Safety​/Facilities Supervisor; EHS - Pilot​/Lab

We are a Biology Company

Plantible, backed by Astanor Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Piva Capital, Kellogg’s, and Vectr Ventures, is a vertically integrated biology company that is unlocking the power in plants in service of people & planet. Our mission is to create solutions that empower customers to make sustainable and regenerative choices without compromising on quality. We are beginning with the food industry. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and continued success:

The Safety Supervisor owns environmental, health, and safety (EHS) across our San Diego operations: the R&D greenhouse farm, wet and analytical labs, and pilot-scale processing plant. This is a hands‑on, floor‑level role for an operator who can build and enforce a unified safety program across three very different environments — biological cultivation, lab‑scale R&D, and food‑grade processing equipment — and who believes safety is a driver of throughput, not a tax on it.

Working with our pilot plant and R&D team leads you will become the single point of accountability for site safety performance, incident prevention, regulatory compliance, and the day‑to‑day safety culture our teams operate within. You will also become fluent in food safety protocols and testing as it relates to ensuring quality products and CIP processes.

Program ownership

• Own and continuously improve the site EHS management system covering the R&D farm, labs, and pilot plant — including written programs, SOPs, JSAs, and training records.
• Serve as the primary liaison with Cal/OSHA, San Diego County, CUPA, air/water regulators, and insurance carriers; manage permits, filings, and audits.
• Build and report out on a unified safety scorecard (leading and lagging indicators) to the leadership team monthly.

Operational safety across three environments

• R&D Farm: manage biological/agricultural hazards including greenhouse work, cultivation chemicals and nutrients, water systems, heat, slips/falls, and any regulated plant material handling.
• Labs: oversee chemical hygiene, hazardous waste, biosafety where applicable, PPE, fume hoods, compressed gases, and lab-specific emergency response.
• Pilot Plant: manage process safety for food‑grade processing — pressure vessels and boilers, membrane/filtration systems, CIP chemicals, LOTO, confined space, hot work, electrical safety, and powered industrial trucks.

Training & culture

• Design and deliver site-wide and role-specific training: new-hire onboarding, annual refreshers, and task-specific qualifications (LOTO, forklift, confined space, Haz Com, etc.).
• Lead daily/weekly safety huddles, toolbox talks, and behavior-based safety observations on the floor — not from a desk.
• Partner with Operations and R&D leadership to make safety a visible part of performance management, including operator incentive structures.
• Lead incident investigations end-to-end: root cause analysis, corrective/preventive actions, closure verification, and learnings shared across sites.
• Maintain OSHA 300/300A logs, workers' comp coordination, and near-miss reporting systems.
• Own site emergency response planning, drills, and coordination with local fire and EMS.

Scale-up & capital projects

• Embed safety into engineering and commissioning for new pilot-plant equipment and farm expansions (HAZOP/PHA, management of change, pre-startup safety reviews).
• Partner with engineering on contractor safety, including onboarding, permits to work, and site access controls.
• Support transfer of safety standards from pilot to our Texas commercial operations as we scale.

Required

• Experience in roles where safety, facilities maintenance, and bioprocess pilot or manufacturing work has been a primary focus.
• Hands‑on experience with lab, pilot or manufacturing process equipment: pumps, filtration, CIP, and/or fermentation or extraction systems.
• Interest/capability to develop fluency with Cal/OSHA regulations & demonstrate experience managing OSHA recordkeeping, inspections, and incident response.
• Familiarity with LOTO, confined space, hot work, and contractor safety programs.
• Strong floor presence — this…