Principal Product & Field Safety Engineer, Ford Energy

The Principal Product & Field Safety Engineer is a principal-level individual contributor responsible for the safe installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and emergency response of utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across multiple platforms.

This role defines and governs cross-functional safety design standards across multiple BESS platforms and serves as the technical authority for system-level safety architecture, ensuring work can be performed safely throughout the product lifecycle.

The position is hands-on and field-focused. The ideal candidate understands high-voltage electrical systems, stored energy hazards, lithium-ion battery risks, lockout/tagout, emergency response, and the realities of technicians working on energized or potentially hazardous equipment in the field.

This is not a people-leader position. It is a principal-level technical role expected to provide subject-matter expertise, define standards and procedures, train and mentor teams, investigate safety events, and improve how safety is incorporated into our products and field operations.

Responsibilities

Safety Procedures & Safe Work Practices

• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve BESS-specific safety procedures, work instructions, and technical safety documentation.
• Own and support lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures for BESS equipment, including electrical, mechanical, stored-energy, and auxiliary-energy isolation.
• Develop safe work practices for commissioning, troubleshooting, preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, component replacement, and other field-service activities.

Battery Hazards & Emergency Response

• Develop procedures and guidance for battery thermal events, thermal runaway, smoke, fire, off-gassing, abnormal temperatures, and other battery-related hazards.
• Develop and maintain Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) and product-specific emergency response procedures for BESS sites.
• Support emergency situations involving battery systems and provide technical safety guidance to field teams, customers, first responders, and internal stakeholders as appropriate.

Electrical Safety & Risk Assessment

• Develop electrical safety procedures covering high voltage, arc-flash hazards, grounding, stored energy, verification of absence of voltage, and safe approach boundaries.
• Support job hazard analyses, job safety analyses, pre-task planning, and risk assessments for field-service and commissioning activities.
• Review field procedures and service instructions to ensure safety requirements are clearly incorporated before work is released to technicians.

Training & Qualification

• Develop and deliver safety training for commissioning personnel, field-service technicians, authorized service providers, contractors, and other personnel working on BESS equipment.
• Develop qualification requirements for personnel performing higher-risk work, including LOTO, energized electrical work, high-voltage activities, and emergency response.

Field Support & Incident Investigation

• Provide technical safety support during commissioning, energization, troubleshooting, maintenance, and major repair activities.
• Conduct field observations and site safety assessments to identify unsafe conditions, procedural gaps, product hazards, and opportunities for improvement.
• Participate in investigations involving safety incidents, near misses, thermal events, electrical events, or unexpected product behavior.
• Support root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions related to product and field safety.

Product Safety & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Work with Engineering and Product teams to identify hazards and improve product design, serviceability, labeling, guarding, interlocks, isolation points, and technician safety.
• Incorporate lessons learned from field events into procedures, training, product documentation, and future product designs.
• Support development and review of product warning labels, safety manuals, service manuals, commissioning documentation, and technical bulletins.
• Partner with Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Engineering, Service, Quality, and Operations teams on field and product safety matters.
• Provide technical input regarding applicable electrical, fire, battery, occupational safety, and BESS safety requirements.
• Represent Ford Energy as a voting member/delegate on standards development organizations (e.g., UL 9540, NFPA 855, IEEE); maintain expert knowledge of UL certifications and listings, applicable codes and standards (e.g., UL 9540A, UL 1973, NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, OSHA), and local AHJ requirements; translate them into field procedures, product documentation, and safe work practices, and lead certification, testing, and compliance activities.
• Support customers and site operators in understanding product-specific safety requirements and emergency procedures.
• Maintain safety documentation and ensure procedures remain current as products, configurations, and field practices change.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience (BS) or 10+ years (MS) in electrical safety, field safety, product safety, industrial safety, engineering, field service, commissioning, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience supporting high-voltage electrical equipment, energy storage, renewable energy, power generation, utilities, industrial equipment, or similar infrastructure.
• Strong working knowledge of lockout/tagout and hazardous-energy control.
• Expert knowledge of safety codes, standards, and regulations applicable to electrical equipment and energy storage, including UL product certifications, NFPA standards, and OSHA requirements, and the ability to apply them to product and field-service activities.
• Experience developing technical safety procedures, work instructions, JSAs/JHAs, risk assessments, or similar documentation.
• Experience supporting technicians or field personnel performing complex electrical or mechanical work.
• Ability to understand electrical drawings, system architecture, equipment manuals, and technical service procedures.
• Experience investigating incidents, near misses, or equipment failures and translating lessons learned into corrective actions.
• Strong technical writing and training skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with technicians, engineers, customers, contractors, management, and emergency-response personnel.
• Ability to travel to BESS sites as required up to 50%

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems.
• Experience with lithium-ion batteries and battery thermal-event hazards.
• Experience with BESS commissioning, field service, operations, or maintenance.
• Experience developing or executing emergency-response procedures for battery or high-voltage equipment.
• Experience working with fire departments, emergency responders, utilities, or Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs).
• Familiarity with electrical safety, fire protection, battery energy storage, and occupational safety standards applicable to utility-scale BESS.
• Hands-on familiarity with BESS-specific certifications and standards such as UL 9540, UL 9540A (thermal runaway fire propagation testing), UL 1973, NFPA 855, NFPA 70 (NEC), and NFPA 70E, and experience supporting product certification, large-scale fire testing, or code-compliance reviews.
• Active participation as a voting member or delegate on standards development organizations or technical committees (e.g., UL, NFPA, IEEE).
• CSP, CHST, ASP, electrical safety, NFPA, OSHA, or similar professional safety training or certifications.
• Engineering or technical degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, safety engineering, fire protection, occupational safety, or a related discipline.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
• Paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more,
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• Generous vacation time, sick/personal time, and paid holidays, including between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day