Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Manager in Portland, Oregon at Kanto Corporation

About Kanto Corporation

Kanto is a U.S. leader in high-purity specialty chemicals, powering the world’s most advanced industries. With a proven legacy of precision, safety, and innovation, we partner with global leaders in semiconductors, technology, and chemical processing to deliver products that meet the most uncompromising standards of quality and reliability.

At Kanto, our people are our greatest strength. Collaboration, commitment, and excellence define how we work, while continuous improvement drives both our success and employee growth. Joining Kanto means shaping the future of technology and manufacturing—while building your career in a dynamic, high-impact environment where your work truly matters.

Purpose

The Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Manager leads Kanto's workplace safety, occupational health, and applicable environmental programs at the Portland Manufacturing Facility. Operating within a chemical manufacturing environment supporting the semiconductor industry, this position is responsible for strengthening Kanto's safety culture, reducing operational risk, maintaining regulatory compliance, and ensuring safe work practices are consistently understood and followed.

This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership position that partners with Production, Warehouse/Logistics, Engineering, Facilities, Quality, HR, and Process Safety Management (PSM).

Key Responsibilities

EHS Leadership & Compliance

• Lead and continuously improve Kanto's site EHS programs, policies, procedures, and safe-work practices.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local requirements, including OSHA/Oregon OSHA and applicable environmental regulations.
• Maintain required EHS documentation, OSHA records, regulatory reporting, programs, and inspection readiness.
• Monitor regulatory and industry developments and recommend changes to Kanto practices as appropriate.
• Support regulatory inspections, customer EHS audits, supplier qualification requirements, and associated corrective actions.
• Partner with operational leaders to establish clear safety expectations and accountability throughout their departments.

Safety Audits, Hazard Analysis & Risk Management

• Conduct routine safety audits, inspections, risk assessments, and Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs) across production, warehouse/material handling, yard, laboratory, office, and other operating areas.
• Assess hazards associated with specific work activities, including chemical handling and tasks such as leak testing acid drums, and develop appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Identify and implement appropriate engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE requirements, and safe-work procedures.
• Continuously evaluate work practices to ensure consistent implementation of safety standards.
• Track audit findings, hazards, and corrective actions through completion and verify effectiveness.
• Participate in safety reviews for new equipment, processes, facility modifications, and significant operational changes.

Incident Investigation & Corrective Action

• Lead or coordinate investigations involving injuries, illnesses, chemical exposures, spills, property damage, near misses, and significant safety events.
• Apply root-cause analysis to identify contributing factors and systemic risks.
• Develop corrective and preventive actions with responsible leaders and track them through verified completion.
• Analyze incident, near-miss, and safety-observation trends to identify opportunities for prevention and continuous improvement.

Process & Chemical Safety

• Partner closely with Kanto's PSM Manager and technical leaders to coordinate occupational and process safety requirements.
• Support safe chemical handling, storage, transfer, PPE selection, hazardous-material management, and emergency response.
• Participate as appropriate in Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs), Management of Change (MOC), pre-startup safety reviews, and related process-safety activities.
• Ensure employees understand applicable chemical hazards, controls, PPE, emergency procedures, and safe-work expectations.

Environmental & Emergency Preparedness

• Support compliance involving hazardous materials, hazardous waste, chemical storage, spill prevention and response, and other applicable environmental requirements.
• Maintain and continuously improve site emergency preparedness procedures.
• Coordinate drills involving evacuation, chemical releases, spills, fire, medical emergencies, and other relevant scenarios.
• Partner with internal teams and external emergency-response resources as appropriate.

Safety Culture & Employee Engagement

• Lead monthly Safety Committee meetings and ensure identified actions are followed through to completion.
• Develop and implement toolbox talks, safety alerts, visual communications, and employee safety campaigns.
• Organize and maintain PPE stations at point-of-use locations and monitor inventory and availability.
• Keep safety and safe-work practices highly visible throughout PMF.
• Encourage employee reporting of hazards, near misses, unsafe conditions, and improvement opportunities.
• Apply industry best practices and appropriate behavior-based safety principles to strengthen employee engagement and continuous improvement.
• Coach supervisors and managers on reinforcing safe behaviors and addressing unsafe practices.

