OPT Quality Control Microbiologist Jobs
Quality Control Microbiologist roles are a strong fit for F-1 OPT students with degrees in microbiology, biology, or related sciences. Most positions in pharma, biotech, and food manufacturing qualify for STEM OPT extension, giving you up to three years of work authorization to build regulated-industry experience.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Build your future at Curia, where our work has the power to save lives.
Curia is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with over 30 years of experience partnering with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide life-saving treatments to patients. At Curia, we are on a mission to advance our customers’ therapies from curiosity to cure and ultimately to improve patients’ lives.
We proudly offer
- Generous benefit options (eligible first day of employment)
- Paid training, vacation and holidays (vacation accrual begins on first day of employment)
- Career advancement opportunities
- Education reimbursement
- 401K program with matching contributions
- Learning platform
- And more!
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Quality Control Microbiologist performs quality activities in support of product production and releases. The QC Microbiologist performs a wide variety of activities to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements by conducting testing, trending, and reporting results.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Perform microbiological testing (endotoxin, bioburden) for water. Perform microbiological testing (endotoxin, sterility, and bioburden) for raw materials, in-process materials, intermediates, and final products. Perform environmental monitoring of the clean rooms (under USP and EU specifications).
- Read, trend, and report environmental, personnel, in-process, raw material, finished product, and water testing results. Perform microbial characterization (gram stain, catalase, oxidase, and coagulase tests). Prepare and send out samples for microbiological identification.
- Maintain historical files on organisms found in classified areas; microbial identification and trending. Perform line clear and line start verifications. Inspection of media fills.
- Perform other microbiological assays: Sterility (including Biological Indicator testing) and growth promotion testing of all incoming media used in the microbiology laboratory. Microbial Limits/Enumeration testing. QC microbiological sample receipt for internal testing, login, processing, tracking, distribution of test results, and closure.
- Initiate OOS or Environmental Monitoring Excursion Investigations. Provide Support for general QC Microbiology Laboratory activities. Chart reading and changing.
- Equipment cleaning and maintenance. Maintaining supplies and inventory. General laboratory housekeeping.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in a scientific discipline, preferably microbiology with three (3) years of previous professional experience.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize and multi-task in a fast-paced environment. A minimum of three (3) years of industry experience in a GMP or GLP environment is preferred. Proficient in the validation/qualification of lab microbiological techniques preferred. Must be skilled in the use of computers and proficient in the use of spreadsheets. Previous experience with pharmaceutical cleanroom environments. Knowledgeable in FDA cGMPs (21 CFR 211); ISO 9001, 13485, and 17025 a plus.
Other Skills and Abilities:
- Facilitate the revision and release of all controlled documents. Facilitate mandatory reviews of SOPs and month-end reports.
- Provide oversight for projects to update/maintain official document templates. Direct and manage the Change Control System.
Other Qualifications:
Must pass a background check.
Must pass a drug screen.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit and use their hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts; high, precarious places; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; risk of electrical shock; explosives; risk of radiation, and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
NOTE:
This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.
Education, experience, location and tenure may be considered along with internal equity when job offers are extended.
We do not accept unsolicited assistance from any headhunters or recruitment firms for any of our job openings. All resumes or profiles submitted by search firms to any employee at Curia, in any form without a valid, signed search agreement by an authorized signatory in place for the specific position, approved by Talent Acquisition, will be deemed the sole property of Curia. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Curia because of the unsolicited referral.
All interested applicants must apply online. Please be aware of scammers. Curia will only send offer letters and requests for sensitive personal information from a curiaglobal.com email address.
Curia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. Curia is an E-Verify employer.
LOCATION
Albuquerque, NM
INTRODUCTION
Build your future at Curia, where our work has the power to save lives.
Curia is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with over 30 years of experience partnering with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide life-saving treatments to patients. At Curia, we are on a mission to advance our customers’ therapies from curiosity to cure and ultimately to improve patients’ lives.
We proudly offer
- Generous benefit options (eligible first day of employment)
- Paid training, vacation and holidays (vacation accrual begins on first day of employment)
- Career advancement opportunities
- Education reimbursement
- 401K program with matching contributions
- Learning platform
- And more!
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Quality Control Microbiologist performs quality activities in support of product production and releases. The QC Microbiologist performs a wide variety of activities to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements by conducting testing, trending, and reporting results.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Perform microbiological testing (endotoxin, bioburden) for water. Perform microbiological testing (endotoxin, sterility, and bioburden) for raw materials, in-process materials, intermediates, and final products. Perform environmental monitoring of the clean rooms (under USP and EU specifications).
- Read, trend, and report environmental, personnel, in-process, raw material, finished product, and water testing results. Perform microbial characterization (gram stain, catalase, oxidase, and coagulase tests). Prepare and send out samples for microbiological identification.
- Maintain historical files on organisms found in classified areas; microbial identification and trending. Perform line clear and line start verifications. Inspection of media fills.
- Perform other microbiological assays: Sterility (including Biological Indicator testing) and growth promotion testing of all incoming media used in the microbiology laboratory. Microbial Limits/Enumeration testing. QC microbiological sample receipt for internal testing, login, processing, tracking, distribution of test results, and closure.
