How to hire an associate director, quality assurance

How to hire an associate director, quality assurance, step by step

Here's a step-by-step associate director, quality assurance hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an associate director, quality assurance job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new associate director, quality assurance
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an associate director, quality assurance do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the associate director, quality assurance you need to hire. Certain associate director, quality assurance roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An associate director, quality assurance's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, associate directors, quality assurance from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of associate directors, quality assurance.

   Type of Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Description	Hourly rate
   Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Industrial production managers oversee the daily operations of manufacturing and related plants. They coordinate, plan, and direct the activities used to create a wide range of goods, such as cars, computer equipment, or paper products.	$44-87
   Quality Improvement Coordinator	In the medical industry, a quality improvement coordinator is in charge of developing programs and projects designed to improve medical services and employee performance. Their responsibilities typically include gathering and analyzing data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current procedures, performing research and analysis to determine the ideal care practices, studying feedback from different parties, conducting inspections and assessments, and implementing solutions against problem areas... Show more	$26-49
   Quality Supervisor	A quality supervisor is a professional who manages and implements the quality assurance and control systems of a company to ensure the proper execution of products and customer satisfaction. Quality supervisors oversee a team of quality control analysts and train them on the latest product standards... Show more	$20-40

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Qa Management
   • FDA
   • GMP
   • GCP
   • ICH
   • CAPA
   • Quality System
   • Continuous Improvement
   • GxP
   • EU
   • Quality Issues
   • Regulatory Agencies
   • Qa Support
   • Project Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and manage worldwide GCP, GMP, and GLP audit program.
   • Manage and report quality data metrics including audits, investigations, CAPA, for management review meetings and steering committee meetings.
   • Manage large scale automation platform to perform regression and functional verification.
   • Manage initial USDA regulatory visits, working collaboratively with USDA inspectors leading audit preparation and follow-up activities and reports.
   • Authore SVMP and SMF for MHRA (EU) certification.
   • Train company on QSR, cGMP, and ISO regulations.

   More associate director, quality assurance duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your associate director, quality assurance job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An associate director, quality assurance salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an associate director, quality assurance in Georgia may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level associate director, quality assurance usually earns less than a senior-level associate director, quality assurance. Additionally, an associate director, quality assurance with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average associate director, quality assurance salary

   $131,112yearly

   $63.03 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level associate director, quality assurance salary

   $93,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average associate director, quality assurance salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$160,042	$77
   2	Washington	$154,114	$74
   3	Hawaii	$145,127	$70
   4	Arizona	$132,041	$63
   5	New York	$131,615	$63
   6	New Hampshire	$131,341	$63
   7	Massachusetts	$131,158	$63
   8	New Jersey	$130,544	$63
   9	Maryland	$126,023	$61
   10	Connecticut	$124,959	$60
   11	Virginia	$121,300	$58
   12	Texas	$120,306	$58
   13	Michigan	$117,887	$57
   14	Utah	$117,213	$56
   15	Pennsylvania	$116,211	$56
   16	District of Columbia	$113,657	$55
   17	West Virginia	$111,187	$53
   18	Minnesota	$109,433	$53
   19	Mississippi	$107,412	$52
   20	Delaware	$107,161	$52

   Average associate director, quality assurance salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Corcept Therapeutics	$157,491	$75.72	3
   2	Exelixis	$156,629	$75.30	5
   3	Tonix Pharmaceuticals	$151,088	$72.64	2
   4	Moody's	$147,934	$71.12
   5	Vertex Pharmaceuticals	$141,859	$68.20	7
   6	Regeneron	$141,523	$68.04	15
   7	Merck	$139,426	$67.03	19
   8	AstraZeneca	$138,851	$66.76	3
   9	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$138,851	$66.76	45
   10	Eli Lilly and Company	$138,377	$66.53	40
   11	Novartis	$138,306	$66.49	19
   12	Gilead Sciences	$136,611	$65.68	25
   13	Cytokinetics	$135,665	$65.22	3
   14	FibroGen	$134,930	$64.87
   15	Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.	$133,742	$64.30	21
   16	Mersana Therapeutics	$133,128	$64.00
   17	Organon	$132,635	$63.77
   18	IAVI	$132,399	$63.65
   19	Seres Therapeutics	$131,098	$63.03
   20	UBS	$130,782	$62.88

4. Writing an associate director, quality assurance job description

   A job description for an associate director, quality assurance role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an associate director, quality assurance job description:

   Associate director, quality assurance job description example

   Scholar Rock is a Phase 3, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines for the treatment of serious diseases in which signaling by protein growth factors plays a fundamental role.
   
