Environmental Health and Safety Specialist

About the Company We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational-scale renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore. Panthalassa is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices.

We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company's direction on a regular basis. About the Job Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean's harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention. We are seeking an Environmental Health & Safety Specialist who is most at home being close to the work.

This is a hands-on, embedded role: you will work alongside engineers, technicians, and crews day-to-day, helping teams identify hazards, plan work safely, and solve practical safety problems in real time. The right person will earn trust by working close to the work, bringing practical safety judgment into planning and execution, and helping teams solve problems before they become incidents. We are not here to slow things down; we are here to enable safe speed.

That means building safety into how work gets planned and done, coaching people in the moment, and developing pragmatic solutions to the unexpected. At Panthalassa, safety is an enabler, not a gate, and this role is where that gets made real on the floor, the dock, and in the field. We are looking for a self-starter who is comfortable with ambiguity, thrives in a startup environment, and treats safety as a collaborative, solutions-oriented practice rather than a compliance function.

This role will be highly focused on strengthening daily safety presences, improving field execution and helping teams do high-risk work safely while the company continues to scale its broader EHS systems. Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries.

Responsibilities

Work alongside engineers, technicians, and crews in labs, shops, docks, and field environments to identify hazards, support work planning, and help teams execute work safely. Serve as a daily field safety partner to technical teams, with regular presence in shops, labs, manufacturing spaces, test areas, and field environments. Coach teams in the moment on safe practices, hazard recognition, and risk controls, building the kind of trust that makes safety conversations natural and ongoing.

Develop and apply Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs) and other risk assessment methods to support work planning and identify controls before work begins. Support safe execution of higher-risk work, including LOTO, hot work, lifting and rigging, confined-space-adjacent work, shop fabrication, equipment installation, marine operations, field testing, and contractor activity. Contribute to HAZID/HAZOP assessments for new projects and equipment, representing practical EHS perspectives in engineering risk reviews.

Participate in engineering design reviews and safety reviews during construction, equipment installation, and process development, helping identify and address risks at the right stage. Provide timely, practical safety guidance to teams, developing solutions that mitigate emergent hazards without unnecessary disruption to work. Support incident investigations and help develop practical corrective and preventive actions.