Training & Program Administration

• Create, assign, track, and maintain required safety training through KPA and other designated systems.
• Partner with department leaders to ensure timely training completion and regulatory compliance.
• Maintain training records and matrices for employees, contractors, and specialized work.
• Evaluate training effectiveness through follow-up audits, observation, employee feedback, incident trends, and demonstrated competency.
• Develop targeted refresher training when trends or operational changes indicate additional training is needed.

Contractor & Visitor Safety

• Establish safety expectations for contractors, vendors, temporary workers, and visitors.
• Support contractor orientation, hazard communication, site-specific safety requirements, and work-area oversight.
• Intervene when contractor or vendor work does not meet Kanto's safety expectations.

Floor Presence

The Safety Manager is expected to operate with a "coach makes the rounds" mentality and maintain a strong presence throughout Kanto's operation.

• Spend approximately 40–50% of working time on the production floor and in other operational areas, engaging employees, observing work, identifying hazards, and reinforcing safe practices.
• Build credibility by understanding how work is actually performed and helping employees and leaders solve safety concerns.
• Provide real-time coaching and intervention when unsafe practices or conditions are identified.
• Exercise appropriate stop-work authority when an activity presents an imminent or unacceptable risk.

EHS Metrics & Continuous Improvement

Establish, monitor, and communicate appropriate leading and lagging EHS indicators, including:

• OSHA recordable and lost-time incidents
• First-aid and injury trends
• Near-miss and hazard reporting
• Safety observations and audit findings
• Corrective-action completion
• Training completion and effectiveness
• Employee safety participation
• Environmental incidents or releases

Use EHS data and trend analysis to identify priorities, drive continuous improvement, and periodically report safety performance and recommendations to leadership.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Health & Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Science, Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline required; an equivalent combination of education, professional EHS certifications, and/or substantial relevant industrial experience may be considered.
• 7+ years of progressive EHS, occupational safety, or industrial safety experience, preferably within chemical manufacturing, semiconductor, advanced manufacturing/production, or another highly regulated industrial environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing safety programs, workplace inspections, JHAs/risk assessments, incident investigations, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Working knowledge of OSHA/Oregon OSHA requirements and industrial safety practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with chemical safety, hazardous materials, emergency preparedness, and environmental compliance preferred.
• Experience working with PSM-regulated operations strongly preferred.
• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry and HAZWOPER certifications preferred.
• CSP, ASP, CHMM, or similar professional certification desirable.
• Strong communication, coaching, analytical, and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively from the production floor through senior leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to influence, gain buy-in, challenge unsafe practices, and take initiative.

Leadership Expectations

The Safety Manager serves as Kanto's safety leader, coach, and change agent and is expected to:

• Build strong partnerships across departments while maintaining high safety standards.
• Hold leaders and employees accountable for safe-work practices.
• Balance regulatory requirements with practical operational solutions.
• Maintain strong visibility, credibility, and accessibility with employees.
• Use data, observations, and employee engagement to proactively identify risk.
• Help make safety an integrated part of how Kanto operates—not simply a compliance activity.

Why Join Kanto

• Lead a mission-critical function that directly shapes the safety culture at Kanto.
• Contribute to a high-tech, safety-first environment.
• Collaborate across all teams and departments.
• Competitive compensation, generous FTO, 10 paid holidays, robust medical/dental benefits, tuition reimbursement, and opportunities to further develop your EHS knowledge and experience.

Ready to Apply?

Click the “Apply” button to submit your resume. We look forward to learning more about your technical expertise and leadership.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Kanto Corporation is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and talents that each individual brings and are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels respected, included, and empowered to contribute to our shared success.