(D-123) Poster on Quality Engineering Career Paths for Biomedical Engineers

Biomedical Quality Engineers (QEs) ensure that medical devices are safe, reliable, and consistent. To better understand career pathways for biomedical QEs, we quantified the prevalence of QE skills in entry-level biomedical engineering (BME) job listings and interviewed biomedical Quality Engineers to identify common career pathways for biomedical QEs.

To our surprise, over 40% of entry-level BME jobs were QE positions, and 70% required QE-related skills. Yet, the interview participants were unaware of careers in QE careers as undergraduates and learned about QE while entering the job market. We suggest that BME departments should introduce QE topics and experiences to help students make informed career decisions and be competitive in the sizable biomedical QE job market.