Senior Safety Manager – Data Center Construction

Senior Safety Manager – Data Center Construction

Location: Hutto, TX (Greater Austin Area)

Industry: Hyperscale Data Center Construction

Employment Type: Full-Time Contract Assignment

Compensation: $65–$85/hour, depending on qualifications and experience

Work Arrangement: Onsite

Project Type: Large-Scale, Multi-Building Hyperscale Data Center Campus

Position Overview

Intuitive Safety Solutions (ISS) is seeking a highly experienced Senior Safety Manager – Data Center Construction (Owner's Representative) to provide strategic Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) leadership for a major hyperscale data center development in Hutto, Texas.

This is a senior-level leadership opportunity for an accomplished construction safety professional who has successfully managed complex, large-scale construction projects, preferably hyperscale data centers or major capital projects exceeding $500 million.

The Senior Safety Manager will represent the owner's interests, oversee general contractor safety performance, implement and strengthen campus-wide EHS programs, and drive measurable improvements in safety culture, contractor accountability, and critical-risk management.

The selected candidate will initially support an active data center building before transitioning into an upcoming construction phase, while helping establish consistent EHS governance across the broader campus.

We are seeking a strategic safety leader, not simply a traditional site Safety Manager. The ideal candidate will have experience leading safety teams, influencing senior construction executives, challenging general contractors when necessary, and implementing effective safety programs that deliver measurable results.

This position will serve as the senior leader within a two-person owner-side EHS team, supported by a dedicated field-level Safety Consultant responsible for daily onsite observations, contractor coordination, and field execution.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic EHS Leadership & Campus Governance

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of campus-wide EHS strategies, protocols, and performance standards.
• Represent the owner's interests in safety-related construction planning, contractor performance, and project execution.
• Establish consistent safety expectations and governance across multiple general contractors, subcontractors, and concurrent construction activities.
• Partner with owner leadership to identify emerging risks, prioritize corrective actions, and implement strategic safety improvements.
• Drive consistency in EHS performance across active buildings and future construction phases.

2. EHS Team Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the owner-side EHS team, including field-level safety professionals.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, expectations, and performance objectives.
• Assess future safety staffing needs based on construction activity, risk exposure, and campus expansion.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and solutions-oriented safety leadership environment.
• Provide coaching and technical guidance to strengthen overall team effectiveness.

3. General Contractor Accountability & Performance Management

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive contractor EHS accountability framework.
• Hold general contractors accountable for contractual safety commitments, owner EHS requirements, and corrective-action completion.
• Develop and implement measurable contractor safety performance scorecards.
• Conduct regular performance reviews with GC project executives, construction managers, and safety leadership.
• Identify recurring deficiencies, verify corrective-action effectiveness, and escalate unresolved issues to owner leadership.
• Influence contractor performance through strong relationships, clear expectations, consistent follow-through, and executive-level communication.

4. Critical Risk Management & High-Risk Construction Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight of high-risk construction activities, including:
• Electrical safety, energization, and lockout/tagout (LOTO)
• Substation and electrical infrastructure construction
• Commissioning, startup, and equipment testing
• Simultaneous operations (SIMOPS)
• Crane operations, critical lifts, and rigging
• Working at heights and fall protection
• Excavation, confined spaces, and heavy equipment
• Temporary power and electrical distribution
• Verify that contractors implement effective risk assessments, work planning, permits, and critical safety controls.
• Partner with construction, engineering, and commissioning teams to address evolving risks throughout project execution and turnover.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of critical-risk controls through field verification and performance reviews.

5. EHS Program Development, Auditing & Continuous Improvement

• Lead implementation of updated owner EHS protocols and performance expectations.
• Develop and introduce safety initiatives designed to strengthen contractor accountability and reduce critical-risk exposure.
• Conduct and oversee comprehensive campus safety surveys approximately every six months.
• Ensure audit and survey findings are documented, assigned, tracked, and effectively resolved.
• Lead field assessments, leadership safety walks, compliance reviews, and program effectiveness evaluations.
• Identify systemic safety issues and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.

6. Safety Metrics, Analytics & Executive Reporting

• Develop and maintain a measurable campus EHS performance scorecard.
• Establish leading and lagging indicators to evaluate contractor performance, critical-risk control effectiveness, and overall safety maturity.
• Track corrective-action closure, audit findings, incident trends, workforce engagement, and contractor compliance.
• Provide regular executive-level reports summarizing campus risk exposure, EHS performance, contractor accountability, and improvement initiatives.
• Analyze safety trends and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Establish measurable improvement targets and monitor progress against performance objectives.

