Career Opportunity

Director of Safety – Safety Division – SF Municipal Transportation Agency (9183)

Recruitment: RTF0162700-01110960

Published: June 18, 2026

Accepting applications until: July 09, 2026

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. 

Application Opening: June 18, 2026

Deadline to Apply: 11:59PM PST on July 9, 2026

Recruitment ID: PEX-9183-162701

Salary: $228,332 - $291,330 annually (Range A)

Division: Safety

Reports To: Director of Transportation/General Manager

Work Location: 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 6th Floor, San Francisco, CA

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (see nature of work)

⚠️ IMPORTANT⚠️: A cover letter and resume should be attached to the online application.

Role description

Position Description:

The Director of Safety serves as San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) safety executive, providing strategic leadership for all safety programs for one of the nation’s largest and most complex urban transit systems. Operating under broad policy direction, this role is central to the Agency’s unwavering commitment to safety and protecting passengers, employees and the public across bus and rail operations every day.

The Safety Director assumes full accountability for developing and executing the Agency’s strategic safety plan, setting long-range goals and shaping policy across occupational health (Cal/OSHA) and system safety disciplines. This is a high-visibility leadership role with direct broad reporting and agency-wide impact.

Examples of Important and Essential Duties:

Policy Development & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensuring the agency complies with laws, standards, and regulations required by government agencies including Cal/OSHA, EPA, FTA, DOT, DOL, and CPUC; industry best practices, standards and requirements established by APTA, NTSB, ANSI, NFPA and TCRP.
• Develops, implements and continuously improves comprehensive safety policies and procedures to reduce risk, eliminates accidents and protect all agency stakeholders.
• Monitors the regulatory landscape and proactively adapts agency programs to address evolving compliance requirements.

Strategic Safety Leadership

• Provides leadership over all aspects of the Safety Division including the System Safety team, establishing vision, priorities, and performance standards aligned with Agency goals.
• Leads development of the agency’s goals, strategic plans, policies, procedures, and work standards translating policy direction into measurable programs and outcomes.
• Champions a culture of safety agency-wide, influencing leadership, operations and front-line staff through visible commitment and clear communication.
• Manages organizational change initiatives within the Safety Division, ensuring effective transitions and sustained performance.

Operations and Technical Oversight

• Oversees occupational safety and health (Cal/OSHA) and system safety programs for bus and rail operations and ensuring robust safeguards across all operating environments.
• Develops and ensures safety procedures to reduce and eliminate accidents, injuries and system failures.
• Leads accident investigation programs ensuring root cause analysis is conducted rigorously and corrective actions are implemented and tracked to closure.

Reporting & Stakeholder Engagement

• Develops and presents comprehensive safety reports for executive management and the SFMTA Board of Directors translating complex data into clear, actionable insights.
• Collaborates cross – functionally with operations, City officials, City Attorney’s Office, and HR leadership to integrate safety into all agency functions.
• Serves as the agency’s primary point of contact for safety-related regulatory agencies and external stakeholders.

• Directs the development and implementation of effective safety training, education and prevention programs throughout the agency.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Nature of Work:

Work is performed in both office and field settings. Exposure to adverse weather conditions can be anticipated. Duties may not always conform to a normal workday/workweek schedule. Must be able to work irregular hours and provide on-call availability. Fieldwork may require operating a SFMTA vehicle. Ability to work irregular hours and provide on-call availability. Remain on-call 24/7 for safety-related emergencies.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications:

• Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; AND
• Ten (10) years of professional-level experience in transit system safety, safety management, industrial safety, transportation planning and/or system safety engineering of which four (4) years of this experience was in a supervisory or management capacity supervising professional-level staff; AND
• Possession of a valid driver’s license.

Substitution:

Additional professional-level experience in transit system safety, safety management, industrial safety, transportation planning, and/or system safety engineering may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis. One year (2000 hours) of qualifying experience will be considered equivalent to 30 semester units/45 quarter units.

Notes:

1. Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

2. One (1) year full-time experience is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time experience.

Desirable Qualifications:

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify candidates advancing to the interview process and/or to identify job finalist(s) at the end of the selection process when referred for hiring.

• Credentials as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Transit Safety and Security (TSSP) or comparable certification.
• Experience in developing and implementing safety programs in multimodal transit setting
• Extensive knowledge of operational safety, system safety engineering, quality assurance, workers’ compensation, loss control, and management principles.
• Thorough understanding of rail and bus systems, transit procedures, and equipment, including vehicles, facilities, power, signal, communications, and control systems.
• Demonstrated experience in budgeting, strategic planning.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse staff and diverse demographics.

What else should I know?

Verification:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/#verification. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included in your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Process:

Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be used to determine candidates' qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Agency will be invited to move forward in the selection process.

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

How to Apply: Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.

1. Visit Careers With Purpose | City and County of San Francisco
2. Type “9183” in the “Search by class or keyword” field.
3. Click the link to open the Job Announcement.
4. Select the “Apply Now” button and follow the instructions on the screen.
5. A cover letter and resume should be attached to the online application.

For questions or inquiries, please contact the Human Resources Analyst, Melissa Lee at Melissa.Lee@sfmta.com.

This recruitment may be utilized to fill similar positions in this classification at SFMTA.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.