financial modeling and analysis, new products, travel, tools, and scheduling.

System safety engineer vs safety manager skills

Common system safety engineer skills

Safety Analysis, 11%
Fault Tree Analysis, 6%
System Design, 6%
Aerospace, 5%
DOD, 4%
Risk Assessments, 4%

Common safety manager skills

OSHA, 13%
Safety Program, 6%
Safety Procedures, 4%
Safety Training, 4%
Safety Policies, 4%
Safety Regulations, 3%

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System Safety Engineer
System Safety Engineer vs Safety Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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