How To Become A Validation Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a validation specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A Validation Specialist takes part in temperature mapping, calibration activities and measure instruments or software performance. It is your job as a Validation Specialist to determine if tools are performing as listed. You will need time management and problem-solving skills. Many Validation Specialists find positions in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. You will also help to develop methods to control processes, create protocols for validation, assist with technology transfer, and analyze data. You may need to make an adjustment on equipment as needed. A Validation Specialist will also need to know regulatory standards and troubleshoot issues with regulations.

Most Validation specialists have a bachelor's degree in science or engineering. You may also need previous career experience as a consultant or validation technologist. Many employers will prefer you to have an engineering license and certifications as a manufacturing operator or quality control certificate. You may make an average salary of $80,000 per year.

ScoreValidation SpecialistUS Average

Salary

7.1

Avg. Salary $91,034

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 17.16%

Black or African American 4.19%

Hispanic or Latino 10.46%

Unknown 4.71%

White 63.19%

Gender

female 42.72%

male 57.28%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a validation specialist

Explore validation specialist education requirements

Most common validation specialist degrees

Bachelor's

72.8 %

Master's

11.0 %

Associate

9.8 %

Start to develop specific validation specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
GMP	6.99%
FDA	6.58%
IQ/OQ/PQ	5.10%
Iq Oq Pq	4.51%
Summary Reports	4.46%

Complete relevant validation specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New validation specialists 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 validation specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real validation specialist resumes.

Research validation specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage all cleaning validation schedule and coordinate activities with QA and/or external laboratories and operations.
Perform cleaning validation for a bulk pharmaceutical blending facility and take part in GMP training of plant employees.
Qualify sterile transfer skid equipment, transfer and clean-in-place (CIP) processes.
Perform gap analysis of QC procedures and protocols for dissolution bath and washer machines.

Prepare your validation specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your validation specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a validation specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable validation specialist resume templates

Build a professional validation specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your validation specialist resume.