Quality Specialist

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 122,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.
• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution.
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

The Opportunity

This role offers the opportunity to lead complex quality and regulatory initiatives that directly impact patient safety, compliance, and business operations. The individual will be responsible for complaint assessments, regulatory reporting decisions, and the preparation of submissions such as MDRs, MedWatch, and Vigilance reports while serving as a key liaison with regulatory authorities and customers. The position also provides significant cross-functional leadership exposure, partnering with teams across complaint handling, customer service, medical affairs, product quality, and clinical research to drive process improvements and quality system effectiveness. In addition, the role owns critical supplier quality activities, including qualification and risk assessment processes, while independently driving projects, influencing stakeholders, and ensuring compliance across a global organization. This position is an onsite role based in Alameda, CA, with occasional domestic and international travel (up to 10%) required.

What You’ll Work On

• Independently lead groups and projects to resolve complex issues. analyze complex problems and identify their impact. establish probabilities. draw conclusions reflecting broad business needs. ensure compliance.
• Review complaint communications and assess for regulatory compliance, reportability, and potential impact to patient safety and business operations.
• Establish regulatory reportability decisions using event investigation and regulatory decision models.
• Lead supplier quality assurance activities to ensure compliance with internal quality standards and applicable regulations, including ISO 13485, FDA QSR, MDR/IVDR, and other global requirements.
• Write Medical Device Reports (MDRs), MedWatch, Vigilance, and other regulatory reports, ensuring timely transmission to the appropriate regulatory authorities.
• Compose written communications detailing the clinical observation, investigation and/or product analysis, and corrective actions, as applicable, to end use customers or regulatory bodies
• Cross-functionally lead alignment between departments and/or divisions which may include complaint handling, customer service, medical events, and product quality.
• Cross-functionally lead Quality System process improvements which may include training, corrective action and preventive action (CAPA) activities, equipment maintenance, product and process planning, quality audits, validation, product development/clinical research, design control activities, complaints, and post market surveillance.
• Work may require collaboration with other Division sites and/or other Abbott divisions.
• Responsible for completing documentation in a timely manner and in accordance with business standards.
• Travel up to 10% of the time both domestically and internationally to support organizational goals
• Understand and comply with applicable EHS policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Works under general direction; independently determines and develops approach to solutions; work is reviewed upon completion for adequacy in meeting objectives.
• Makes timely and effective decisions related to business issues within scope of responsibility; appropriately elevates high risk issues / decisions; identifies and quantifies risks and their consequences relative to the success of a project / task; recommends appropriate action; decisions or recommendations would typically achieve departmental / project objectives.
• Drives functional performance that ensures cross-functional standards and expectations are met

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience

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