What does a pharmaceutical engineer do?
Pharmaceutical engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pharmaceutical engineer resumes:
- 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.
- Expedite and simplify the quotation process for solar water heating systems by accurately representing solar water heating system performance through MATLAB models
- Provide plant technical input for all modifications affecting EQ equipment.
- Research EQ test documentation to determine actual EQ equipment replacement requirements.
- Direct and supervise a team of engineers in day-to-day operations, with particularly attention during FAA certification of flight training devices.
Pharmaceutical engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 28% of Pharmaceutical Engineers are proficient in PLC, Process Improvement, and FDA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Writing skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Pharmaceutical Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PLC, 28%
Reviewed and approved Equipment Qualifications Protocols and Final Reports which document PLC or Automated System software including SCADA.
- Process Improvement, 26%
Designed and oversaw process improvements and related projects including new and relocated equipment with and without plant shutdown.
- FDA, 17%
Completed approximately 25 additional Process Validations, several of which were successfully reviewed by the FDA during facility inspections.
- API, 10%
Conducted risk-based technology transfer of advanced intermediates and API to external Contract Manufacturing Organizations or internal scale-up facilities.
- Process Equipment, 10%
Generated, scheduled, and executed qualification of process equipment, facilities, utilities, and computerized systems.
- Sops, 3%
Authored quality and production SOPs and ensured compliance with cGMP, ICH, and EU regulations.
"plc," "process improvement," and "fda" are among the most common skills that pharmaceutical engineers use at work. You can find even more pharmaceutical engineer responsibilities below, including:
Speaking skills. One of the key soft skills for a pharmaceutical engineer to have is speaking skills. You can see how this relates to what pharmaceutical engineers do because "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." Additionally, a pharmaceutical engineer resume shows how pharmaceutical engineers use speaking skills: "represented the engineering department during audits by the fda and by customers. "
Writing skills. Another essential skill to perform pharmaceutical engineer duties is writing skills. Pharmaceutical engineers responsibilities require that "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." Pharmaceutical engineers also use writing skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "complete technical writing of fda submissions, standard operating procedures and regulatory controls. "
Creativity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of pharmaceutical engineers is creativity. This skill is critical to many everyday pharmaceutical engineer duties, as "industrial engineers use creativity and ingenuity to design new production processes in many kinds of settings in order to reduce the use of material resources, time, or labor while accomplishing the same goal." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conducted an inventory of all sites operated from indianapolis switches. "
Listening skills. A big part of what pharmaceutical engineers do relies on "listening skills." You can see how essential it is to pharmaceutical engineer responsibilities because "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical pharmaceutical engineer tasks: "communicated effectively with technical marketing engineers and oem representatives sharing test results and providing assistance with test utilities"
Math skills. Another crucial skill for a pharmaceutical engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what pharmaceutical engineers relies on this skill, since "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." How this skill relates to pharmaceutical engineer duties can be seen in an example from a pharmaceutical engineer resume snippet: "developed a visual c++ (mfc) based application to calculate real time statistics for gps sessions. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on pharmaceutical engineer job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in pharmaceutical engineer duties, since "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day pharmaceutical engineer responsibilities: "provided feedback and solutions for any gaps found to comply with iso standards and fda regulations and abbott corporate quality systems. "
Compare different pharmaceutical engineers
Pharmaceutical engineer vs. Manufacturing engineering internship
A manufacturing engineering intern is responsible for assisting the manufacturing engineers on the plant's daily operations, analyzing the manufacturing process and procedures, and recommending strategic solutions to maximize productivity and minimize costs. Manufacturing engineering interns shadow the production staff, inspect the tools and equipment of the manufacturing, analyze the quality control documentation, and perform related administrative tasks to familiarize themselves with the plant structure. A manufacturing engineering intern must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced environment.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a pharmaceutical engineer are more likely to require skills like "api," "process equipment," "clean-in-place," and "production facility." On the other hand, a job as a manufacturing engineering internship requires skills like "continuous improvement," "lean manufacturing," "cad," and "solidworks." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Manufacturing engineering interns tend to reach lower levels of education than pharmaceutical engineers. In fact, manufacturing engineering interns are 8.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Pharmaceutical engineer vs. Research and development engineer
Research and development engineers generally execute research and tests on product ideas, develop new products, and perform redesigns. They are employed in many industries, including manufacturing, electrical, and science-based companies. Their duties vary and depend on the industries they work in. Responsibilities of these engineers include developing new technologies, designing products, and managing the projects until they are completed. Additionally, they lead the project team members to manage their schedules, design the project plans, and collaborate with key departments in developing new products.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that pharmaceutical engineer responsibilities requires skills like "process equipment," "clean-in-place," "production facility," and "sops." But a research and development engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "python," "r," "c #," and "solidworks."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Research and development engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than pharmaceutical engineers. In fact, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for pharmaceutical engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Sanchari Chowdhury Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Pharmaceutical engineer vs. Reliability engineer
A reliability engineer is in charge of determining and managing the asset reliability risks of businesses. Reliability engineers are professionals who solve problems related to engineering. They are equipped with a better understanding of the principles of performance evaluation and prediction for product safety. The job requires knowledge of the field of engineering, strong communication, interpersonal skills, management skills, attention to detail, and reliability. They are also expected to become experts in engineering systems.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from pharmaceutical engineer resumes include skills like "process improvement," "api," "process equipment," and "clean-in-place," whereas a reliability engineer is more likely to list skills in "java," "troubleshoot," "ruby," and "tcp ip. "
When it comes to education, reliability engineers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to pharmaceutical engineers. In fact, they're 5.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Pharmaceutical engineer vs. Engineer
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Types of pharmaceutical engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
