Director Environmental Health & Safety

About Vantage

Vantage powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Position Overview

This role is based on-site in Abilene, Texas.

The Director, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) will serve as the Owner/Developer’s senior site EHS leader for Project Frontier, a large-scale AI data center development in Abilene, Texas. The role is accountable for governing and executing the established EHS strategy across white space construction, equipment installation, testing, commissioning, and turnover activities.

This position will provide visible field leadership and independent assurance across the retained General Contractor, OFCI vendors, commissioning teams, and specialty trade partners. The Director will integrate EHS into planning and execution, establish clear accountability across interfaces, and ensure that high-risk work is properly planned, controlled, verified, and escalated when required.

Essential Job Functions

• Lead execution of the established Owner/Developer EHS strategy for Project Frontier’s white space scope, serving as the senior EHS authority across all assigned construction and commissioning activities and delivery partners.
• Build, lead, coach, and deploy the EHS team based on project risk, schedule, work intensity, and changing field conditions.
• Partner with Construction, Commissioning, Operations, Engineering, Security, and project leadership to integrate EHS into project decisions and execution planning.
• Provide EHS governance for data halls, critical electrical and mechanical systems, controls, OFCI equipment, battery and energy-storage interfaces, testing, start-up, and integrated systems activities.
• Ensure EHS involvement in constructability reviews, work packaging, sequencing, system energization, turnover boundaries, and commissioning readiness.
• Oversee controls for high-risk work, including energized electrical work, LOTO and energy isolation, temporary power, arc-flash exposure, work at height, lifting and rigging, confined spaces, hot work, chemical management, and simultaneous operations.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local EHS requirements, Owner standards, project requirements, and contractual obligations.
• Lead or oversee significant incident and high-potential near-miss investigations using effective root-cause methods.

Duties

• Maintain a strong field presence and reinforce stop-work authority, leadership accountability, and timely escalation of unresolved high-risk conditions.
• Verify that work plans, JSAs/JHAs, method statements, permits, commissioning procedures, and contingency plans are specific, coordinated, understood, and executable in the field.
• Develop and execute a risk-based assurance plan using project risk registers, look-ahead schedules, and field intelligence, leading audits, inspections, readiness reviews, and critical control verifications while ensuring corrective actions are effectively tracked and closed.
• Maintain accurate EHS records and provide concise reporting on leading indicators, significant risks, contractor performance, trends, incidents, and leadership support required.
• Establish clear EHS roles and accountability across project stakeholders while reviewing and challenging contractor and vendor EHS plans, staffing, risk assessments, permits, and high-risk work controls to ensure alignment across all workstreams.
• Hold delivery partners accountable for timely incident notification, investigation quality, corrective action, and verified prevention of recurrence.
• Influence senior project leaders and external partners without relying solely on direct authority.
• Coordinate incident and emergency management activities, including notification, evidence preservation, reporting, corrective actions, lessons learned, preparedness planning, response drills, and event management.
• Additional duties as assigned by Management.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health & Safety, Occupational Safety, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience.
• Typically 10+ years of progressive EHS experience in complex construction, commissioning, mission-critical, industrial, or infrastructure environments.
• Demonstrated leadership of EHS programs, teams, and contractor performance on large, fast-paced projects.
• Strong working knowledge of OSHA construction requirements and the practical application of the hierarchy of controls.
• Ability to interpret project plans, schedules, work packages, risk assessments, method statements, and commissioning documentation.
• Proven ability to communicate with field teams and executive stakeholders, make sound risk-based decisions, and act decisively when critical controls are not effective.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Data center, hyperscale, AI infrastructure, or other mission-critical construction experience.
• Owner/Developer or owner’s representative experience overseeing a retained GC and multiple vendor-led workstreams.
• Experience managing white space construction, OFCI installation, commissioning readiness, energized environments, and construction-to-operations transitions.
• Professional certification such as CSP, CHST, CIH, or an equivalent recognized EHS credential.
• OSHA 500/510, NEBOSH, ISO 45001 Lead Auditor, or relevant electrical-safety and incident-investigation training.
• Experience with risk registers, assurance programs, contractor performance metrics, action-tracking systems, and executive reporting.

Work Environment

• Full-time, site-based position in Abilene, Texas, with frequent presence in active construction and commissioning areas.
• Ability to navigate large construction areas, stairs, uneven surfaces, and changing indoor and outdoor conditions while using required PPE.
• Availability for flexible or extended hours during critical lifts, energization, testing, commissioning, incident response, or major project milestones.
• Limited travel may be required for business, training, vendor, or project needs.

Physical Demands and Special Requirements 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle, or feel objects; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop or kneel; talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. 

Additional Details 

• This position is eligible for company benefits including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program that includes company match, and many other additional voluntary benefits. 

• Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including your qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience and may fall outside of the range shown

#LI-SH1

#LI-Onsite

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other’s strengths and respecting each other’s weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Vantage does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage.

We’ll be accepting applications for at least one week from the date this role is posted. If you're interested, we encourage you to apply soon—we’re excited to find the right person and will keep the role open until we do!