Senior Counsel - Environmental Health & Safety

Job Description

Tesla is seeking a dynamic, strategic, and experienced attorney to support, collaborate with, and guide business partners on environmental and occupational health and safety (EHS) legal compliance and enforcement matters applicable to automobile manufacturing, service & delivery, lithium refining and battery development, renewable energy products, and sustainable recycling programs for end-of-life product disposal.

The candidate must be ready to put on steel-toed boots and a hardhat and traverse our facilities to learn the business and help support operations on EHS legal matters.  The position will be based in Austin, Texas or the Bay Area of California and travel will be required to other company locations as needed.

Job Responsibilities

• Reporting to Tesla’s Associate General Counsel for Environment, Health & Safety, and Security, provide EHS legal support for Tesla’s operations, including counseling on all aspects of air, waste, chemical, and water-related regulatory compliance, permitting, and enforcement issues
• Collaborate with the EHS team on Company-wide EHS initiatives and work closely with EHS business partners and leaders to anticipate, assess, and manage legal impacts on major business decisions
• Counsel and train internal business partners on EHS laws, regulations, compliance and safety-related internal investigations while staying current on emerging trends in all facets of environmental & health and safety laws and regulations
• Work collaboratively with other internal attorneys, legal professionals, and business partners across the company
• Manage outside counsel in connection with EHS regulatory agency matters, including investigating and responding to requests for information, notices of complaint, and citations from OSHA, environmental, and EHSS-related agencies
• Directly participate in informal conferences and similar proceedings with a wide array of Environmental and Health & Safety regulatory agencies
• Oversee legal support for EHS due diligence in real estate and mergers and acquisitions transactions; oversee existing site remediation projects

Job Requirements

• At least 10 years of work experience primarily related to environmental and workplace safety and health issues in the manufacturing, chemical, or energy industry. In-house counsel experience preferred
• The ideal candidate will have substantial work experience on sophisticated EHS legal matters in a combination of a law firm, in-house, orstate or federal agency responsible for environmental, safety, and health regulatory oversight, particularly in the CAA, RCRA, TSCA, CWA, and other regulatory programs as well as OSHA enforcement and compliance, Experience as in-house counsel, ideally in the manufacturingor energy industries preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work independently while being able to contribute successfully to cross-functional teams, and to work efficiently, prioritize workflow, meet demanding deadlines, and manage multi-faceted projects in a fast-paced environment, where demands and priorities change rapidly
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex legal and technical concepts to a variety of internal business partners with varying degrees of familiarity with the field of EHS
• Ability to quickly absorb material and distill pertinent information to provide timely and effective counsel
• Comfortable rolling up sleeves and being hands-on, with a mature, “can-do” attitude and the ability to instill confidence in oneself among business partners
• Juris Doctor Degree and admission in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar jurisdiction