Validation Specialist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Validation Specialist tests and documents the validity and accuracy of manufacturing systems and equipment. Tests processes and manages process validations. Provides technical support and implements operating procedures. May create documentation to show that a manufacturing or production process has consistent results and meets quality standards.
Job Outlook
There were 200 Validation Specialist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2529 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Validation Engineer industry, which includes the Validation Specialist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Validation Specialist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $98,093.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $95,306.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Validation Specialist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $83,868.
Education and Experience
Posted Validation Specialist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 56.66% |
| Master's Degree | 14.75% |
| Doctoral Degree | 2.69% |
| Other | 13.4% |
Posted Validation Specialist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 26.7% |
| 3 to 5 years | 50.43% |
| 6 to 8 years | 14.35% |
| 9+ years | 8.52% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Validation Specialist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (34.28%)
- Management (33.73%)
- Detail Oriented (24.32%)
- Operations (24.08%)
- Quality Assurance (20.48%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (20.21%)
- Problem Solving (20.05%)
- Microsoft Office (17.91%)
- Writing (17.16%)
- Microsoft Excel (17%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Qualification Protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ) (25.3%)
- Validation Protocols (24.93%)
- Cleaning Validation (10.25%)
- Auditing (29.69%)
- Change Control (27.31%)
- Computer System Validation (22.78%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (47.44%)
- Risk Analysis (24.38%)
- Project Management (23.56%)
- Pharmaceuticals (41.13%)
- Validation Master Plan (4.99%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Model Risk Management (1.83%)
- Process Validation (13.95%)
- Workflow Management (4.94%)
- Quality Management Systems (12.4%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (13.08%)
- Laboratory Equipment (8.1%)
- Title 21 Of The Code Of Federal Regulations (20.22%)
- Data Analysis (10.16%)
- Medical Devices (10.66%)
- Biology (8.51%)
- Automation (10.2%)
- Corrective And Preventive Action (CAPA) (17.43%)
- Calibration (9.19%)
- Biotechnology (16.51%)
- Computer Science (9.38%)
- Chemistry (12.53%)
- Data Integrity (14.09%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (7.14%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (2.24%)
- External Auditing (5.54%)
- Regulatory Compliance (11.48%)
- Life Sciences (14.04%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (13.4%)
- Manufacturing Processes (9.56%)
- Python (Programming Language) (4.35%)
- Systems Development Life Cycle (8.65%)
- Risk Management (8.69%)
- Root Cause Analysis (8.78%)
- Internal Auditing (6.13%)
- New Product Development (4.85%)
- Process Improvement (11.39%)
- Statistics (3.93%)
- Regulatory Requirements (5.44%)
- Templates (4.99%)
- Technical Writing (12.03%)
- Commissioning (6.31%)
- Traceability Matrix (7.46%)
- Model Validation (2.65%)
- Industry Standards (11.44%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Qualification Protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ) (57.19%)
- Validation Protocols (56.36%)
- Cleaning Validation (23.16%)
- Validation Master Plan (11.27%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Validation Specialist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Computer Systems Validation Specialist
- Quality Assurance Validation Specialist
- Validation Analyst
- Technology Implementation Specialist
- Validation Lead
- CSV Consultant
- Validation Technician
- Validation Consultant
- Model Validation Analyst
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Process Engineer
- Manufacturing Chemist
- Director of Quality Assurance
- Quality Assurance Manager
- Quality Control Chemist
- Quality Assurance Supervisor
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Validation Specialist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Merck & Co. (92)
- Katalyst Healthcares & Life Sciences (59)
- Wells Fargo (50)
- Cornerstone Ondemand (47)
- Danaher (46)
- Actalent (45)
- Oxford Global Resources (43)
- Kelly Services (37)
- Synchrony (32)
- NavitsPartners (25)
North Carolina
- Oxford Global Resources (12)
- Wells Fargo (9)
- Merck & Co. (9)
- Pfizer (8)
- Quality Chemical Laboratories (8)
- NavitsPartners (6)
- Grifols (6)
- Cone Health (5)
- Octapharma (5)
- Validation & Engineering Group (5)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.