NES has a dedicated recruitment team that specialises in the validation sector, together with regulatory compliance, quality, and scientific disciplines within the Life Sciences field. With a remit to provide contract and permanent recruitment services throughout the UK and internationally, making full use of the global talent pool that NES has access to, NES is well positioned to provide a comprehensive recruitment service across a broad range of technical industries.
Working with pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnological manufacturing organisations and medical device manufacturers, NES recruits all types of validation personnel ranging from equipment validation engineers to quality assurance specialists.
What does a validation engineer do?
The pharmaceuticals, healthcare, biotechnology and medical devices industries are all heavily regulated by bodies such as the FDA (Food & Drugs Administration) and MHRA (Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency). Validation is the process by which manufacturing companies demonstrate the compliance of their equipment and production methods to the regulations and guidelines set out by these bodies. This compliance is critical to the ability of companies to acquire or maintain the licences necessary to manufacture drugs & products within these sectors.
Broadly speaking, validation is concerned with the generation and execution of protocols: IQ (installation qualification), OQ (operational qualification), PQ (performance qualification) and DQ (design qualification), and provides a blend of office based, documentation work and hands on plant based activity. Validation engineers can specialise in, amongst other things: HVAC validation, facilities & utilities validation, lab equipment validation, process equipment validation, control systems\automation validation and computer systems validation. A good understanding of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and\or GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) is essential.
What are the mininum career requirements for a validation engineer?
Generally, the minimum expected level of education for a validation engineer is a Bachelors degree in a science field and several years experience in the field of validation. A popular career route for many validation technicians, is to work towards their Bachelors or Masters degrees whilst employed by a lab, so that upon graduation they have both their degree and work experience. A good understanding of mechanical principles, as well as an understanding of laboratory equipment (and a background in computers) - are well valued attributes. Additional certification for calibration of equipment is often considered critical. Some pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies require additional training in Aseptic Processing Guidelines as well as GLP and GMP training. Clients also expect validation candidates to have a thorough knowledge of FDA and MHRA regulations.
What sort of career opportunities exist for validation personnel?
Because of the diverse nature of the equipment and manufacturing areas that validation covers, validation engineers or technicians can come from numerous different backgrounds. Validation engineers can often be degree-qualified chemical, mechanical or electrical engineers or can hold a degree in any number of scientific disciplines. However a degree is not a pre-requisite and just as often candidates can come from a hands-on plant-based, laboratory, operations or technician type background. The common denominator is to have previous experience within a GMP or GLP environment.
Career opportunities
The NES recruitment consultants that specialise in this field are on hand to discuss career opportunities and provide careers advice for both contract and permanent positions throughout the UK and overseas. Alternatively, please browse through the latest validation jobs that is NES recruiting for - they're listed below.
