Quality Assurance Scientist

Description

Are you a Quality Assurance professional looking to further your career in the life science industry? If you possess strong ethical standards along with great analytical thinking skills and a high attention to detail, then this might be the perfect role for you! Continue reading below to find out if this position is a match for your goals and skills.

Who We Are

Koppert Biological Systems is the worldwide market leader in integrated pest and disease management. Every day, Koppert helps growers and farmers around the world to combat pests and diseases in a natural and sustainable way. Through this, we hope to make an active contribution to a sustainable society, with safe food in sufficient quantities to feed a rapidly growing population. Our Research & Development has frequently been the source of biological solutions, which were subsequently adopted worldwide.

Role

The Quality Assurance Scientist will perform various assignments including, but not limited to quality audits, product quality evaluations, developing and maintaining databases, collecting, analyzing and communicating data of varying complexity, within our production system. The individual in this role will help maintain the high-quality standards Koppert’s customers have come to rely on in our products and processes. In addition, the QA Scientist will be expected to support the development and/or deployment of methods for monitoring and improving current manufacturing processes and manufactured product.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for performing a variety of routine laboratory procedures with standard laboratory equipment.
• Engages with production staff to address deviations of the standard operating procedures during the auditing process. Gives feedback to correct non-conformance behavior and explains impact of non-conformances.
• Occasionally assist with training and orienting new individuals.
• Occasionally support interns with projects and delegate workload in conjunction with QA/QC leadership.
• Employs and supports the development of Quality Assurance tools and philosophy (PFMEA, SOPs, auditing, etc.) to drive continuous improvement in process, product, and personnel; leverages tools and knowledge to proactively mitigate risks. 
• Performs routine sampling and testing of biological control products to support and verify adherence to environmental, microbial, production, quality, and/or safety standards.
• Helps develop product specification criteria and establishes criteria for minimum product quality standards under the guidance of supervisor.
• Validates laboratory equipment and calibrates or seeks calibration support when necessary.
• Develops standard operating protocols, modifies techniques; maintains and updates the written form of these materials.
• Collaborate with company leaders to ‘troubleshoot’ issues on the production floor.
• Continually investigate new technologies and equipment for producing safe, high quality products more cost effectively.
• Collects, curates, analyzes, and presents data. Effectively communicates results to audiences of varying expertise.
• Create trend analyses and report quality systems metrics.
• Provides additional support to Quality Assurance, R&D, and other functions as needed.

Requirements

Skills and Qualifications

• Communicates effectively; both verbally and written in English.
• High attention to detail; strong time management, organizational and interpersonal skills. Agile in the face of competing priorities. 
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general scientific research and technical procedures. Ability to compose scientific reports, business correspondence, and SOPs/protocols. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, colleagues, and other stakeholders.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables; statistical analysis skills are necessary.
• Advanced knowledge in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in biological science or related field from an accredited 4-year college or university.
• At least 2 years of experience working in a life science production/biomedical lab environment using standard equipment.
• Experience working in a quality assurance function strongly desired.
• Experience using statistical software packages (i.e. Minitab, SPlus, R, etc.) to analyze data sets of varying complexity.
• Experience conducting husbandry of live animals and/or rearing of insects in a lab or manufacturing setting.

Working Conditions

• General office/laboratory/production environment: Works at a desk in a well-lit, air-conditioned cubicle/office, with moderate noise levels. Often works on production floor. 
• Regular exposure to bumble bees and live arthropods.
• Frequently exposed to hot or humid conditions and outdoor weather conditions for trials.
• Frequently exposed to pollen and other possible allergens.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to regularly stand or walk for long periods of time. 
• Ability to travel (air and ground).
• Ability to regularly lift and/or move up to ten (10) pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to twenty-five (25) pounds, and occasionally lift up to fifty (50) pounds.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to vibration, repetitive motion, bending, lifting, twisting, crouching, reaching, pushing, and/or pulling.
• Ability to endure excessively hot or cold conditions for a period of time.
• Ability to control emotions under various levels of pressures, stress, and fast paced activities.