---
title: 'Associate Director, Environmental Health and Safety at Ginkgo Bioworks Inc.'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-environmental-health-and-safety-ginkgo-bioworks-inc-boston-epcvdtv6me0f'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-26'
---

# Associate Director, Environmental Health and Safety at Ginkgo Bioworks Inc.

- **Company:** Ginkgo Bioworks Inc.
- **Location:** Boston, MA
- **Posted:** 2026-09-15
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-26
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ginkgobioworks/jobs/5238882007

## Job description

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Ginkgo is constructing, editing, and redesigning the living world in order to answer the globe’s growing challenges in health, energy, food, materials, and more. Our bioengineers make use of an in-house automated foundry for designing and building new organisms.

Grow with Ginkgo

Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. We move fast across multiple business units, and right now we're building the world's first autonomous lab right here in Boston. Our team is ambitious, hands-on, and energized by hard problems - think tech-company pace and curiosity, applied to biology.

Job Description

Ginkgo isn't slowing down, and neither should you. As we push into new territory - including building the world's first autonomous lab - keeping our team safe and our infrastructure compliant is mission-critical work. The Associate Director, EH&S will lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of comprehensive Environmental Health and Safety programs across Ginkgo sites. This role requires a resourceful, hands-on leader who can build practical, scalable EH&S programs with the lean resources of a company our size while maintaining site-specific operational excellence. The ideal candidate will have previous experience in chemical hygiene as well as working within regulated environments such as CLIA or FDA. You will work cross-functionally to drive efforts to optimize laboratory safety and infrastructure to enhance efficiency and quality.

## Key Responsibilities

- Regulatory Compliance: Manage all applicable EH&S permits (Local, State, Federal) including County AQMD, EPA, OSHA, USDA, and Fire Departments. Ensure compliance with regulated processes, including CLIA standards.
- Management Systems: Support the implementation and continuous improvement of the EH&S Management System, including event reporting, CAPA management, bio-risk management, and chemical hygiene programs.
- Program Leadership: Lead the authoring and maintenance of EH&S programs for the organization with a view toward building scalable corporate programs.
- Operational Oversight: Support site leaders to progress EH&S programs and actively measure performance through compliance metrics.
- Training & Development: Develop and improve training materials, managing both in-person and online training via the Learning Management System.
- Committee Management: Direct site EH&S Committees, chairing meetings and working collaboratively to deploy global safety standards.
- Expansion Support: Transition existing EH&S programs into new facilities, creating site-specific manuals and coordinating contractor or site-level support as needed, working within a lean team structure.
- Audit & Inspection: Develop internal inspection and audit programs for lab safety, flammable inventory checks, and controlled substance reconciliation.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Facilities, Shipping and Receiving, and Technical Management to ensure regulatory compliance.

## Minimum Requirements

- Education: Four-year degree (BS/BA) in Science, Occupational Safety & Health, Environmental Science, or a related applicable degree.
- Experience: 4+ years of management and EH&S experience specifically in a laboratory or manufacturing setting. Demonstrated knowledge of managing Chemical Hygiene programs.
- Program Execution: Demonstrated ability to create and execute EH&S programs that engage employees and enable a safe work culture.
- Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of systems under applicable regulatory controls at the local, state, and federal levels.
- Communication: Advanced interpersonal and communication skills, with a focus on collaboration, innovation, and inclusion.

## Preferred Capabilities

- Advanced Degree: Master's degree in a scientific discipline or engineering field.
- CLIA Familiarity: Working knowledge of CLIA lab requirements, with the ability to take on ongoing CLIA compliance ownership if needed.
- Systems & Process Improvement: Comfortable identifying and adopting modern tools, including AI-assisted approaches, to improve program efficiency and reduce manual overhead.
- Strategic Alignment: Ability to quantitatively capture initiative deliverables and link outcomes to corporate strategy and vision.

DEI is in Our DNA

There is a serious lack of diversity in our industry, and we are committed to driving change. Our culture promotes inclusion and embraces the value of working with people from all walks of life. We care about how our biological engineering platform is used, and having a diverse team gives us the best chance to build something we are proud of.

It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants.

The base salary range for this role is $127,000k-  $190,000k. Actual pay within this range will depend on a candidate's skills, expertise, and experience. We also offer company stock awards, a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental & vision coverage, health spending accounts, voluntary benefits, leave of absence policies, 401(k) program with employer contribution, 8 paid holidays in addition to a full-week winter shutdown and unlimited Paid Time Off policy.

Ginkgo has implemented a return to office policy effective October 1, 2025 with required in-office days 5 days per week.  This policy applies to all employees who live within 50 miles of Ginkgo’s offices in Boston, MA, Emeryville, CA and West Sacramento, CA.

It is the policy of Ginkgo Bioworks to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees, employment applicants, and EOE disability/vet.

