Associate Director -Physical Sciences, EH&S

Your Impact at Lila: As an Associate Director of Physical Sciences EHS, you will be a hands-on, in-person contributor responsible for ensuring a safe, compliant, and efficient lab environment across our physical science facilities. You will directly implement and maintain comprehensive environmental health and safety programs that enable groundbreaking discoveries in material science, battery technologies, and X-ray-enabled research within a secure, compliant setting. Key Responsibilities Develop, implement, and maintain EHS programs and policies with a practical, hands-on focus on physical and chemical hazards, material sciences, nanomaterials, X-ray safety, laser safety, machine shop activities, and battery engineering, manufacturing, and testing environments. Conduct in-person safety evaluations, hazard identifications, iterative risk assessments, FMEA, and facility walkthroughs to promptly identify hazards and implement corrective actions. Oversee chemical safety and hazardous waste disposal processes specific to physical science labs, including solvents, and reactive materials. Design, deliver, and document practical EHS training and onboarding for researchers, technicians, and contractors, emphasizing real-world safety practices, regulatory compliance, and hands-on procedures for material science, high-pressure synthesis, X-ray operation, and material handling. Lead development of best practices for chemical handling, hazardous materials storage, nanomaterials safety, and X-ray usage in multiple lab configurations. Coordinate with lab groups to ensure compliance with chemical hygiene, radiological safety for X-ray work, laser safety, and waste disposal regulations; collaborate with 3rd party contractors as needed. Participate in incident investigations, performing root-cause analysis, FMEA, and developing pragmatic prevention strategies and corrective actions. Maintain and manage compliance documentation, records, and reporting with an emphasis on actionable, in-field documentation. Act as a hands-on safety partner to lab teams, translating regulatory requirements into clear, on-the-ground procedures and checklists. Note: While we strive to continuously improve our EHS program, we recognize that true auditing involves a level of formality and rigor we are not yet structured to fully support. At this stage, we use the terms “review,” “evaluation,” or “verification” to better reflect the nature of our processes. What You’ll Need to Succeed BA/BS degree in Environmental Health and Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Chemistry, Materials Science, Engineering, or a closely related field. 5+ years of hands-on EHS experience in scientific, laboratory, or biotech environments with a strong emphasis on physical science domains and in-field safety operations. Solid understanding of safety regulations across chemical hygiene, radiation/X-ray safety, hazardous waste disposal, and battery handling/transport. Demonstrated ability to perform in-person safety evaluations, risk assessments, and facility reviews, with a track record of implementing tangible corrective actions. Excellent organizational skills, clear communication, and hands-on training capabilities. Ability to collaborate effectively across chemistry, materials science, electronics, battery RD, and radiography/X-ray workstreams. Comfortable working in environments with X-ray sources or radiographic activities and handling battery technologies and related safety requirements. Bonus Points For: Certifications in OSHA, HazMat, Laser Safety, Radiation Safety (X-ray), or related safety programs. Experience with lab safety management software, electronic lab notebooks, or asset/inventory safety tools. Experience with electrical safety, high-energy materials, or energy storage systems (EV batteries, Li-ion, solid-state chemistries). Familiarity with NFPA70E Working Conditions: This role requires frequent on-site presence in our active laboratories in Cambridge, ... (truncated, view full listing at source)