Validation Engineer job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 4 of 5

considerable preparation

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

BLS 2025–35 · broader occupation

Median pay

$102,440

BLS May 2025 · broader occupation

1. Study product characteristics or customer requirements to determine validation objectives and standards. importance 4.6 of 5
2. Analyze validation test data to determine whether systems or processes have met validation criteria or to identify root causes of production problems. importance 4.5 of 5
3. Develop validation master plans, process flow diagrams, test cases, or standard operating procedures. importance 4.4 of 5
4. Prepare detailed reports or design statements, based on results of validation and qualification tests or reviews of procedures and protocols. importance 4.3 of 5
5. Maintain validation test equipment. importance 4.2 of 5
6. Conduct validation or qualification tests of new or existing processes, equipment, or software in accordance with internal protocols or external standards. importance 4.2 of 5
7. Communicate with regulatory agencies regarding compliance documentation or validation results. importance 4.1 of 5
8. Prepare, maintain, or review validation and compliance documentation, such as engineering change notices, schematics, or protocols. importance 4.1 of 5
9. Recommend resolution of identified deviations from established product or process standards. importance 4.0 of 5
10. Design validation study features, such as sampling, testing, or analytical methodologies. importance 3.9 of 5
11. Prepare validation or performance qualification protocols for new or modified manufacturing processes, systems, or equipment for production of pharmaceuticals, electronics, or other products. importance 3.8 of 5
12. Create, populate, or maintain databases for tracking validation activities, test results, or validated systems. importance 3.8 of 5
13. Resolve testing problems by modifying testing methods or revising test objectives and standards. importance 3.8 of 5
14. Conduct audits of validation or performance qualification processes to ensure compliance with internal or regulatory requirements. importance 3.7 of 5
15. Draw samples of raw materials, intermediate products, or finished products for validation testing. importance 3.6 of 5
16. Direct validation activities, such as protocol creation or testing. importance 3.5 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Getting Information, Documenting/Recording Information, Analyzing Data or Information and Making Decisions and Solving Problems.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Devise automated lab validation test stations or other test fixtures or equipment.

Knowledge areas: Engineering and Technology, Production and Processing, English Language, Customer and Personal Service and Mathematics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Docker, IBM Terraform, Kubernetes, Microsoft Power Platform software, Amazon Web Services AWS software, JavaScript. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for the broader occupation.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 4 of 5 (considerable preparation). A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

Most O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation (90%) name a bachelor's degree as the education the job requires.

Job title: Validation Engineer
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Validation Engineer to design or plan protocols for equipment or processes to produce products meeting internal and external purity, safety, and quality requirements.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Study product characteristics or customer requirements to determine validation objectives and standards.
- Analyze validation test data to determine whether systems or processes have met validation criteria or to identify root causes of production problems.
- Develop validation master plans, process flow diagrams, test cases, or standard operating procedures.
- Prepare detailed reports or design statements, based on results of validation and qualification tests or reviews of procedures and protocols.
- Maintain validation test equipment.
- Conduct validation or qualification tests of new or existing processes, equipment, or software in accordance with internal protocols or external standards.
- Communicate with regulatory agencies regarding compliance documentation or validation results.
- Prepare, maintain, or review validation and compliance documentation, such as engineering change notices, schematics, or protocols.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, writing and speaking
- Working knowledge of Engineering and Technology and Production and Processing
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Docker or IBM Terraform]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For the broader BLS occupation Industrial Engineers, the median annual wage was $102,440 in May 2025. The broader occupation's median hourly wage was $49.25.

BLS counts the O*NET occupation Validation Engineers within Industrial Engineers and publishes no separate wage for it, so the figure is for that broader occupation.

BLS projects employment in the broader occupation Industrial engineers to grow 12.4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,100 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full validation engineer salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real validation engineer posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Study product characteristics or customer requirements to determine…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only validation engineer work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and writing).