Privacy Notice

I understand that I am applying for employment with Ginkgo Bioworks and am being asked to provide information in connection with my application. I further understand that Ginkgo gathers this information through a third-party service provider and that Ginkgo may also use other service providers to assist in the application process.  Ginkgo may share my information with such third-party service providers in connection with my application and for the start of employment.  Ginkgo will treat my information in accordance with Ginkgo's [Privacy Policy](https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/concentric-privacy-policy/).  By submitting this job application, I am acknowledging that I have reviewed and agree to Ginkgo's [Privacy Policy](https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/concentric-privacy-policy/) as well as the privacy policies of the third-party service providers used by Ginkgo's associated with the application process.

## About Ginkgo Bioworks Inc.

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Ginkgo Bioworks builds and operates autonomous labs that replace manual benchwork with robotics, enabling scientists to program biology for applications across biopharma, agriculture, and industrial biotechnology.
- **Entity Type**: Public (NYSE: DNA)
- **Headquarters**: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founded**: 2009
- **Founders**: Jason Kelly, Reshma Shetty, Barry Canton, Austin Che, Tom Knight

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Biotechnology Research, Synthetic Biology, Autonomous Labs
- Target customers: Biopharma, agriculture, and industrial biotech companies (B2B, Enterprise)
- Mission: "Build the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone" — with a vision that "our children will program biology like we once programmed computers."

## Products & Services
- **[Autonomous Lab Platform]**: A robotics-driven laboratory system where scientists can order experimental work to be run by robots, replacing manual benchwork. Available as Ginkgo’s in-house lab or as a "cloud lab" service.
- **[Ginkgo Datapoints]**: A contract research service offering small molecule developability, high-throughput screening, and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) services.
- **[Ginkgo Solutions]**: Custom contract research and development services for customer-specific biotech projects.
- **[Catalyst Agent]**: A tool that lets scientists "run your experiments on Ginkgo's autonomous lab in Boston, virtually."
- **[Biosecurity Software]**: A software offering focused on biosecurity applications.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Publicly traded (NYSE: DNA); market cap fluctuates — as of mid-2025, the company had a market cap in the range of ~$1-2 billion (check current quote). IPO date: September 17, 2021.
- **Total Funding**: $3.31 billion (cumulative, including IPO and post-IPO equity)
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue — Not publicly available in search results; the company reports financials in SEC filings. Headcount: ~454 employees (-36% YoY, reflecting a significant restructuring).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Flagship Pioneering, Takeda, Sanofi, Novartis, Bayer, and others. Key acquisitions include FGen (2022), Circularis Biotechnologies (2022), Altar (2022), Bitome (2022), and AgBiome’s GENESIS Platform (2024).
- **Growth Signals**: Trusted by over 130 customers; operates in 10 countries; strong government partnerships (CEO Jason Kelly previously chaired the U.S. National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology); active job postings up 175% YoY (though from a low base).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Autonomous Lab Leadership**: Ginkgo is pioneering the shift from manual benchwork to fully automated, robot-run labs — a significant moat in productivity and scalability.
- **Founding Team**: Founders are pioneers in synthetic biology (e.g., Tom Knight is considered the "father of synthetic biology"; Jason Kelly chaired the U.S. National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology).
- **Platform Approach**: The "cell programming platform" allows biology to be engineered more like software, enabling applications across diverse markets (food, fragrance, pharmaceuticals).
- **Government & Biosecurity Ties**: Deep relationships with U.S. government agencies for biosecurity and national security applications.

## Strategic Focus
- **Autonomous Lab Expansion**: Scaling the autonomous lab platform and making it available as a "cloud lab" to external customers.
- **Commercialization**: Moving from R&D to commercial revenue through Datapoints and Solutions services.
- **Cost Optimization**: The 36% headcount reduction suggests a focus on operational efficiency and path to profitability.
- **Biosecurity**: Leveraging government partnerships for biosecurity software and services.

## Why Work Here
- **Cutting-Edge Mission**: Work at the intersection of biology, robotics, and software — "program biology like we once programmed computers."
- **Engineering Culture**: Heavy emphasis on software engineering for autonomous lab systems (robotics, scheduling, optimization, driver development) — roles for senior software engineers, automation engineers, and hardware engineers.
- **Locations**: Primary hub in Boston, Massachusetts (headquarters); second office in Emeryville, California. Some remote roles (e.g., Director, Government Partnership Development).
- **Culture**: Described as a place where scientists "focus on insight, creativity, and judgment rather than manual lab work." Internships available in software, automation, and commercial operations.
- **Perks**: Not explicitly detailed in search results, but typical for a public biotech: equity, health benefits, and the chance to work on world-changing problems.
- **Important Note**: The company has undergone a 36% headcount reduction in the past year — potential job seekers should be aware of restructuring and recent departures of senior leaders (e.g., Head of Commercial, Director of National Security partnerships).

## Sources
1. [ginkgo.bio](https://www.ginkgo.bio/)
2. [ginkgo.bio/about](https://ginkgo.bio/about)
3. [LinkedIn - Ginkgo Bioworks](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ginkgo-bioworks)
4. [Greenhouse - Ginkgo Bioworks Jobs](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ginkgobioworks)

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