   Our most advanced investigational product candidate, apitegromab (SRK-015), a selective inhibitor of the activation of the growth factor myostatin in skeletal muscle, is in development for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA. Following positive results from the TOPAZ Phase 2 trial in patients with Type 2 and Type 3 SMA, we are now advancing apitegromab development through SAPPHIRE, an ongoing, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 clinical trial. In addition, we are conducting our DRAGON Phase 1 proof-of-concept trial for SRK-181, a selective inhibitor of latent TGFβ1 activation, in patients with locally advanced and metastatic solid tumors.
   
   By combining our deep structural insights with antibody drug discovery, Scholar Rock is creating a pipeline of novel product candidates with the potential to transform the lives of patients suffering from a wide range of serious diseases, including neuromuscular disorders, cancer, and fibrosis.
   Summary of Position:
   
   Playing a critical role within Scholar Rock, the Associate Director, GCP Quality Assurance will be relied upon as Subject Matter Expert in GCP Compliance with respect to planning, execution and close-out Clinical Studies. The Associate Director, GCP Quality Assurance coordinates GCP Compliance activities with Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Supply & Logistics, Sample Management and Pharmacovigilance as well as varied vendors supporting Scholar Rock sponsored Clinical Studies.
   
   This is a high visibility role and will be directly involved in development and continuous improvement of GCP Quality and overall Quality Management Systems at Scholar Rock as we grow and mature organizationally. This individual will be responsible for coordinating with key stakeholders to develop/implement processes and systems governing GCP activities.
   Position ResponsibilitiesAct as GCP QA Program Lead while working with internal stakeholders to ensure overall study compliance from risk-based principles. Provide expert GCP consultation within the Scholar Rock organization.Work with internal and external Study Team members and develop and execute strategic plans to identify, mitigate, monitor and report site, study and program level compliance risks.Assist in resolving compliance issues at clinical sites, clinical vendors, and laboratories and provide assessment of the impact of any deficiencies. Escalate issues through the Quality Organization as needed.Coordinate with the Scholar Rock Vendor Audit Manager to ensure successful planning, execution and closure of GCP Vendor audits including CRO, Central and Specialty Laboratories, IxRS/IRT/Randomization vendors, IRB/IECs and other vendors. Manage the Scholar Rock Clinical Investigator (CI) Site Audit program. Coordinate with Study Team members to determine CI sites to be audited per study via risk-based criteria. Coordinate with Study Team members and third-party auditors to ensure CI site audits are appropriately scoped, planned executed and closed.Determine if CI Site audit observations may represent study-wide or program-wide risks and ensure Impact/Risk Assessments and Study-wide/Program-wide CAPAs are adequate. Coordinate with Scholar Rock Senior Management, Functional Area Leads, and third-party vendors, on Inspection Preparation activities including mock inspections, gap assessments, resolution and mitigation of identified compliance concerns. Provide key support during and after regulatory inspections. Coordinate with Program Leads, Biostatistics, Data Management, Medical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance to develop/implement Phase appropriate procedures to ensure consistency and quality with respect to Clinical Trial support activities at Scholar Rock.
   Candidate RequirementsBachelor's degree in the Life Sciences with 10+ years in pharmaceutical or biotech drug development. Advanced degree preferred.Minimum 5 years of experience in Clinical QA, including both external and internal auditing.Demonstrated experience working with clinical trial teams.Extensive experience with Global Clinical trial conduct, knowledge and understanding of ICH E6 (R2) GCP Guideline, FDA Regulations and EU Requirements.Previous experience facilitating and/or supporting Regulatory Authority Inspections.Direct experience in development and oversight of Quality Management Systems.Ability to evaluate and reorganize priorities quickly in a dynamic matrixed setting. Excellent interpersonal skills, personal integrity, professional manner and ability to gain respect and develop good working relationship with cross functional personnel at all levels.
   Scholar Rock is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right associate director, quality assurance for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with associate directors, quality assurance they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit associate directors, quality assurance who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your associate director, quality assurance job on Zippia to find and recruit associate director, quality assurance candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting associate directors, quality assurance requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new associate director, quality assurance

   Once you have selected a candidate for the associate director, quality assurance position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new associate director, quality assurance first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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