L&I DOSH Crane Safety Compliance Investigator (CISHI3)

DOSH Crane Safety Compliance Investigator (CISHI3)

Our Mission: Keep Washington Safe and Working! Our Values: Customer Focus, One L&I, Respect, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Learning and Growth, Reliability

We are hiring for multiple positions in this recruitment with a desired start date of early to mid July, 2026. The assigned duty stations available can be one of the following locations: Bellevue, Seattle, Tukwila, Everett, Tacoma, Silverdale, or Spokane WA.

Because this is a specialized position, it has been our practice to hire in at least the mid-range of the salary range for this job class.

In addition to the base salary above, a 2% cost of living pay increase will occur on July 1, 2026

Industrial Hygienists and Safety & Health Investigators will be compensated basic salary plus 10% for each hour they are required to use personal protective equipment (excluding hard hats, boots, hearing and eye protection) to enter a hazardous worksite to consult, inspect or investigate where serious hazards are present.

King County Premium Pay - If assigned to a permanent duty station in King County, employees will receive 5% Premium Pay calculated from their base salary.

All Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for this position will be provided by L&I DOSH as specified in WAC 296-800-16020.

Are you an experienced crane professional who would like a change of pace? Do you have a passion for safety in the crane industry? You would be perfect for our DOSH Crane Safety Compliance Investigator (CISHI3)!

L&I's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) administers the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA) law Chapter 49.17 RCW by developing and enforcing rules that protect workers from hazardous job conditions. Our inspectors visit workplaces each year and cite businesses that violate health and safety rules.

The Compliance Industrial Safety and Health Investigator (CISHI) positions are used to maintain Federal approval of the state plan occupational safety and health program that is necessarily authorized under statute, Chapter 49.17 RCW (WISHA), and have enforcement authority over all employers in the state of Washington. This includes private and public sector, state, county, and city authorities. The approved State program at the Department of Labor and Industries must be maintained as-effective-as the federal OSHA compliance program. The work is aimed at ensuring all employers comply with workplace safety and health laws and rules to prevent worker and public fatalities, injuries and illnesses, to include compliance enforcement through legal processes and procedures.

CISHI-3s are senior level safety and health investigators that have attended a defined new hire course that includes over 360 classroom hours (provided upon hire). They conduct highly complex investigations and inspections of safety and health hazards in all industries independently or in teams. This includes fatalities or accident investigations, resulting in hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye.

All of this work is crucial to the safety and health of the workers of the State of Washington, and directly impacts and supports the Department's mission, "Keep Washington Safe and Working".

Driving is a required part of this job in order to perform the duties of this position as an L&I investigator to get from one location to another. There will be frequent daily travel with occasional overnight travel throughout the state. You will use a state-issued vehicle, motor pool vehicle, or must be able to provide personally owned vehicle (POV) when a pool or state-issued vehicle is not available. Therefore, you must have a valid unrestricted driver license without any convictions for driving under the influence or a driving offense that endangered or harmed others within the past 7 years. Individuals driving POVs for state business must show proof of personal liability insurance.

To perform this job, you must be physically capable to walk through a variety of workplaces such as large manufacturing plants with metal stairways, catwalks, ladders, and walk through rough terrain. Must also be able to be exposed to weather (wearing appropriate weather gear) for long durations.

For this position, telework is permitted on occasion dependent upon business needs and supervisor approval.

Learn more about DOSH here: 50 Years of DOSH

Duties

Some of what you'll do:

• Independently conduct thorough investigations of accidents resulting in hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye, as well as fatalities to determine root cause and other contributing factors where cranes are present and/or involved.
• Perform safety inspections including investigations of crane accidents, to include those related to falling objects and/or rigging.
• Conduct pre-investigation research including any necessary review of electronic files and relevant references that may require hours of sitting or standing.
• Enter physical worksites unannounced to conduct compliance investigations.
• Assist CISHI-6 engineers on more complex investigations, such as catastrophic events where multiple fatalities and/or hospitalizations have occurred.
• Investigate complaints and referrals to determine if the alleged hazards exist and employees are exposed to them.
• Document findings, prepare a detailed report, and respond to the complainant per established policy.
• Investigate worksites to identify safety hazards while taking field notes, photos, videos, or other appropriate documentation methods.
• Determine employer compliance or non-compliance with WISHA Safety and Health Standards and write reports documenting employee exposure along with proposed citations and monetary penalties as appropriate.
• Determine if accredited crane certifiers within the state of Washington are complying with crane certification requirements within WAC safety standards and applicable ASME B30 series inspection requirements.
• Ensure abatement of hazards identified during inspection.
• Work with the Attorney General's office and local prosecutors on highly complex and difficult cases.
• Testify on behalf of the Department as primary witness for all inspections conducted, and testify as witness to any other inspections participated in.
• Perform evidence handling of highly complex cases.
• And much more!

What we are looking for:

• A solid desire to ensure worker safety with a thorough understanding of safety and health rules and regulations and ability to identify safety related hazards in a variety of workplaces.
• Strong written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills with ability to write comprehensive and concise reports detailing identified hazards.
• Willing and able to work with hostile clients or customers (both internal and external).
• Knowledge of Safety and Health Rules and Regulations, the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA) and the federal government's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The ability to explain to customers what their businesses must do to comply with these regulations.
• Enforcing of governmental laws, rules and regulations, and initiates enforcement actions in such a way that the public perceives as fair, objective, and reasonable.
• Perform duties safely by modeling the behavior we expect to see.

Qualifications

Required:

• A valid and unrestricted driver license: While driving a state vehicle or personally owned vehicle (POV) for state business an employee must have a valid unrestricted driver license and may not have convictions for driving under the influence or driving offense that endangered or harmed others within the past 7 years. Individuals driving POVs for state business must receive permission in advance to use their POV, and possess and show proof of personal liability insurance.
• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

And any one of the following:

• A certified tower or mobile crane operator with 7 years' experience of operating cranes.
• A certified crane inspector with 7 years' experience who is accredited from one of the following: Crane Certification Association of America, North American Crane Bureau (NACB), Cal-OSHA, National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCO), Washington State.
• A qualified crane mechanic or crane technician with 7 years of experience working with and inspecting cranes.

Additionally, all applicants selected to move forward in the interview process will also be required to complete an assessment of their technical crane knowledge.

Research suggests that women and people of color are less likely to apply unless they are confident they meet 100% of the listed qualifications. We strongly encourage all interested individuals to apply, and allow us to evaluate your combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities demonstrated using an intentional equity lens.

Supplemental Information

Things You Need To Know

State employees who meet the qualifications will become eligible for a generous retirement package at the end of the employee