Director Quality
Thermo Fisher Scientific · Middletown, VA
- Level
- Director+
- Team
- Quality
- Base pay
- $146k–$225k
- Degree
- Preferred
- Experience asked
- 10+ years
- Industry
- Pharma & life sciences
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A director-level quality role at Thermo Fisher Scientific (pharma & life sciences) in Middletown, VA. The Director is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of the Quality Management System and leading interactions during FDA inspections, MDSAP and ISO 13485 audits, and customer audits.
- They ask for
- 10+ years · degree preferred
- Tools it names
- ISO 13485, FDA / GMP
- Base pay
- $146k–$225k
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in Virginia: typical posted base $87k–$118k. This one lists $146k–$225k.
Median of the low and high ends of 9 live postings that list pay, out of 16 quality engineer openings in Virginia, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Virginia plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 15 other live quality postings in Virginia.
- Base pay
- About 81% above similar roles
- Experience asked
- More than usual (10+ vs 6+)
Typical $87k–$118k, from 8 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 6+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Root cause 69%
- Lean 50%
- FMEA 44%
- SPC 38%
- ISO 9001 38%
- Six Sigma 38%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Quality team at Thermo Fisher Scientific
We found 1 person at this company and state: 1 in this kind of role. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Jason → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Which standards drive the work here: ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100?
- How much of the job is customer complaints versus prevention?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Thermo Fisher Scientific in Middletown
2 other open roles at this site · 1 person we found in quality roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
- Quality Engineer III · Quality · Senior
- Engineer II, Manufacturing Engineering · Manufacturing
Full description from Thermo Fisher ScientificAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
requirements
to ensure activities remain in compliance, and for driving continued evolution of the Quality function and site quality system to ensure it remains adequate to business needs and is successfully implemented.
This is a highly visible role at the site and Division level and, as a key member of the leadership team, you will report to the CDD Vice President, Global Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs.
A critical aspect of this role is serving as the primary quality representative for customers and regulatory authorities. As the site's Management Representative, the Director is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of the Quality Management System and leading interactions during FDA inspections, MDSAP and ISO 13485 audits, and customer audits. This role requires strong leadership and communication skills to build customer confidence, maintain regulatory compliance, and represent Thermo Fisher Scientific with credibility and professionalism.
Key Responsibilities
- ◆Acts as Management Representative of the Quality System and official correspondent of the site to all regulators (including US FDA). Primary contact at the site for all audits (regulator, Notified Body and customer).
- ◆Serve as a member of the site leadership team, providing strategic direction and influencing business decisions to ensure quality, compliance, and operational excellence are integrated into site objectives.
- ◆Establish strategies and drives actions to ensure the Quality Management System is adequate and successfully implemented to remain in sustained compliance with applicable regulations and standards.
- ◆Responsible for site product quality, compliance, conformance to quality
requirements
and specifications, and customer quality requirements. Supports regulatory recalls and interaction with government agencies.
- ✓Directly interacts with customers and OEM partners in relation to quality agreements, and quality matters associated with provided products and services.
- ✓Champion risk-based decision making by overseeing quality risk management processes and ensuring risks are identified, assessed, mitigated, and monitored throughout the product lifecycle.
- ✓Attracts, develops, and retains top talent to build an outstanding quality / regulatory function. Implements the required interpersonal structures and operating mechanisms to maintain appropriate oversight of the compliance status of the business and achieve results.
- ✓Grows and develops a customer-focused culture of personal quality in all site functions through leading, educating, and motivating site personnel using industry-leading practices.
- ✓Establishes and leads annual personnel resource and financial plans for the quality / regulatory organization.
- ✓Establishes annual site quality goals and objectives as part of annual Quality Improvement Plan and develops strategies and tactics to deliver associated results.
- ✓Leads and participates in cross functional teams for new product development, technology transfer, process improvement, and general operations.
- ✓Partners with regulatory affairs in all aspects of site regulatory processes that ensure the appropriate licensing, marketing and legal compliance of all appropriate diagnostics and medical device products globally.
- ✓Collaborate with global Quality and Regulatory leadership to standardize best practices, share lessons learned, and support enterprise quality initiatives.
Minimum Requirements/Qualifications
- ✓A minimum of 10 years of quality / regulatory experience including at least 5 years of prior experience leading a quality / regulatory role.
- ✓Undergraduate degree in life science or biomedical engineering-related subject area preferred.
- ✓Strong demonstration of leadership capabilities required, with experience in driving organization and process change. Experience in leading transformations is preferred.
- ✓Strong solid understanding of QMS standards and medical device requirements/regulations (ISO 13485:2016 (preferably under MDSAP), US FDA QMSR, Health Canada, IVDD / IVDR)
- ✓Experienced in direct, professional interactions with customers and OEM business partners and regulatory authorities.
- ✓Ability to achieve results in a matrixed organization, using representatives from diverse cultures and embracing diversity.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Work Schedule
Standard (Mon-Fri)
Environmental Conditions
Office
Job Description
As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you’ll discover meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with the resources needed to achieve individual career goals while helping to take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world’s toughest challenges, like protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe or helping find cures for cancer.
As Director of Quality and Compliance , you will be responsible for taking a transformative approach to leading a dynamic and high-functioning Quality Assurance team at the Thermo Fisher Scientific, Clinical Diagnostics Division site in Middletown VA
The successful candidate will be responsible for raising the bar in process and culture across all aspects of quality system and compliance at the location, which performs development and manufacture of IVD products in adherence to applicable global regulations and standards such as US FDA QMSR, IVDD / IVDR, ISO13485:2016 (under MDSAP) and other GMP standards.
You will have responsibility for advising and collaborating with Manufacturing, Technical Operation and Commercial functions on quality and quality system
Travel requirement
This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual perf
