Validation Engineer Jobs: In-Demand Skills and Career Paths
The life sciences industry is quickly growing, bringing a huge demand for validation engineers. They are responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of pharmaceutical products and equipment. If you want to pursue your career in this field and wonder what validation engineer jobs are available and what skills you need, keep on reading!
Validation Engineer Jobs within the Life Sciences Industry
The following are the validation engineer jobs that you can explore in the life sciences sector to kickstart your professional career:
Equipment Validation Engineer:
Equipment validation engineers manage the manufacturing equipment and ensure it functions safely and reliably. They validate the GMP equipment and systems as per user requirements.
Developing and executing validation protocols, as well as maintaining compliance with global regulatory standards, is their responsibility. But that's not all; equipment validation engineers also have to conduct risk assessments and pinpoint potential validation issues.
If there are problems, they have to promptly troubleshoot and resolve them. For instance, they might notice that the steriliser is malfunctioning and contact the right vendor and repair personnel to fix it.
Computer Systems Validation Engineer:
A Computer Systems Validation ( also known as CSV) Engineer plays a key role in ensuring that computer systems used in regulated sectors—such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices—meet strict compliance standards.
Their work involves planning, executing, and documenting validation activities to confirm that systems operate reliably, consistently, and as intended, in line with regulatory expectations.
Cleaning Validation Engineer:
Cleaning validation engineers take care of all the cleaning procedures regarding the equipment used in manufacturing, particularly in pharmaceuticals and other biosynthetic products.
They design, plan, and execute cleaning activities within a facility. They provide technical leadership for deviation investigation relevant to cleaning activities (residual product/microbial contamination).
Moreover, cleaning validation engineers separate autoclavable (5,000-litre fermenter) and “Clean In Place” equipment (over 5,000-litre fermenter). Finally, these professionals have to write a cleaning report including, calculations and deviations as requested.
Process Validation Engineer:
As the name implies, process engineers ensure that manufacturing processes continuously produce products of the highest quality and safety. It's quite important in the medical industry, where every process and product needs to be consistent and safe.
These professionals have expertise in additive manufacturing, post-processing, and quality inspection technologies.
They also collaborate with the design team and take part in improving product manufacturing. Most importantly, they have to stay updated with changing industry trends of FDA, EMA, and DRAP, and optimise product development accordingly.
What Key Skills Validation Engineers Should Have?
To land any of these validation engineer jobs, here are the skills you must master:
- Effective Communication: As a validation engineer, one has to collaborate with various stakeholders such as team members, vendors, and potential clients. Having effective communication skills allows them to express their requirements clearly and listen actively to what others have to say. This ensures everyone is on the same page and there is minimal confusion.
- Problem-Solving: Problems in life sciences projects aren't unlikely; therefore, validation engineers should possess strong problem-solving skills. They should be able to pinpoint the exact root cause of the problem and get the right team on board to resolve it timely.
- Adaptability: Validation engineers, especially software validation engineers, should be very adaptable. They must be open to change, learn new technologies, and adapt to evolving user needs. This enables them to handle all types of life sciences projects while ensuring success.
Find your next Validation Engineer job with QCS:
Whether you are looking for a Validation job or another role in Life Sciences, QCS Staffing can find you your next career opportunity. We are experts in recruiting for roles within Life Sciences, especially within Validation Engineering so if you are looking for a permanent or contract role in the UK or internationally, we would love to help.
We frequently have network security job vacancies with global tech companies. Look at our Validation Engineering jobs or send us your resume and we will get underway.