Operations Safety Lead

Role Purpose

The Operations Safety Lead acts as the primary "eyes and ears" on the ground at Atlanta (ATL). Positioned within the Safety Department with a dotted-line reporting relationship to Operations, you will serve as the point of contact for surfacing safety issues, gating vehicle software releases, and implementing robust field safety processes. You will apply AeroVect’s Safety Management System (SMS) at ATL.

This role ensures that human factors and operational execution strictly adhere to an operational safety-first mindset. You will be responsible for defining quantitative safety thresholds, managing mitigation reviews, establishing clear escalation logic for safety drivers, and maintaining a complete chain of traceability between field events and safety analysis.

Airside Safety Oversight & Risk Mitigation

• Serve as the onsite point of contact at ATL for identifying, surfacing, and resolving operational safety concerns.
• Own and define quantitative safety thresholds, categorize mitigation risk severity (severe vs. non-severe), and lead mitigation review cadences.
• Review Near-Miss Concepts (NMCs) from an operational safety perspective, utilizing data tools (Hex, Jira) and operator feedback to address unmitigated risks proactively.
• Write and maintain the escalation logic for safety drivers and operators during field anomalies or off-nominal conditions.
• Present weekly reporting to the Atlanta Operations team on risk events and safety mitigations.
• Provide monthly safety bulletins to Operators to continue engagement and a safety mindset in the fleet.
• Ensure strict operational compliance with airfield rules, airside driving standards, and operational mitigations tied to Deployment Readiness Reviews (DRRs).

Autonomy Release Gating & Pre-departure Execution

• Implement, enforce, and own autonomy checklists for vehicle releases, airside incidents, and daily pre-departure checks.
• Act as an independent safety check on vehicle readiness and driver allocation updates prior to autonomous deployment.
• Sit in autonomous vehicles prior to new feature releases to judge performance, evaluate human factors, and sign off on operational readiness.

Field Observability & Driver Governance

• Conduct regular shadow shifts (at least weekly across AM and PM shifts with different drivers) to evaluate real-world operating environments and driver behaviors.
• Work with the Operations Training team to oversee safety driver training standards and sign off on airside driving certification programs.
• Partner with the Training Supervisor on safety driver training, manual updates, and post-release mitigation debriefs.
• Coordinate directly with Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) teams when specialized airside training or safety protocols are required.
• Participate actively in daily shift handoffs and operational planning meetings to maintain alignment across teams.

You Have

• Operational Safety Background: Demonstrated experience in ramp operations/airfield safety at an airline, airport operator, or operational safety within industrial robotics or automated logistics hubs.
• Field Safety Mindset: Proven track record of identifying operational hazards on the ground and establishing structured workflows to eliminate or mitigate risks.
• Resilient Communication Skills: A strong, assertive, and articulate communicator who is willing to put their hand up and stop operations when safety is compromised. Ability to navigate competing priorities across operations and engineering to align team goals.
• Onsite Presence: Full-time presence on-site at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
• Driving & Airport Access: Valid U.S. driver’s license and a clean driving record. Must be able to obtain an ATL airport badge, which requires a fingerprint-based background check, and an ATL airfield driving permit.
• Autonomy Certification: Willingness to undergo internal training and achieve certification for autonomous driving within the first 60 days of employment.

We Prefer

• Standards Familiarity: Familiarity with airside safety regulations, ramp safety standards, or ground handling operational procedures.
• Prior experience in autonomous functional safety standards (e.g., ISO 26262) is not required, but is an asset. The primary requirement is a rigorous operational safety mindset and the ability to evaluate risks in real-time airside operations.