SME – Machinery and Functional Safety

Job Description

Title: SME – Machinery and Functional Safety

Working Pattern: Fulltime

Working Location: Indianapolis, IN

As a member of the SME team you will be a recognized expert in machinery safety especially with regard to machinery or process functional safety. You will contribute to Group and Functional strategies. You will be aware of regulatory changes and their impact upon the function and wider business, support the business teams including Capability Acquisition, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Maintenance teams and our service partners on compliance issues, provide Machinery safety advice and support for the development and improvement of use and operational use of work equipment. Adherence to compliance and general functional safety.

Your role will be to support our businesses on their Journey to Zero Harm through a range of professional services enabling you to deep dive into Risk, Assurance, and Compliance. In addition, you will be one of the company’s primary points of contact in your chosen subject matter ensuring the provision and maintenance of control standards and development requirements.

Why Rolls-Royce? Rolls-Royce is one of the most enduring and iconic brands in the world and has been at the forefront of innovation for over a century. We design, build and service systems that provide critical power to customers where safety and reliability are paramount.

We are proud to be a force for progress, powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere.

We want to ensure that the excellence and ingenuity that has shaped our history continues into our future and we need people like you to come and join us on this journey.

Rolls-Royce has been recognized as the top employer in the Engineering & Manufacturing category on the prestigious Forbes Top Employers for Engineers list for 2025. This ranking highlights our commitment to innovation, employee development, and fostering a collaborative environment where engineers can thrive.

Be part of a team that sets the industry standard and drives groundbreaking solutions.

At Rolls-Royce, we are committed to creating a workplace where all employees feel respected, supported, and empowered to do their best work. We foster a welcoming and innovative work environment that invests in you, giving you access to an incredible breadth and depth of opportunities where you can grow your career and make a difference.
Rolls-Royce is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristics.

This attractive opportunity you will get a chance to:

• Lead on delivery of elements of the Machinery & Functional Safety Improvements across the global business.
• To provide Machinery Safety and Machinery and/or Process Functional Safety SME advice and support across the business.
• Develop an industry wide external network to identify best practice, innovations and improvement opportunities for Machinery and Lifecyle of Assets. Champion and disseminate these through the CoP (Communities of Practice) and working with external partners when required.
• Ensure learning is shared across the sites/businesses/group and learnings from elsewhere are considered to develop robust improvement plans. Monitor and review action closure status arising from major incidents. Facilitate and lead communication forums relating to your high consequence hazardous discipline
• Carryout and support incident investigations as required as an SME.
• Support all SME Team activity as required.
• Ensure HS&E critical and key controls and risks are identified and communicated for the lifecycle of the assets. Seek out significant business changes and support the sites/businesses in ensuring effective management of change is applied.
• Provide assurance to the business to support lifecycle requirements to support asset compliance.
• Support assurance to the audit programs to ensure for all topics ensuring company standards are upheld supporting the HSE management system.
• Update, maintain and communicate HSE Standards and regulatory compliance requirements and support site and business assurance programs. Take a lead on the machinery safety and functional safety standards. This includes knowledge of global standards (Focus on North America). Example : ANSI, ASP, B11 group, CE, ASME, NFPA, ISO, UL accreditation, National Field Labelling etc.
• Identify, prioritize and engage with stakeholders relevant to your SME disciplines. Use good communications practices to support improvement, influence and change both internally and externally.
• Provide advice and support for projects across all the Rolls-Royce businesses guiding them on best practice and legal compliance. Support and identify Capability Acquisition projects to ensure robust processes are developed and followed to ensure machinery projects are delivered in compliance with legislation and company standards and best practices with assurance activities.

Who We’re Looking For

At Rolls-Royce we put safety first, do the right thing, keep it simple and make a difference. These principles form the behaviours that guide us and are an essential component of our assessment process. They are the fundamental qualities that we seek for all roles.

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with 5+ years of experience in machinery and functional safety, OR
• Master’s degree in Engineering with 3+ years of experience in machinery and functional safety, OR
• PhD/JD in Engineering
• Experience with requirements management
• In order to be eligible for consideration, you must be a U.S. Citizen

Preferred Requirements:

• Relevant experience in Machinery Safety & Machinery or Process Functional Safety and a coordinator or leadership role.
• Understanding of global legislation, standards and developing best practice.
• Proven track record working with engineering teams and compliance and projects on emerging technologies. (Automation, Autonomous Mobile Robots – AMR, Collaborative applications).
• Experience in product design reviews of machinery as a manufacturer or integrator in electrical control system / functional safety.
• Part of technical working groups which sets standards in industry.
• Relevant qualifications or accreditations: Machinery or Process Functional Safety Engineer status, B11 Licensed Machinery Safety Specialist.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence and gain agreement for complex or impacting programs of work.
• Knowledge of the business specific risks and industry approaches advantageous.
• Commitment to drive continuous improvement.

What We Offer

We offer excellent development opportunities, a competitive salary, and exceptional benefits. These include bonus, employee support assistance and employee discounts.

Your needs are as unique as you are. Hybrid working is a way in which our people can balance their time between the office, home, or another remote location. It’s a locally managed and flexed informal discretionary arrangement. As a minimum we’re all expected to attend the workplace for collaboration and other specific reasons, on average three days per week.

For fully remote roles, employees can live in any state except Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, Vermont, and Wyoming.

Relocation assistance is available for this position.

Closing Date: July 20, 2026

Job Category

HS & E

Job Posting Date

24 Jun 2026; 00:06

Pay Range

$108,197.00 - $175,820.00-

Location:

Indianapolis, IN

Benefits

Rolls-Royce provides a comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package that includes base pay and a discretionary bonus plan. Eligible employees may have the opportunity to enroll in other benefits, including health, dental, vision, disability, life and accidental death & dismemberment insurance; a flexible spending account; a health savings account; a 401(k) retirement savings plan with a company match; Employee Assistance Program; Paid Time Off; certain paid holidays; paid parental and family care leave; tuition reimbursement; and a long-term incentive plan. The options available to an employee may vary depending on eligibility factors such as date of hire, employment type, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.