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What does a system safety engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

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.

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System safety engineer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real system safety engineer resumes:

  • 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.
  • Coordinate and support on-site UL and IEC safety testing for refrigeration products.
  • Maintain UL CTDP and IEC SMTP programs that allow all testing to be done at Thomson lab.
  • Update site EPA RMP plan.
  • Operate in-house CSA certify test lab.
  • Evaluate and certify products under CB scheme.
  • Coordinate with Atlanta ACO office of the FAA.
  • Conduce EMC testing and prepare and submit reports.
  • Develop fire prevention plan in accordance with NFPA requirements.
  • Review and ensure the 747 CBL SDRL meet certification compliance with FAA regulations.

System safety engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 11% of System Safety Engineers are proficient in Safety Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and System Design. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Creativity, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of System Safety Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Safety Analysis, 11%

    Reviewed and prepared engineering and system safety analysis, technical reports, engineering change proposals, and other documentation.

  • Fault Tree Analysis, 6%

    Provided maintenance of, and enhancements to, software used in the performance of fault tree analysis and bent pin analysis.

  • System Design, 6%

    Evaluated design and operational implementation of safety requirements for power system design for the International Space Station.

  • Aerospace, 5%

    Ford Aerospace managed the design and operation of the Air Forces Satellite tracking network.

  • DOD, 4%

    Modeled and performed thread based simulations of Submarine and Surface ship software systems for compliance with DoD Nuclear Safety Standards.

  • Risk Assessments, 4%

    Use an extensive knowledge of strategies and methodologies for conducting preliminary risk assessments of safety and environmental hazards using established protocols.

Common skills that a system safety engineer uses to do their job include "safety analysis," "fault tree analysis," and "system design." You can find details on the most important system safety engineer responsibilities below.

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a system safety engineer to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require 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." System safety engineers often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "performed integrated safety analyses on avionics, communications (c&dh;), and launch vehicle umbilical causes. "

Creativity. Many system safety engineer duties rely on creativity. "health and safety engineers produce designs showing potential problems and remedies for them," so a system safety engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways system safety engineer responsibilities rely on creativity: "managed safety warehouse, inventories, budget controls and provided personal protection and safety equipment required for heavy equipment operation. "

Problem-solving skills. system safety engineers are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to system safety engineer responsibilities, because "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." A system safety engineer resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "presented technical data at design reviews for several projects, identifying options and recommending solutions. "

All system safety engineer skills

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Compare different system safety engineers

System safety engineer vs. Ehs coordinator

An EHS coordinator develops and organizes environmental health and safety (EHS) programs and protocols in a company. They typically perform research and analysis to determine the ideal practices, gather and analyze data to identify problem areas and their corresponding solutions, spearheading information drives within the company, and coordinating with different departments. They must also perform regular inspections to ensure that departments and procedures adhere to EHS laws and regulations. Moreover, an EHS coordinator implements EHS policies and regulations, developing new ones when necessary.

If we compare the average system safety engineer annual salary with that of an ehs coordinator, we find that ehs coordinators typically earn a $20,374 lower salary than system safety engineers make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between system safety engineers and ehs coordinators are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like risk assessments, corrective action, and osha.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, system safety engineer responsibilities require skills like "safety analysis," "fault tree analysis," "system design," and "aerospace." Meanwhile a typical ehs coordinator has skills in areas such as "environmental health," "safety training," "epa," and "safety committee." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, ehs coordinators reach similar levels of education than system safety engineers. Ehs coordinators are 3.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

System 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.

On average, managers, environmental and safety earn a $5,321 higher salary than system safety engineers a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. System safety engineers and managers, environmental and safety both require similar skills like "risk assessments," "corrective action," and "osha" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that system safety engineer responsibilities requires skills like "safety analysis," "fault tree analysis," "system design," and "aerospace." But a manager, environmental and safety might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "environmental health," "ehs," "ehs management," and "environmental compliance."

Managers, environmental and safety may earn a higher salary than system safety engineers, but managers, environmental and safety earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $85,529. On the other hand, system safety engineers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $99,281.In general, managers, environmental and safety achieve similar levels of education than system safety engineers. They're 0.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

System 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.

On average scale, industrial hygienists bring in lower salaries than system safety engineers. In fact, they earn a $13,617 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on system safety engineers and industrial hygienists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "dod," "risk assessments," and "corrective action.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, system safety engineers are more likely to have skills like "safety analysis," "fault tree analysis," "system design," and "aerospace." But a industrial hygienist is more likely to have skills like "environmental health," "indoor air quality," "ventilation," and "respirators."

Industrial hygienists earn the highest salary when working in the energy industry, where they receive an average salary of $93,692. Comparatively, system safety engineers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $99,281.When it comes to education, industrial hygienists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to system safety engineers. In fact, they're 1.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

System safety engineer vs. Environmental health and safety director

An Environmental Health And Safety Director ensures a company's compliance with local, state, and federal environment, health, and safety regulations. Their main duty is to protect employees, customers, and the environment.

Environmental health and safety directors tend to earn a higher pay than system safety engineers by an average of $10,273 per year.While their salaries may vary, system safety engineers and environmental health and safety directors both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "risk assessments," "corrective action," and "osha. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between system safety engineers and environmental health and safety directors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a system safety engineer might have more use for skills like "safety analysis," "fault tree analysis," "system design," and "aerospace." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of environmental health and safety directors require skills like "environmental health," "ehs," "continuous improvement," and "epa. "

Environmental health and safety directors enjoy the best pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $112,310. For comparison, system safety engineers earn the highest salary in the technology industry.In general, environmental health and safety directors hold similar degree levels compared to system safety engineers. Environmental health and safety directors are 1.9% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of system safety engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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