Machine Safety Program Leader & Functional Safety Engineer

Machine Safety Program Leader & Functional Safety Engineer About Richards

Richards Manufacturing Company is a producer of electrical and gas distribution equipment for utility and commercial/industrial markets. For over 70 years Richards has served the industry with quality, dependability, and outstanding customer service. With humble beginnings as a family owned and operated business—originally entering the market as a producer of a single style of underground connector—Richards has evolved to offer a wide selection of products across several product lines.

Our offices and manufacturing facilities are located in Irvington, NJ—approximately 14 miles west of New York City.

The Machine Safety Program Leader & Functional Safety Engineer serves as the site owner and technical authority for the Machine Safety Program at the Newark, New Jersey manufacturing facility. This position is responsible for leading machine safety, functional safety, machine risk assessments, and machine lifecycle management activities to ensure compliance with applicable U.S. regulatory requirements, recognized industry standards, and internal corporate standards.

The role will spend approximately 80% of time leading machine safety risk assessments, managing risk reduction projects, overseeing the Machine Guarding Program, and supporting machinery throughout its lifecycle. The remaining 20% of time will support broader Manufacturing Engineering initiatives, capital projects, process improvements, and operational excellence efforts.

The successful candidate will serve as the primary machine safety subject matter expert, ensuring new and existing equipment achieve required safety performance levels and that machine-related risks are reduced to acceptable, low, or negligible levels through engineered solutions and program governance. This is an exciting role with the opportunity to make an immediate impact and offers future career growth opportunities.

Location
:
Onsite, Richards Manufacturing Facility (Irvington, NJ)

Reports to: Senior Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Travel
:
Approximately 15–20%, including periodic support to facilities in Ohio and Puerto Rico

Machine Guarding Program Leadership, Functional Safety, & Risk Reduction (80%)

• Serve as the overall site owner of the Machine Guarding Program and associated machine risk reduction initiatives.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve the site’s written Machine Guarding Program.
• Maintain ownership of the Site Master Machine List and ensure equipment inventories remain current and accurate.
• Maintain ownership of the Priority Assessment List and establish prioritization criteria for machine assessments and remediation activities.
• Develop, approve, and lead machine guarding gap closure plans, including annual and multi-year capital budget proposals.
• Develop, approve, and oversee corrective action strategies including equipment elimination, machine consolidation, machine upgrades, automation improvements, or new machine procurement.
• Establish machine safety objectives, KPIs, project plans, and performance metrics.
• Influence and coordinate all stakeholders necessary to ensure successful execution of the Machine Guarding Program, including Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, EHS, Leadership, and external suppliers.
• Create and lead site machine safety team.
• Organize, coach, mentor, and provide training to site Machine Guarding team members on machine safety risk assessment methodologies and company requirements.
• Lead regular meetings to track assessment status, remediation progress, project execution, and compliance metrics.
• Conduct annual reviews of the Machine Guarding Program effectiveness with required stakeholders and site leadership.
• Perform annual machine safety program self‑assessments.
• Serve as the site’s primary technical expert on machine guarding and machinery safety principles.
• Lead and facilitate machine safety risk assessments using recognized industry methodologies and company requirements.
• Evaluate machinery and manufacturing processes to identify hazards and determine required risk reduction measures.
• Develop and manage machine risk…