Validation engineers are professionals that play a critical role in the manufacturing operations of a wide range of healthcare industries, particularly those that create medical devices and pharmaceuticals. They’re responsible for maintaining the effectiveness and safety of medical treatments for patients all around the world. Validation engineers are in higher demand than ever before, so this is a career path worth exploring.
The Validation Engineer Defined
Validation engineers are responsible for evaluating, maintaining, and testing the equipment used to manufacture a vast range of different medical and pharmaceutical products. Keeping the production chain running smoothly and safely is the validation engineer’s top priority. Besides medical device manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, there are also many openings for validation engineers in other biotechnology fields.
Validation engineering is a broad field that includes many different quality control specialties. Computer System Validation, for example, is the portion of the profession focused on making sure that computer hardware and software in the life sciences industry performs as intended. Other validation-related specialties include process engineering, validation analysis, and automation engineering.
What Is A Validation Engineer Responsible For?
Testing equipment, computers, processes, and methodology is the primary job of the validation engineer. In their ordinary working day, validation engineers perform tests, collect data, analyze results, and suggest improvements or repairs to the systems they oversee. Validation engineers may find themselves responsible for any or all of these duties:
- Establish internal standards for validation
- Develop testing protocols
- Test equipment and record results
- Analyze and report on test results
The second point, developing testing protocols, is especially important. Validation engineers need to develop a comprehensive knowledge of both the finished product and the manufacturing process so that they can accurately set and test that process’s performance.
Are Validation Engineers In High Demand?
Because the skills required for good validation work are highly specialized, individuals who possess them will always be valuable. Validation engineering has become a universal requirement in every part of the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Every company has extensive regulatory obligations to meet, and validation engineers are vital for fulfilling these obligations. Many validation engineers earn high hourly compensation as independent contractors.
Contract validation engineers are especially in demand for remediation projects. These short-term jobs involve resolving a quality problem in a life sciences production chain. Because these problems can stand in the way of crucial regulatory compliance, employers are willing to pay significant premiums for fast, effective validation solutions. Engineers with the talent and insight to deliver these solutions will find themselves both well-compensated for their work and very much in demand for further jobs.
What Are The Educational Requirements For Validation Engineers?
Validation engineers typically require a science degree in a field closely associated with their specialty area, such as computer science or electrical, chemical, or mechanical engineering. A strong aptitude for mechanics is generally helpful in all parts of the validation engineering profession so that engineers can easily comprehend laboratory processes. Here is the career in greater detail from Quanta.
What Are The Experience Requirements For Validation Engineers?
As with many portions of the life sciences industry, a path to a lucrative career in validation engineering typically starts with positions that allow professionals to accrue significant well-regulated experience in the field. Entry-level positions can then be parlayed into roles of greater responsibility and prestige. Many generalist engineers chose to pursue validation engineering after contributing to one or more projects in the field.
Good validation engineers come from many different educational and experiential backgrounds. The other engineering specialties most closely associated with the field are automation, chemical, and mechanical engineering. An applicable educational background and a quality-minded eye for detail can propel virtually any dedicated professional to a rewarding career in validation engineering.
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