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 126 Validation Specialist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1712 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 2015:
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 $91,755.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $99,628.
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 $69,805.
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 | 59.23% |
| Master's Degree | 11.27% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.81% |
| Other | 15.77% |
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 | 34.64% |
| 3 to 5 years | 45.83% |
| 6 to 8 years | 14.5% |
| 9+ years | 5.03% |
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 (35.57%)
- Management (33.64%)
- Detail Oriented (24.24%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (23.54%)
- Problem Solving (21.5%)
- Microsoft Excel (20.27%)
- Operations (19.92%)
- Writing (16.24%)
- Quality Assurance (15.25%)
- Verbal Communication Skills (15.01%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Auditing (26.19%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (40.52%)
- Pharmaceuticals (34.05%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Medical Devices (8.48%)
- Process Validation (12.2%)
- Qualification Protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ) (22.26%)
- Workflow Management (4.89%)
- Laboratory Equipment (9.51%)
- Validation Protocols (23.23%)
- Title 21 Of The Code Of Federal Regulations (15.78%)
- Data Analysis (9.72%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (5.31%)
- Quality Management Systems (10.34%)
- Biology (8.41%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (13.03%)
- Computer Science (9.72%)
- Computer System Validation (18.06%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (1.1%)
- Risk Management (6.96%)
- Manufacturing Processes (7.1%)
- Cleaning Validation (10.89%)
- Regulatory Compliance (8.96%)
- Automation (8.34%)
- Chemistry (11.1%)
- Corrective And Preventive Action (CAPA) (15.58%)
- Change Control (27.02%)
- Risk Analysis (19.92%)
- Biotechnology (13.85%)
- Statistics (2.96%)
- Data Integrity (11.44%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (13.85%)
- Technical Writing (11.16%)
- R (Programming Language) (1.17%)
- Finance (5.1%)
- Templates (4.34%)
- Python (Programming Language) (4.34%)
- Project Management (19.71%)
- Life Sciences (9.99%)
- New Product Development (5.24%)
- Model Validation (1.72%)
- SQL (Programming Language) (4.2%)
- Process Improvement (12.75%)
- Industry Standards (9.99%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Validation Master Plan (4.76%)
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.
- Validation Master Plan (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Validation Specialist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Validation Technician
- Quality Assurance Validation Specialist
- Computer Systems Validation Specialist
- Data Validation Specialist
- Validation Associate
- Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation Engineer
- Validation Consultant
- Validation Engineer
- 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
- Director of Quality Assurance
- Quality Assurance Manager
- Quality Assurance Supervisor
- Quality Control Chemist
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
- Cornerstone Ondemand (47)
- Kelly Services (35)
- NavitsPartners (28)
- Oxford Global Resources (27)
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group (26)
- AECOM (25)
- Katalyst Healthcares & Life Sciences (25)
- Actalent (23)
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (23)
- Insight Global (19)
North Carolina
- Oxford Global Resources (7)
- Novo Nordisk (6)
- Merck & Co. (6)
- Quality Chemical Laboratories (6)
- Merck KGaA Darmstadt Germany (4)
- Grifols (4)
- AECOM (4)
- Wells Fargo (4)
- Gfl Environmental (4)
- Baxter International (3)
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.