At GE Appliances, a Haier company, we come together to make “good things, for life.” As the fastest-growing appliance company in the U.S., we’re powered by creators, thinkers and makers who believe that anything is possible and that there’s always a better way. We believe in the power of our people and in giving them the freedom to explore, discover and build good things, together.
The GE Appliances philosophy, backed by three simple commitments defines the way we work, invent, create, do business, and serve our communities: we come together , we always look for a better way , and we create possibilities .
Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire and must be able to maintain such authorization without current or future employer or school sponsorship. GE Appliances will not sponsor employment-based visas for this position now or in the future.
Interested in joining us on our journey?
We are seeking a Principal Technical Machine Safety Engineer to lead machine safety standards, governance, and implementation for custom automation equipment across our U.S. manufacturing facilities. This role serves as the company’s senior technical authority on machine safety, ensuring new and modified equipment is compliant, practical, and effective in real production environments.
This position is ideal for a hands-on expert with deep experience in manufacturing, machine safety, and the day-to-day realities facing operations teams. The successful candidate will lead the development of corporate standards, supplier requirements, validation practices, and risk assessment processes that improve safety without creating unnecessary administrative burden. Teaching and advising others is a key requirement to facilitate companywide adherence to these policies and procedures.
This role primarily governs machine safety for newly procured and integrated custom automation, with support for major retrofits, equipment relocation, and legacy equipment risk reduction as needed.
Position
Principal Technical Machine Safety Engineer
Location
USA, Louisville, KY
How You'll Create Possibilities
Establish Standards: Define and maintain corporate engineering standards and functional safety specifications for all custom assembly and fabrication automation in a way that is practical, scalable, and aligned with manufacturing needs.
Procurement Governance: Integrate robust safety milestones into the equipment procurement lifecycle, including RFQ technical reviews, Design Reviews, and sign-offs.
Risk Assessment Leadership: Govern, improve, and audit Machinery Safety Risk Assessments (Task-Based Risk Assessments), with a focus on simplifying the process, improving consistency, eliminating unnecessary administrative burden, and teaching others in and outside the organization how to effectively use the process.
Safety Verification & Validation (V&V): Facilitate the review, verification, and approval of safety system designs (PL/SIL targets), and develop comprehensive safety validation protocols for Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) on the production floor.
Vendor Compliance: Serve as the primary technical point of contact for equipment suppliers and system integrators on machine safety compliance requirements, reviewing and resolving deviations from corporate standards.
Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner with Plant EHS, Legal, Procurement, Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering to ensure engineering standards align with regulatory compliance, production realities, and liability frameworks.
Regulatory Monitoring: Act as the subject matter expert on applicable OSHA, ANSI B11, NFPA, and robotic safety standards, monitoring regulatory and industry changes and updating corporate procedures accordingly.
Develop practical guidance, templates, checklists, and documentation methods for internal teams and external machine builders to verify and document that systems meet machine safety…