Site Safety Manager

About the Project:

The Glydways Atlanta ATN Pilot Project is the first passenger-carrying Automated Transit Network (ATN) deployed by Glydways in the United States, running from the Airport SkyTrain at the Georgia International Convention Center to the Gateway Center Arena. It spans system integration and testing, commissioning, and pilot passenger service alongside project sponsors, contractors, the operating organization, local authorities, and emergency responders.

Glydways has established an independent Safety, Quality and Compliance organization, applying established transit and rail safety standards to a new class of automated technology. On the Atlanta site, the safety function owns the site safety management system, confirms that required controls are implemented before work and service proceed, and works in close partnership with Test and Commissioning, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, contractors, local authorities, and emergency responders to sustain them. The same organization develops and maintains the safety case that certifies the system for passenger service.

About the Role:

The Site Safety Manager is responsible for the safety of the operation of the transit system and personnel on site. The Site Safety Manager also supports system reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety (RAMS) and certification activities for the Glydways Atlanta ATN Pilot Project and other projects. The role covers the path from late-stage design through integration testing, commissioning, operations with passenger service, maintenance, modification, recovery, and emergency response.

The role reports directly to the Atlanta ATN Pilot Project Director for site delivery and coordination, and functionally to the Glydways Safety Lead within Safety, Quality and Compliance for safety direction, competence, and assurance. Independent of operations, the Site Safety Manager performs site safety audits, restricts access or return to service, stops work or service, and escalates imminent hazards, safety envelope breaches, or incomplete controls.

The Site Safety Manager supports and maintains the site safety case and the evidence needed for the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), such as the State Safety Oversight Agency (SSOA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), or the operating organization, to approve the system for passenger service. This includes tailoring the system safety, certification, and operational safety plans to the project regulatory environment, leading project-specific hazard analysis and safety case development, performing operational hazard analysis, supporting system verification and validation, tracking all safety activities, and closing out findings and safety actions with authorities.

The Site Safety Manager is accountable for occupational safety of everyone at the site, including Glydways personnel, the operating organization, contractors, and visitors, and for the hazards introduced by testing, commissioning, and operation of an automated transit system. This covers recordkeeping and reporting, hazard communication, lockout/tagout, personal protective equipment, work permits, access control, and the controls required wherever testing and passenger service take place at the same time.

The Site Safety Manager understands the Operational Limitations and Safety Related Application Conditions (SRACs) established in the safety case and owns their site implementation, communication, verification, and enforcement. The manager creates, maintains, and updates the ATL Site Hazard Log, and verifies that every hazard control is implemented and effective through regular inspections, independent audits, and follow-up. Working with Quality, the manager establishes and enforces ATL site safety standard operating procedures (SOPs). With onsite maintenance staff, the manager reviews system faults and work orders and coordinates failure reports through the Glydways Failure Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) process.

The Site Safety Manager owns incident notification, investigation, and corrective actions, reports safety performance to the project and to Safety, Quality and Compliance, leads emergency preparedness and responder coordination, and provides the safety inputs to operational readiness.

Required Skills:

• B.S. in Engineering, safety science, or a related technical field, or equivalent.
• At least 5 years of experience in system safety, functional safety, safety engineering, or system certification.
• Direct experience contributing to safety certification or approval for operation of rail, transit, automated people mover, aerospace, industrial, or similar complex systems, including safety case development, safety verification and validation, or regulator approval.
• Experience working with an oversight agency or authority on safety arguments, findings, and close-out of safety actions.
• Working knowledge of at least one recognized safety assurance standard, such as American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 21-21, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508, European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) EN 50126, EN 50129, and EN 50128 or EN 50716, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) MIL-STD-882, or International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26262.
• Competence in safety management for operating, automated, or safety-critical transit systems.
• Competence in Safety Management Systems, risk management and assurance, hazard and SRAC tracking, FRACAS, corrective actions, and independent auditing.
• Competence in incident management, covering notification, evidence preservation, investigation, root cause analysis, reporting, and effectiveness checks.
• Competence in emergency preparedness, covering incident command, evacuation and rescue, fire and life safety, responder coordination, drills, and exercises.
• Working knowledge of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements.
• Independent judgment to stop work or service, restrict unsafe activities, and escalate unresolved concerns.
• Clear communication with workers, passengers, contractors, technical teams, leadership, authorities, and emergency responders.
• Ability to work with Quality to control site safety SOPs, maintain the ATL Site Hazard Log, verify controls, and conduct regular audits.
• Able to work with the Functional Safety team to implement operational restrictions and escalate site conditions or events that may affect them.
• Available onsite and able to complete training and certification required by approved pilot plans, the site safety program, and applicable Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) requirements.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience applying EN 50126.
• Experience managing site safety for rail transit, automated people mover systems, or comparable safety-critical systems, across system integration and testing, commissioning, passenger operations, and maintenance.
• Experience working with the SSOA, FTA, or other transit regulatory body, and familiarity with their safety management requirements.
• Experience coordinating with emergency responders, airport stakeholders, and multi-employer sites.
• Experience with job hazard analysis and safe systems of work, such as permits to work, lockout/tagout, confined space, energized work, and work at height.
• Comfort with complex autonomous systems, with self-driving vehicle experience preferred.
• Experience with reliability, availability, and maintainability analysis methods and metrics.
• Experience with cybersecurity as it applies to safety-critical systems.
• Working knowledge of safety analysis, requirements management, and collaboration tools such as Medini, Jama, Jira, Confluence, and Python.
• Atlanta and Georgia operating experience.