Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Chemical Hygiene & Safety Officer)

Chemical Hygiene & Laboratory Safety Officer

Location: Richmond, CA
Employment Type: Full-Time Contract
Schedule: Day Shift | On-Site
Contract: 12-month initial contract with strong potential for extension or permanent employment
Pay: $55–$65/hr, based on experience
Travel: Up to 10%

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Chemical Hygiene & Laboratory Safety professional to support a large public health laboratory in Richmond, California.

This is a unique opportunity for a safety, laboratory, environmental health, or compliance professional to take on a broad role focused on laboratory safety, chemical hygiene, regulatory compliance, risk management, employee safety, training, and program development.

The Chemical Hygiene & Laboratory Safety Officer will serve as a key resource for laboratory leadership and staff, helping ensure that laboratory operations are safe, compliant, and aligned with applicable regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

You will work across multiple laboratory divisions and facilities and collaborate with clinical laboratory professionals, public health microbiologists, research scientists, laboratory managers, and organizational leadership.

This role is particularly well suited for someone who enjoys working at the intersection of laboratory operations, safety, compliance, and program management and wants to have a meaningful impact on laboratory safety across a large organization.

Why This Role May Be a Great Fit

• Take on a broad laboratory safety and compliance role supporting a large public health laboratory.

• Work beyond day-to-day bench responsibilities and have an organization-wide impact.

• Develop expertise in chemical hygiene, laboratory safety, regulatory compliance, and risk management.

• Work with a variety of laboratory environments, scientific disciplines, and specialized operations.

• Serve as a trusted technical resource for laboratory leadership and staff.

• Develop and deliver safety training to laboratory professionals and other employees.

• Help develop and implement laboratory safety programs and procedures.

• Opportunity for contract extension and/or transition into a permanent position.

What You'll Do

Laboratory Safety & Chemical Hygiene

• Develop, implement, and maintain laboratory safety and chemical hygiene programs across multiple laboratory facilities.

• Evaluate laboratory procedures, workflows, equipment, and work environments to identify potential safety hazards and risks.

• Conduct hazard, exposure, and risk assessments and recommend appropriate controls.

• Provide guidance on the safe handling, storage, transportation, and disposal of chemicals, clinical specimens, environmental samples, and other hazardous materials.

• Help develop and maintain procedures related to hazardous chemicals, controlled substances, select agents, radioactive materials, and other high-risk materials.

• Research applicable regulatory requirements and industry best practices and translate them into practical laboratory procedures.

• Identify opportunities to improve laboratory safety, reduce risk, and minimize hazardous waste.

• Help standardize safety practices across multiple laboratory departments and facilities.

• Participate in laboratory inspections, audits, and safety assessments.

Incident Investigation & Risk Management

• Assist with investigations involving laboratory accidents, exposures, injuries, near misses, and other safety incidents.

• Conduct or support root-cause analyses and develop investigation reports and corrective action plans.

• Partner with laboratory leadership to identify contributing factors and implement corrective actions.

• Monitor follow-up activities to ensure corrective actions and safety improvements are effectively implemented.

• Maintain appropriate safety documentation and records.

• Stay current on regulatory and safety requirements affecting clinical, research, and public health laboratories.

Laboratory Leadership & Program Development

• Serve as a safety resource and technical advisor to laboratory managers, branch leadership, research scientists, and laboratory staff.

• Support laboratory safety committees and organization-wide safety initiatives.

• Develop, review, and update laboratory-specific policies, procedures, and safety programs.

• Coordinate safety projects, drills, emergency response planning, and other laboratory safety initiatives.

• Collaborate with internal departments and external public health partners.

• Provide consultation regarding hazardous materials incidents, exposure prevention, and laboratory safety concerns.

• Participate in laboratory safety and health committees and professional workgroups.

• Help identify and implement opportunities to continuously improve laboratory safety programs.

Training & Education

• Develop and deliver laboratory safety training for laboratory scientists, microbiologists, research scientists, technicians, and other personnel.

• Conduct new employee safety orientations and ongoing safety education.

