Environmental Health and Safety Specialist

Overview

About our Company:

Exagen is a patient-focused and discovery-driven life sciences company dedicated to transforming the care continuum for patients suffering from debilitating and chronic autoimmune diseases.  Our goal is to enable rheumatologists to improve care for patients through the differential diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of complex autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.  By leveraging our proprietary Cell-Bound Complement Activation Products, or CB-CAPs, technology, we help get to the real cause of a patient’s symptoms and guide their journey to improved health.

About the Opportunity: 

The Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Specialist supports the day-to-day administration and continuous improvement of Exagen's EHS programs. This role partners with laboratory operations, Facilities, and cross-functional teams to maintain a safe and compliant workplace, coordinate required training and documentation, support audits and inspections, and help ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local EHS requirements.

Location note: This is an on-site position supporting our Vista and Carlsbad locations, Monday through Friday. Candidates must live within commuting distance of our locations.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities:

• Maintain the required EH&S permits from federal, state, and local agencies as appropriate; maintain applicable certifications to support EH&S programs and regulated waste management.
• Coordinate hazardous and other regulated waste activities, including waste determinations, proper handling, documentation, and manifest submission.
• Support internal EHS program audits, including audit preparation, documentation review, reporting, and follow-up of findings and corrective actions.
• Support regulatory inspections and requests from external agencies; coordinate documentation and follow-up activities with internal stakeholders.
• Develop, review, and maintain EHS policies, SOPs, safety plans, and related documentation.
• Conduct routine workplace and laboratory safety inspections and risk assessments; document findings and track corrective actions through completion.
• Facilitate regularly scheduled safety meetings and support safety committee activities, including agendas, minutes, action items, and follow-up.
• Review incidents, near misses, injuries, and safety concerns; support investigations, root-cause analysis, and corrective and preventive actions.
• Coordinate and deliver required employee safety training and maintain accurate training records.
• Maintain and report EHS metrics, trends, training completion, incidents, inspection findings, and corrective action status for management review.
• Partner with Facilities and laboratory teams on emergency preparedness, chemical safety, PPE, ergonomics, contractor safety, and other workplace safety activities.
• Adhere to department rules and protocols as well as Company policies stated in the Employee handbook.
• Support EHS-related projects and continuous improvement initiatives to help maintain regulatory compliance.
• Completes other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

2+ years of experience supporting environmental health and safety programs in a regulated laboratory, biotechnology, life sciences, healthcare, or similar environment.

• Working knowledge of OSHA/Cal-OSHA, EPA, DTSC, hazardous waste, hazard communication, and other applicable federal, state, and local EHS requirements.
• HAZWOPER and DOT/IATA training or certification; current certification preferred.
• Experience with safety inspections, incident investigations, corrective action tracking, and EHS documentation.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with laboratory, Facilities, Quality, and cross-functional teams.
• Detail-oriented, with strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health and Safety, Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Life Sciences, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Pay Range: $75,000-95,000/annually

Benefits: We offer a competitive benefits package designed to support the health, financial well-being, and work-life balance of our employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts; a 401(k) retirement savings program; 4 weeks paid time off (PTO); paid company holidays; employer-paid life insurance; optional life insurance; and employer-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance.