Job Title: Head of Environmental Health & Safety
Company: MBC BioLabs
Job Type: Full-time
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA (must be able to travel between multiple locations in San Carlos and San Francisco on a weekly basis)
Pay: Commensurate with experience
About Us
MBC BioLabs offers flexible lab space for ambitious biotech companies tackling today's biggest challenges, currently supporting 200+ companies across five Bay Area sites - with a sixth on the way. Learn more at www.mbcbiolabs.com.
Job Summary
At MBC BioLabs, safety is a critical part of enabling breakthrough science. We're seeking a Head of Environmental Health & Safety to lead EH&S across our shared laboratory facilities, partnering with both internal teams and hundreds of startup scientists to steward a safe, compliant, and productive research environment.
This is a community-facing role: you will support our resident startup companies as well as our internal team in navigating safety requirements, staying compliant, and feeling genuinely supported (rather than policed).
You will own the day-to-day coordination of safety programming, documentation, vendor relationships, and regulatory reporting across five (soon six) Bay Area sites, while building relationships with regulatory agencies and ensuring MBC's own operations remain best-in-class.
MBC will provide EH&S-specific training, access to external consultants with deep domain expertise, administrative support, and leadership support, so you don't need to independently have all the answers, but you do need to be highly organized, a warm and clear communicator, and genuinely excited about being embedded in a community of 200+ life sciences startups.
The ideal candidate is as comfortable helping a first-time founder understand their compliance obligations as they are coordinating a regulatory inspection or managing a waste disposal vendor. We are hoping to find someone who thinks of EH&S as a service they're proud to deliver, not a set of rules they're tasked with enforcing.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary day-to-day EH&S point of contact for MBC teams and resident companies, fielding questions and connecting companies to the right resources
- Support onboarding for incoming companies: help new members understand safety requirements, documentation needs, and space configuration expectations
- Coordinate, schedule, and host monthly safety officers meetings for the MBC community; prepare agendas, run meetings (via Zoom), track action items, and circulate follow-up materials
- Maintain and organize EH&S documentation across all sites, including policies, procedures, emergency plans, and compliance records
- Own CERS reporting: maintain accounts, file required reports, and keep emergency plans and contact information current and accurate
- Assist member companies with permitting applications and renewals (building permits, use permits, biohazard registrations, etc.) on a consulting and coordination basis
- Manage vendor relationships for biohazardous waste disposal and emergency response training, including scheduling, contracts, and invoicing
- Support inspection readiness across all sites: coordinate logistics, maintain required records, and serve as a point of contact for fire marshals, health departments, and environmental inspectors
- Train and support the MBC operations team on safety protocols and emergency procedures
- Champion a warm, inclusive safety culture through recognition programs, community touchpoints, and creative initiatives that make safety feel like a shared value
- Stay current on regulations relevant to the biotech research community (Cal/OSHA, EPA, CDC/NIH biosafety guidelines, SF and San Mateo County requirements, local fire codes) with support from MBC's external EH&S consultants
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in a life science, environmental science, public health, or related field
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills: you can explain complex requirements clearly and accessibly to scientists, operators, and founders alike
- Strong organizational and administrative skills; you are reliable, detail-oriented, and thrive managing multiple priorities
- Enthusiasm for science and the startup ecosystem; interest in biotech
- Comfortable working independently and managing your own time across multiple sites
Preferred Qualifications
- Some laboratory and/or startup experience that gives you fluency with how scientists work
- Exposure to EH&S topics, occupational health, and regulatory compliance
- Experience in a customer-facing, operations, or community-facing role
- Familiarity with CERS, Cal/OSHA requirements, or biosafety fundamentals (training will be provided, but prior exposure is nice to have)
Work Environment
This role is in-person and will be based at multiple Bay Area sites; you are likely to have a "home campus" closest to where you live, but will need to regularly (i.e. weekly) visit the other campuses.
How to Apply
Please visit our website at mbcbiolabs.com to get a better sense for our organization and mission. Interested candidates should submit a resume and a brief cover letter describing their interest in EH&S and what draws them to supporting a community of life sciences startups. Without a cover letter, your application may not be reviewed.
Pay: From $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
