What is a pharmaceutical engineer and how to become one

Key steps to become a pharmaceutical engineer

1. Explore pharmaceutical engineer education requirements

   Most common pharmaceutical engineer degrees

   Bachelor's

   75.0 %

   Master's

   18.8 %

   Associate

   6.3 %

2. Start to develop specific pharmaceutical engineer skills

   Skills	Percentages
   PLC	28.42%
   Process Improvement	26.02%
   FDA	16.54%
   API	10.36%
   Process Equipment	10.02%

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3. Complete relevant pharmaceutical engineer training and internships

   Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pharmaceutical engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a pharmaceutical engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pharmaceutical engineer resumes.

4. Research pharmaceutical engineer duties and responsibilities

   • Manage overall validation programs for the GMP products at the manufacturing facility and the contract manufacturing company.
   • Participate in regulatory agency inspections (FDA, EU) as a subject matter expert and minimize findings.
   • Develop skills in process change control, aseptic technique and gowning, validation, FDA audits and writing manufacturing tickets.
   • Prepare installation qualification, operational qualification, and performance qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) protocols and reports.

5. Apply for pharmaceutical engineer jobs

   Now it's time to start searching for a pharmaceutical engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

   1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
   2. Consult your professional network
   3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
   4. Watch out for job scams