• Train staff on chemical safety, hazardous materials, PPE, exposure prevention, emergency response, packaging/shipping, and other laboratory safety topics.

• Help laboratory personnel understand and implement new safety procedures associated with laboratory methods, equipment, and technologies.

• Monitor required safety training and help identify and address compliance gaps.

• Develop training materials, presentations, and other educational resources.

Occupational Health & Employee Safety

• Partner with laboratory leadership, HR, and other internal teams on laboratory-specific occupational health and employee safety programs.

• Provide guidance regarding PPE, exposure prevention, emergency response, and safe laboratory practices.

• Assist with employee exposure monitoring and occupational health initiatives.

• Support annual occupational health planning and coordination with outside vendors.

• Assist with programs related to employee exposures, injuries, and laboratory-related health and safety concerns.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in environmental health, occupational health and safety, chemistry, biology, laboratory science, public health, or another relevant scientific or safety-related field.

• Professional experience in laboratory safety, environmental health & safety, chemical hygiene, occupational safety, laboratory operations, regulatory compliance, or a related field.

• Experience working in a clinical, public health, research, academic, industrial, or high-complexity laboratory environment.

• Strong understanding of laboratory safety principles and practices.

• Knowledge of chemical hygiene, hazardous materials, exposure prevention, hazard assessment, and risk management.

• Familiarity with applicable regulatory and safety requirements, such as OSHA/Cal-OSHA, CLIA, DTSC, EPA, or ISO standards.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively with laboratory professionals, managers, scientists, and organizational leadership.

• Ability to independently identify safety concerns, develop practical solutions, and follow projects through implementation.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly desirable:

• Laboratory Safety Officer

• Chemical Hygiene Officer

• Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)

• Laboratory quality or compliance

• Public health laboratory

• Clinical laboratory

• Research or academic laboratory

• Chemical safety or hazardous materials

• Occupational health and safety

• Incident investigation

• Risk assessment

• Corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)

• Employee exposure monitoring

• Laboratory safety training

• Safety committee leadership

• Hazardous materials shipping and regulatory compliance

• Emergency response planning

• Regulatory inspections or audits

Backgrounds That May Be a Good Fit

We are open to candidates from a variety of professional backgrounds. You do not need to hold a California CLS license to be considered for this position.

Strong candidates may come from backgrounds such as:

• Laboratory Safety

• Chemical Hygiene

• Environmental Health & Safety

• Occupational Health & Safety

• Laboratory Management

• Laboratory Quality/Compliance

• Public Health Laboratories

• Clinical Laboratories

• Research or Academic Laboratories

• Industrial or Pharmaceutical Laboratories

• Hazardous Materials Management

You don't need to have the exact "Chemical Hygiene & Laboratory Safety Officer" title on your resume. We're particularly interested in professionals who have hands-on experience identifying laboratory hazards, managing safety programs, working with regulatory requirements, conducting risk assessments, investigating incidents, and training laboratory personnel.

Additional Requirements

• Reliable attendance and ability to work full-time on-site.

• Ability to work in laboratory environments that may involve hazardous chemicals, biological materials, controlled substances, and other regulated materials.

• Ability to wear specialized PPE as required.

• Successful completion of required background and security clearances.

• Medical clearance may be required based on job responsibilities.

• Occasional after-hours or emergency response may be required.

• Ability to travel to other laboratory facilities as needed, up to approximately 10%.

Compensation & Benefits

• $55–$65/hr, depending on experience

• Day shift

• Full-time, on-site position

• 12-month initial contract

• Strong potential for extension and/or permanent employment

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• PTO

• Paid holidays

About Lighthouse Lab Services

At Lighthouse Lab Services, we specialize in helping clinical laboratories start, grow, and operate successfully. Our recruiting team has more than 22 years of experience connecting laboratory professionals with opportunities ranging from entry-level Medical Technologists to experienced Laboratory Directors.

We recruit nationwide for permanent and contract positions with clients ranging from community hospitals to large reference and public health laboratories.

If you're an experienced laboratory safety, EHS, chemical hygiene, occupational safety, or laboratory professional looking for an opportunity to make a broader impact, apply today.

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