Novartis Posted August 5, 2026

QA Operations Specialist - Shift Based

Carlsbad, United States Regular
Quality

Novartis is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Location: Carlsbad, California Help reimagine cancer care by ensuring the quality and compliance behind innovative Radioligand Therapies that are transforming patient outcomes. As a QA Operations Specialist at Novartis, you will play a critical role in supporting manufacturing excellence, safeguarding product quality, and driving compliance across site operations. Working closely with cross-functional teams, you will help bring life-changing therapies to patients while contributing to a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and quality leadership in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.Shift: This position will work a 12-hour rotating shift. Workdays will be Wednesday – Saturday with Wednesdays alternating. Shift hours are anticipated to be 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Periodic mandatory overtime may be necessary to ensure process continuity and completion.

Key Responsibilities Provide Quality Assurance support for manufacturing, quality control, engineering, and supply chain operations. Review and approve test records for batch release, SOPs, CAPAs, Deviations, OOX investigations, Quality Risk Assessments, Quality Plans/Events, protocols, and change controls.  Perform shop floor oversight and provide compliance guidance supporting operational decision-making. Conduct live batch record review and execute acceptable quality limit inspections. Support continuous quality improvement initiatives that enhance manufacturing quality, compliance, and operational efficiency. Support regulatory inspection readiness, execute inspection activities, and maintain ongoing site cGMP compliance. Deliver quality training and collaborate across teams to strengthen quality culture and performance. Essential Requirements Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Chemistry, or a related relevant degree. Minimum 3 years of experience in GxP biopharmaceutical or active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing operations. Minimum 2 years of experience in a Quality Assurance role within a regulated environment. Quality Assurance or Quality Control experience in pharmaceutical environments with environmental monitoring and cleanliness zones.   Experience reviewing quality documentation and supporting compliance within manufacturing operations. Experience supporting regulatory inspections, continuous improvement initiatives, or operational excellence projects.   Proven ability to collaborate effectively across functions and build strong working relationships.  The salary for this position is expected to range between $43.08 and $80.00 per hour. The final salary offered is determined based on factors like, but not limited to, relevant skills and experience, and upon joining Novartis will be reviewed periodically. Novartis may change the published salary range based on company and market factors. Your compensation will include a performance-based cash incentive and, depending on the level of the role, eligibility to be considered for annual equity awards. US-based eligible employees will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, life and disability benefits, a 401(k) with company contribution and match, and a variety of other benefits. In addition, employees are eligible for a generous time off package including vacation, personal days, holidays and other leaves.  To learn more about the culture, rewards and benefits we offer our people click here.  #LI-Onsite

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Quality
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Carlsbad, United States
Employment type
Regular

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Quality role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 644 comparable Quality roles across 85 biopharma companies.

644Comparable roles tracked
597Currently active
85Companies hiring similar roles
45Countries represented

Salary context

109 of 644 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $43/hr – $80/hr (≈ $89,606–$166,400/yr)
Lowest disclosed · Technician - QC Laboratory · Lilly $13/hr – $29/hr (≈ $26,998–$60,507/yr)
Highest disclosed · Executive Director, QA Microbiology · Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) $203,000/yr – $399,400/yr
Peer group range $43,753 – $301,200 (median $159,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 644 comparable roles

United States212
Ireland49
India45
China39
Singapore36
France29

+ 39 more countries

Seniority mix

309 of 644 peers have a known seniority level

Manager116
Senior97
Associate Director26
Director24
Associate23
Principal14
Senior Director7
Executive/VP1
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc1

Therapeutic area mix

0 of 644 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

No peers with a known therapeutic area yet.

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

40%similar
Lilly Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Associate
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Manager
Same function Same country
40%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Director
Same function Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

40%
Principal Scientist GMP Environmental Monitoring Lilly Medicine Foundry
Lilly · Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director, Clinical Quality Assurance
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior R&D Quality Officer, Product Development Quality Assurance
AbbVie · Irvine, CA · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Principal Scientist I/II, Study Quality and Compliance - Nonclinical Safety/Toxicology
Novartis · Cambridge (USA), United States · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.