- Initiate OOS or Environmental Monitoring Excursion Investigations. Provide Support for general QC Microbiology Laboratory activities. Chart reading and changing.
- Equipment cleaning and maintenance. Maintaining supplies and inventory. General laboratory housekeeping.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in a scientific discipline, preferably microbiology with three (3) years of previous professional experience.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize and multi-task in a fast-paced environment. A minimum of three (3) years of industry experience in a GMP or GLP environment is preferred. Proficient in the validation/qualification of lab microbiological techniques preferred. Must be skilled in the use of computers and proficient in the use of spreadsheets. Previous experience with pharmaceutical cleanroom environments. Knowledgeable in FDA cGMPs (21 CFR 211); ISO 9001, 13485, and 17025 a plus.
Other Skills and Abilities:
- Facilitate the revision and release of all controlled documents. Facilitate mandatory reviews of SOPs and month-end reports.
- Provide oversight for projects to update/maintain official document templates. Direct and manage the Change Control System.
Other Qualifications:
Must pass a background check.
Must pass a drug screen.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit and use their hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts; high, precarious places; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; risk of electrical shock; explosives; risk of radiation, and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
NOTE:
This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.
Education, experience, location and tenure may be considered along with internal equity when job offers are extended.
We do not accept unsolicited assistance from any headhunters or recruitment firms for any of our job openings. All resumes or profiles submitted by search firms to any employee at Curia, in any form without a valid, signed search agreement by an authorized signatory in place for the specific position, approved by Talent Acquisition, will be deemed the sole property of Curia. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Curia because of the unsolicited referral.
All interested applicants must apply online. Please be aware of scammers. Curia will only send offer letters and requests for sensitive personal information from a curiaglobal.com email address.
Curia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. Curia is an E-Verify employer.
LOCATION
Albuquerque, NM
See all 42+ OPT Quality Control Microbiologist Jobs
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship in Quality Control Microbiologist
Target STEM-designated programs first
Confirm your degree program's CIP code qualifies for the 24-month STEM OPT extension before applying. QC Microbiology roles in pharma and biotech almost universally satisfy STEM OPT requirements, making you a longer-term hire for employers.
Emphasize GMP and regulatory lab experience
Employers in FDA-regulated industries prioritize candidates familiar with Good Manufacturing Practice environments. Highlight any GMP coursework, lab rotations, or internships on your resume. This signals you can contribute immediately without extensive onboarding in a compliance-heavy setting.
Frame your OPT timeline proactively with employers
When discussing work authorization, lead with your full timeline. A 12-month OPT period plus a 24-month STEM extension gives you up to three years, which covers most H-1B visa sponsorship cycles for life sciences employers who sponsor regularly.
Focus applications on mid-size and large pharma or biotech companies
Companies with established QC departments and regulatory affairs teams are far more likely to have prior experience sponsoring visas. Smaller contract labs may not have the infrastructure or HR capacity to navigate sponsorship, even when they want to hire.
Get certified in relevant quality systems
An ASQ Certified Quality Technician or similar credential strengthens your candidacy and demonstrates commitment to the QC field. Employers weighing sponsorship costs are more likely to invest in candidates who show initiative beyond their degree requirements.
Use Migrate Mate to find OPT-friendly QC roles
Browse Quality Control Microbiologist openings on Migrate Mate, which filters specifically for employers open to OPT and visa sponsorship. This reduces time spent applying to positions where your work authorization will immediately disqualify you from consideration.
Quality Control Microbiologist OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Do Quality Control Microbiologist jobs qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Yes, in most cases. If your degree is in microbiology, biology, biochemistry, or a related STEM field with a qualifying CIP code, you're eligible to apply for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. Combined with your initial 12-month OPT, that gives you up to three years of work authorization in a QC Microbiology role.
Which industries hire QC Microbiologists who are on OPT?
Pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotech, food and beverage, and medical device companies are the most active employers for QC Microbiologists. Pharma and biotech tend to have the most experience with visa sponsorship because they hire internationally at scale. Contract research and contract manufacturing organizations also hire OPT students regularly for QC roles.
How do I find Quality Control Microbiologist jobs open to OPT students?
Migrate Mate is the recommended starting point. It surfaces QC Microbiology roles from employers who are open to OPT and visa sponsorship, so you're not filtering manually through listings that won't consider your work authorization status. Searching by industry or role type helps narrow to regulated-environment positions where your lab background is most relevant.
Will employers sponsor H-1B visas after my OPT period ends for this role?
Many do, particularly in pharmaceutical and biotech companies that rely heavily on international talent for lab and quality operations roles. H-1B sponsorship depends on company size, HR capacity, and how critical your role is to the team. The STEM OPT extension gives you two additional years after initial OPT, which is enough time to go through one or two H-1B lottery cycles.
What should I include on my resume to stand out as an OPT candidate for QC Microbiology roles?
Highlight laboratory techniques relevant to QC work: microbial identification, environmental monitoring, sterility testing, and any exposure to USP methods or FDA-regulated environments. Mention GMP training explicitly if you've completed it. Quantify your experience where possible, such as the number of samples processed or test methods you've been trained on, to give hiring managers a concrete sense of your readiness.