7. Safety Culture, Engagement & Workforce Communication

• Champion a proactive, prevention-focused safety culture across the campus.
• Build strong working relationships with owner leadership, general contractors, subcontractors, and field personnel.
• Promote visible leadership, workforce engagement, and open communication.
• Influence contractor leadership through credibility, collaboration, and consistent accountability.
• Encourage early identification and resolution of safety concerns.
• Promote shared ownership of safety performance across all project stakeholders.

8. Incident Management & Emergency Preparedness

• Oversee significant incident investigations, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and lessons learned.
• Ensure high-potential near misses and serious safety events receive appropriate leadership attention.
• Coordinate emergency preparedness planning, drills, and response protocols.
• Verify that incident corrective actions are effectively implemented and communicated across the campus.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen emergency response readiness as construction activities evolve.

9. Regulatory Compliance & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Verify contractor compliance with applicable OSHA regulations, owner EHS policies, and contractual safety requirements.
• Collaborate with construction management, engineering, commissioning, and operations teams to integrate EHS into project planning and execution.
• Support safe construction sequencing, milestone transitions, energization, commissioning, and turnover.
• Maintain effective communication with owner representatives, contractor executives, and project stakeholders.
• Escalate significant safety risks and unresolved compliance issues through established project governance channels.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive construction safety/EHS experience , including significant leadership responsibility on large-scale, complex construction projects.
• Demonstrated experience leading safety programs on major capital construction projects, ideally valued at $500 million or greater, or involving comparable complexity.
• Proven experience managing and developing teams of safety professionals.
• Strong background in general contractor oversight, contractor accountability, and construction risk management.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior GC leadership and drive resolution of significant safety deficiencies.
• Experience developing, implementing, and improving EHS programs, audits, performance scorecards, and corrective-action processes.
• Strong technical understanding of high-risk construction activities, including electrical safety, LOTO, critical lifts, fall protection, and commissioning-related hazards.
• Thorough knowledge of applicable OSHA construction standards and industry safety practices.
• Exceptional communication, leadership, relationship-building, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to present complex safety information, performance trends, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.
• Demonstrated success driving measurable improvements in safety performance and contractor accountability.
• Ability to operate independently, exercise sound judgment, and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced construction environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience leading safety programs on hyperscale data center construction projects.
• Experience managing safety across multiple buildings, contractors, or concurrent construction phases.
• Previous experience serving as an Owner's Representative, Owner's Authorized Representative (OAR), or senior owner-side EHS leader.
• Experience with substation construction, electrical infrastructure, energization, commissioning, and operational turnover.
• Experience implementing contractor safety scorecards, critical-risk verification programs, and campus-wide EHS governance.
• Professional safety certification such as CSP, CHST, or equivalent.
• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Health, Construction Management, Engineering, or a related discipline.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to:

• Drive contractor accountability: Establish clear performance expectations and ensure general contractors consistently meet their safety commitments.
• Lead strategically: Move beyond reactive safety management to anticipate risks, implement improvements, and influence construction leadership.
• Build a high-performing EHS team: Establish effective collaboration between strategic program leadership and daily field safety execution.
• Deliver measurable results: Implement scorecards, performance metrics, and improvement initiatives that demonstrate meaningful progress.
• Manage complex construction risks: Effectively oversee high-risk activities across multiple contractors, buildings, and project phases.
• Communicate at the executive level: Present clear, actionable assessments of safety performance, risk exposure, and improvement opportunities.

Work Environment & Schedule

• Full-time, onsite assignment in Hutto, Texas.
• Work performed in an active, large-scale data center construction environment.
• Requires regular field presence, contractor leadership meetings, site assessments, and executive-level coordination.
• Schedule flexibility may be required to support critical construction activities, commissioning milestones, and incident response.
• Must be comfortable operating in a dynamic environment involving multiple contractors and overlapping construction activities.

Assignment Details

This opportunity supports a major, multi-phase hyperscale data center development in the Greater Austin area.

The selected candidate will initially provide senior safety leadership for an active construction building before transitioning into an upcoming building phase, while helping establish consistent EHS performance expectations across the campus.

The Senior Safety Manager will serve as the strategic leader of a two-person owner-side EHS team, partnering with a dedicated Field Safety Consultant who will focus on daily field observations, site meetings, contractor coordination, and onsite safety execution.

The Senior Safety Manager will be accountable for strategic EHS leadership, program governance, contractor performance management, team development, critical-risk oversight, and measurable campus-wide safety improvement.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Intuitive Safety Solutions (ISS) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Third-Party Agency Notice

Intuitive Safety Solutions (ISS) does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from staffing agencies, recruiting firms, search firms, or other third-party vendors. Only approved partners with a current written agreement and specific authorization from ISS may submit candidates for consideration.

Unauthorized submissions do not establish an agency relationship, candidate ownership, right of representation, or any obligation by ISS to pay placement fees or other compensation.