Laboratory Safety Specialist

Job description

Location: Utica, NY Category: Professional Posted On: Mon Oct 20 2025 Job Description:
SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York's globally recognized leader in higher education and technology innovation, research and development.

SUNY Poly is looking for a Laboratory Safety Specialist that will be responsible for assessing and mitigating workplace health hazards across the research and educational labs on campus by conducting environmental monitoring, identifying potential risks from chemicals, materials, biological materials, noise, radiation, and other physical agents.

The Laboratory Safety Specialist is also responsible for developing preventive and risk management measures, educating employees and students on safety protocols, and ensuring compliance with relevant occupational health and safety regulations, all while collaborating with departments to maintain a safe working environment for faculty, staff, and students.



ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:


+ [30 % of time]: Implement, coordinate and update a wide range of safety and environmental programs, policies and procedures, including general occupational and laboratory safety, hazardous materials, hazardous waste management and disposal, industrial hygiene, chemical safety and biological safety, radiation safety and emergency management.

+ [30 % of time]: Perform Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) audits and inspections.

Monitor and communicate regulatory requirements impacting institutional operations, goals and objectives.

Perform safety and environmental compliance inspections of university laboratories and work areas including chemical and biosafety, air and exhaust handling safety, radiation safety and industrial hygiene concerns.

Ensure follow-up activities for correction of deficiencies.

+ [20 % of time]: Provide training programs for employees on workplace safety, hazard recognition, and proper use of PPE.

Ensuring compliance with federal, state, and SUNY regulations regarding occupational health and safety.

Incident investigation: Investigating workplace accidents and near misses related to occupational health hazards

+ [15% of time]: Data analysis and reporting: Preparing reports documenting findings from inspections, exposure monitoring, and risk assessments to relevant stakeholders.

Working with different departments on campus to identify and address specific safety concerns within their operations.

+ [5% of time]: Work with and serve on Institutional level safety and compliance committees that include biosafety, radiation safety, and the Institutional Review Board.

+ Other reasonable duties as assigned.


Salary Range: $75,000 - $85,000

Benefits: https://www.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/benefits/benefit-summaries/UUP-FT-Benefits-at-a-Glance-Jan-2025.pdf

Job Requirements:
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:


+ Bachelor's degree from a College or University accredited by the US Department of Education or internationally recognized accrediting organization in Environmental Health, Occupational Safety, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, or a related discipline.

+ Strong understanding of occupational health and safety principles, regulations, and relevant standards

+ Previous experience managing hazardous waste, occupational safety, environmental and safety compliance auditing, and/ or risk management programs.

+ Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively interact with employees at all levels


Preferred Qualifications:


+ Professional Certifications related to safety, such as: Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Chemical Hygiene Officer (CHO), Biological Safety Professional (CBSP), Radiation Safety (RSO), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), or similar.






Additional Information:
SUNY Polytechnic Institute offers exceptional benefits such as healthcare, dental, vision, pension plans, competitive pay, generous paid time off, tuition assistance, life insurance and long-term disability insurance.

As an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer, SUNY Polytechnic Institute will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race, creed, religion, color, citizenship, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, gender identification or expression, genetic information, familial status, marital status, pregnancy, status as a domestic violence victim, criminal conviction, disability, military status, disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, Armed Forces Service Medal veteran, active duty or wartime campaign badge veteran, or other characteristic as protected by law.

Please feel free to review your equal employment opportunities protections and laws pertaining to these protections at https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/discrimination

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, mandates that all Title IV institutions, without exception, prepare, publish and distribute an Annual Security Report.

This report consists of two basic parts: disclosure of the College's crime statistics for the past three years; and disclosures regarding the College's current campus security policies.

The SUNY Polytechnic Institute Annual Security Report is available in portable document format [PDF] by clicking this link: https://sunypoly.edu/sites/default/files/Clery Report 2024 - Uticaw covers.pdf (https://sunypoly.edu/sites/default/files/Clery%20Report%202024%20-%20Uticaw%20covers.pdf)

Inquiries regarding the application of Title IX and other laws, regulations and policies prohibiting discrimination may be directed to the Title IX Coordinator TitleIX@sunypoly.edu at SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Inquiries may also be directed to the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, 32 Old Slip 26th Floor, New York, NY 10005-2500; Tel.

(646) 428-3800; Email OCR.NewYork@ed.gov.

Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation.

If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor's Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via email at info@goer.ny.gov.

Required Skill Profession

Other General