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Validation Engineers

Design or plan protocols for equipment or processes to produce products meeting internal and external purity, safety, and quality requirements.

SOC: 17-2112.02

Common Job Titles

  • Quality Assurance Engineer
  • Quality Engineer
  • Quality Management Systems Engineer
  • Supplier Quality Engineer

What You'll Need to Succeed

AI-generated

Key competencies for this occupation at a glance

  • KnowledgeEvaluate equipment and process performance data against purity, safety, and quality standards in regulated manufacturing environments, using analytical tools and compliance frameworks.
  • KnowledgeDesign validation protocols for equipment qualification and process validation applying engineering principles and regulatory requirements across manufacturing systems.
  • KnowledgeDevelop test plans and acceptance criteria for validation activities integrating risk assessment methodologies and stakeholder requirements.
  • KnowledgeFormulate corrective action and process improvement recommendations based on root cause analysis of validation failures and non-conformances.
  • KnowledgeAnalyze production process data and test results using statistical software and analytical instruments to identify deviations and trends.
  • KnowledgeAssess compliance of manufacturing processes with FDA, GMP, and industry regulations through inspection and documentation review in pharmaceutical or biotechnology settings.
  • KnowledgeInterpret complex validation data and technical specifications for cross-functional teams including manufacturing, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs.
  • MindsetIntegrate quality and safety principles with production efficiency objectives when collaborating with engineering and operations teams on validation projects.
  • KnowledgeApply analytical methods and instrumentation techniques using spectrophotometers, flow sensors, and programmable logic controllers for process monitoring.
  • MindsetAdvocate for validation best practices and regulatory compliance standards when training personnel and consulting with project stakeholders.
  • KnowledgeOrganize validation documentation and change control records using laboratory information management systems and electronic document management platforms.

Wage Data According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Annual wage data for Validation Engineers (2024)

Estimated Total Employment (U.S.)

350,230

Wage Distribution by Percentile

Line chart of annual wages by percentile. U.S. is the solid line. 10th percentile: U.S. $70,000. 25th percentile: U.S. $81,910. 50th percentile: U.S. $101,140. 75th percentile: U.S. $127,480. 90th percentile: U.S. $157,140. Use the left and right arrow keys to move between percentiles.

  • U.S.
MetricU.S.
10% of workers earn the following or less$70,000
10% of workers earn the following or more$157,140
Workers on average earn$107,900

+ indicates wage is at or above the BLS reporting cap ($239,200/year)

Skills & Requirements

Key competencies for this occupation, ranked by importance

  • Engineering and Technology4.3/5
  • Production and Processing4.2/5
  • English Language3.8/5
  • Customer and Personal Service3.7/5
  • Mathematics3.6/5
Skills & Requirements: Knowledge

Tools & Technology

Equipment and software commonly used in this occupation

In-Demand Technology

Frequently requested by employers in job postings

  • Amazon DynamoDB
  • Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2
  • Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation
  • Amazon Web Services AWS software
  • Ansible software
  • Apache Cassandra
  • Apache Kafka
  • Apache Maven
  • Apache Subversion SVN
  • Apache Tomcat
  • Atlassian JIRA
  • Bash
  • C
  • C#
  • C++
  • Chef
  • Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
  • Django
  • Docker
  • Elasticsearch
  • Extensible markup language XML
  • Git
  • GitHub
  • Go
  • IBM Terraform
  • JUnit
  • JavaScript
  • Jenkins CI
  • Kubernetes
  • Linux
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Azure software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft PowerShell
  • Microsoft Project
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Microsoft Visio
  • Microsoft Visual Basic
  • Microsoft Visual Studio
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Word
  • MongoDB
  • MySQL
  • NoSQL
  • Node.js
  • Oracle Java
  • PHP
  • Perl
  • PostgreSQL
  • Puppet
  • Python
  • R
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Ruby
  • Scala
  • Selenium
  • Shell script
  • Splunk Enterprise
  • Structured query language SQL
  • Teradata Database
  • The MathWorks MATLAB
  • UNIX
  • UNIX Shell

Technology Skills

  • Apache Ant
  • Apache Groovy
  • Apache HTTP Server
  • Apache Solr
  • Apache Struts
  • Atlassian Bamboo
  • Bugzilla
  • Cadence Incisive Enterprise Simulator
Tools & Technology: Technology Skills

Tools & Equipment

  • Flow sensors
  • Gel electrophoresis systems
  • In-target probes ITP
  • Logic analyzers
  • Multimeters
  • Network protocol analyzers
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Pressure sensors
Tools & Technology: Tools & Equipment