Work Health & Safety Officer

We’re building aircraft that fly faster, further, and to space. 

Hypersonix is a leading aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing company specialising in hypersonic technology and scramjet aircraft. We work at the bleeding edge of technology, delivering aircraft that fly faster, reach further, and open new pathways to space. We’re a small, fast-growing, highly capable team doing work that genuinely matters. 

The Opportunity 

This is Hypersonix’s first dedicated Work Health & Safety (WHS) hire, and it’s a hands-on role, not a compliance desk job. You’ll work alongside engineers and technicians in the workshop, on the floor and at test sites to make sure risk is controlled before work starts and that near misses and incidents turn into real improvements. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you’ll shape a WHS system that people actually use, rather than one that relies on a handful of champions. 

If you measure success by whether work got safer, know that paperwork with no safety effect is waste, and want to build a system that enables ambitious engineering rather than slowing it down, this could be the role for you. 

What you’ll own 

Responsibilities include: 

• Lead hazard identification and risk assessment across workshop, manufacturing, test and site activities, working alongside engineers and technicians to find controls that work in practice. 
• Partner with the Manufacturing and Engineering teams to build WHS into project and test campaign planning from the start, so controls are designed in rather than added later. 
• Own the Safe Work Procedure, permit and take 5 processes, keeping them proportionate to the risk and written for the people doing the work. 
• Support high-hazard activities such as hot works, hazardous atmospheres, pressure and fuel systems, lifting and test operations with practical, risk-based controls. 
• Own the incident and near miss system end to end, from reporting and investigation through to corrective action and close-out, fixing the system behind the event, not just the event, and lift near miss and hazard reporting so problems surface before they become injuries.
• Implement ongoing reviews of hazardous activities, updating safe operating procedures and risk assessments as needed, with changes agreed by relevant engineers and managers.
• Maintain the Safety Register and WHS management system, keeping documentation short, current and audit-ready. 
• Track leading and lagging safety metrics and report them monthly to the Safety Team and leadership and run the Safety Team meeting cadence. 
• Coordinate external audits and regulator engagement with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ), including notifiable incident reporting, keeping the business compliant with the WHS Act 2011 (Qld), Regulation and Codes of Practice. 
• Define role-based WHS training and competency requirements with People & Culture, own the WHS component of new employee inductions, and run toolbox talks and refreshers that people actually find useful. 
• Run the workplace inspection program and maintain emergency preparedness across office, workshop, warehouse and test areas, and provide WHS input on contractor and visitor controls, plant and site changes. 
• Coach supervisors and team leads so WHS ownership sits with the people running the work, and make it easy for anyone to raise a concern, and visible that something happened as a result. 
• Until a dedicated Facilities function is in place, support day-to-day facilities matters that affect safety, such as plant and equipment registers and contractor coordination. 

What You’ll Bring 

To hit the ground running in this role, you’ll need: 

• Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety (or equivalent). 
• 3+ years’ hands-on WHS experience in a manufacturing, engineering, workshop, construction or similar high-hazard environment. 
• Demonstrated experience running risk assessments, incident investigations and corrective action programs that led to measurable improvement. 
• Working knowledge of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), Regulation and Codes of Practice, and the judgement to apply them proportionately. 
• Strong relationship-building skills: comfortable on the floor and in the workshop, with the credibility to influence engineers, technicians and supervisors without relying on authority. 
• A practical, solutions-focused approach, and clear, plain writing: able to produce a procedure or report people will actually read. 
• Ability to obtain and maintain any applicable security clearance or background checks. 
• Right to live and work in Australia. 

Bonus points for.. 

• Diploma of Work Health and Safety, or progress towards it. 
• Experience in aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing or test environments. 
• Exposure to hazardous substances, pressure systems, hydrogen or fuel handling, hot works or lifting operations. 
• Experience building or uplifting a WHS management system in a scaling business. 
• Incident investigation training (ICAM or similar). 
• Rehabilitation and Return to Work Coordinator (RRTWC), first aid or mental health first aid qualifications, or experience supporting injury management, return to work or psychosocial wellbeing. 
• A current driver’s licence. 

Applicants must be an Australian Citizen/ Permanent Resident or have an appropriate Australian work visa. The Australian Defence Trade Controls Act (DTC) apply and as such, we may need to ask additional questions about citizenship as applicable. Applicants will also need to complete pre-employment workforce screening checks. 

Life at Hypersonix 

We’re a 70-person team working in one of the most demanding fields in aerospace. The pace is fast, priorities shift quickly and expectations are high, but so is the impact. If that energises you, you’ll thrive here. That means bringing the grit to tackle problems no one has solved before, the ownership to see what needs doing and do it, the agility to adapt fast and a genuine commitment to backing your team. 

Ready to Fly Faster? 

Benefits include:

• Competitive salary. 
• Equity participation 
• Flexible working: we care about output, not hours 
• Funded Professional development 
• Confidential employee assistance program 

With cutting-edge products, a bold vision, and global partnerships, our sustainable aerospace technology is set to transform the future of flight. Ready to Fly Faster? Apply today.