Safety Manager

Overview

Zūm is a rapidly expanding Series E startup backed by Sequoia Capital, Soft Bank, Spark Capital, and GIC. We operate in over 15 states across the United States with flagship hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, and we are expanding to the East Coast and Midwest. As a technology-driven company, we deploy cutting-edge solutions to manage and operate school district transportation systems while launching our own charter platform and developing proprietary SaaS offerings.

We are also electrifying school transportation fleets and supporting local utilities by feeding energy back into the grid. Zūm has been recognized as CNBC 50 disruptor, Financial Times 500 fastest growing companies, and Fast Company World Changing Ideas.

We are seeking an experienced Safety Manager to lead safety operations at our Shawnee, KS location. This role covers the complete safety lifecycle—from program development and training implementation to incident management and regulatory compliance. You will build a culture of behavioral safety, manage safety department staff, and establish safety standards that protect employees, students, and the communities we serve. You will champion our core value: ensuring every person arrives home safely every day.

You are a passionate safety advocate with a commitment to zero incidents. You balance proactive prevention with responsive incident management in dynamic transportation environments. You make safety training engaging and turn compliance requirements into genuine behavior change. You analyze incident data, conduct field safety observations with drivers, present safety metrics to district administrators, and investigate accident scenes with confidence. You interpret regulations, influence behavior through clear communication, and foster a culture where safety is everyone's responsibility.

• Safety Culture & Training Leadership
  • Design, develop, and implement comprehensive initial and recurrent training programs for all transportation personnel including drivers, monitors, and support staff.
  • Oversee all training activities including new driver training, safety training, in-service training, driver road evaluations, special education training, first aid training, and other required training.
  • Conduct regularly scheduled safety meetings, recognition programs, and award programs that reinforce Zum's safety-first culture and meet or exceed state, federal, FMCSA, DOT, and district requirements.
• Performance Management & Compliance
  • Utilize Zum's safety management systems to monitor, analyze, and exceed safety KPIs including accident frequency, severity rates, training compliance, and behavioral observation metrics.
  • Ensure compliance with FMCSA regulations, state pupil transportation laws, OSHA standards, DOT requirements, and maintain meticulous safety records, training documentation, and regulatory files ready for audit.
  • Monitor Netradyne alerts and vehicle camera systems to proactively address retraining opportunities and maintain individual driver files including training dates and accident history.
• Team Development & Safety Operations
  • Manage and lead safety department staff including Field Supervisors and Driver Trainers by establishing objectives, performance standards, schedules, and accountability measures.
  • Collaborate with Recruiting to recruit, select, and maintain staffing levels, coordinate drug testing requirements, and ensure certifications are up to date.
  • Supervise Master Trainers and certified drivers/trainers who assist with general bus driver training to ensure training delivery meets standards.
• Incident Management & Investigation
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for all personnel injuries and vehicle accidents, ensuring immediate response and proper case management.
  • Lead thorough accident and incident investigations using root cause analysis and prepare all required incident reports in accordance with Zum policy and regulatory requirements.
  • Coordinate with insurance adjusters, claims administrators, and workers' compensation providers; interface directly with customers to communicate incident…