WHAT DOES AN INSTRUMENTATION SPECIALIST DO?

Published: Sep 25, 2025 - The Instrumentation Specialist supports the team by preparing and organizing technical documentation, including calibration, preventive maintenance, and operational procedures. This position assists in developing training materials, updating equipment strategies, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives related to systems, methods, and technologies. The specialist also contributes to equipment procurement, performs field walk-downs, and ensures alignment of maintenance practices across the facility.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Instrumentation Specialist

1. Instrumentation Specialist Duties

  • Preventative Maintenance: Develop, review, and approve preventative maintenance, calibration, and/or cleaning procedures for Utility, Process, QC and Metrology equipment and systems
  • Technical Collaboration: Collaborate with maintenance and engineering staff in the continuous improvement of technical infrastructure required to support Utility equipment and systems, including specifications, procedures, and implementation of best maintenance practices
  • Quality Investigations: Lead or support discrepancy evaluations, CAPAs, and Quality investigations
  • Training Development: Develop and maintain training content and structure for utilities maintenance and operations personnel
  • System Qualification: Participate in the design, implementation, commissioning and qualification of process/utility equipment systems
  • Facility Engineering: Collaborate with the site and Corporate Engineering on facility modifications, process expansions and new installations
  • Cross-Functional Communication: Interact and communicate with Manufacturing, Quality, Technology, and Engineering to ensure satisfactory performance of process equipment/systems
  • Document Review: Review, assess, and approve Change Records and Maintenance-related Documents
  • Technical Expertise: Provide engineering technical expertise and guidance to other technical staff members
  • Operational Support: Provide flexible and on-call support for 24x7 operations

2. Instrumentation Specialist Details

  • Instrumentation Planning: Develop vehicle instrumentation plans
  • Work Instructions: Create work instructions for vehicle instrumentation builds
  • Lab Setup: Assist with the setup of the Instrumentation lab, functional layout, and assist in equipment specifications and acquisition
  • Calibration Schedule: Maintain the calibration schedule
  • Maintenance Program: Help develop a calibration and Preventive Maintenance (PM) control program
  • Asset Calibration: Fixed asset calibrations, such as test stands or dynamometers
  • Inventory Management: Maintain a stock of frequently used sensors and materials
  • Documentation Development: Develop work instructions and internal documentation (material safety, lab safety and process safety)
  • Safety Awareness: Instill a culture of safety awareness in the laboratory

3. Instrumentation Specialist Job Summary

  • Analytical Research: Research analytical methods, develop methods for assaying components, products and unknowns
  • Method Validation: Create method validation protocols, perform method validation and write validation reports
  • Method Transfer: Participating in method transfer activities
  • Instrument Calibration: Maintain and calibrate analytical instrumentation, including ICP-OES, HPLC, LC/MSMS, GC/MS, Process mass spectrometry, FTNIR, Leco, Particle size analyzer, amino acid analysis, mycotoxins, fiber analysis, rheometry equipment, UV/VIS, and IC
  • Method Maintenance: Maintain analytical methods for the analytical instrumentation
  • Result Review: Review analytical results for accuracy, including chromatography review/approval
  • SOP Writing: Write standard operating procedures (SOPs) for sample preparation and for the operation of analytical equipment
  • Instrument Operation: Operate instrumentation per SOP and train technicians in daily operation
  • Record Management: Maintain laboratory records and generate appropriate documentation to validate analytical equipment performance and all analyses performed following ICM’s internal Quality Assurance policies
  • Procedure Documentation: Thoroughly document all procedures and experimental results in an approved format

4. Instrumentation Specialist Accountabilities

  • Reporting Skills: Provide oral and written reports of experimental results, outlining both positive and negative findings
  • Notebook Management: Maintain lab notebook promptly, including countersignature
  • RA Support: Assist RAs in the performance of their duties related to instrumentation
  • Lab Maintenance: Maintain a clean and safe work environment, keeping the lab area clean and orderly at all times, ready for client visits to the laboratory, scheduled and unscheduled
  • Team Collaboration: Collaborate with the internal ICM teams to maximize communication and resource usage to operate effectively
  • Regulatory Compliance: Comply with applicable regulatory requirements related to the use of instrumentation and testing of samples
  • Inspection Participation: Participate in self-inspections and regulatory inspections
  • Team Relations: Ensure good relations and communications with all members of the team, maintaining diplomacy and promoting a team-focused environment
  • Customer Response: Respond timely to internal and external customers
  • Food Safety: Be responsible for the production of safe animal food and adherence to internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

5. Instrumentation Specialist Job Description

  • Project Support: Support control solution projects as well as the group engineering strategy
  • Safety Auditing: Audit high-risk and safety-critical areas
  • Problem Analysis: Analyse and identify problems with the current control solution
  • System Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot systems and resolve hardware problems
  • Technical Solutions: Provide technical solutions and improvements for problematic control equipment
  • Equipment Calibration: Calibrate and maintain all equipment within the control solution
  • User Training: Train and develop end users
  • Project Commissioning: Assist and commission on-site projects

6. Instrumentation Specialist Details and Accountabilities

  • Bonding Operations: Perform bonding operations on small components
  • Fine Soldering: Perform fine soldering operations
  • Wire Forming: Perform fine wire shaping and forming operations
  • Wire Crimping: Perform wire crimping operations
  • Repetitive Assembly: Perform repetitive operations such as soldering and crimping wires to terminals and connectors, wiring circuit boards, preparing components and building cables and harnesses
  • Microscope Assembly: Use magnifying devices (microscopes) to assemble and solder small assemblies
  • Coating Application: Perform RTV and Conformal coating operations
  • Mechanical Assembly: Perform incidental mechanical assembly
  • Diagram Drawing: Draw a diagram, or a schematic, as a guide for performing assembly tasks
  • Lean Principles: Apply Lean principles for daily continuous improvements

7. Instrumentation Specialist Additional Details

  • Microscope Demonstration: Demonstrate microscopes and follow up with the targeted account or surgeon
  • Demo Tracking: Maintain a demo tracking sheet and provide customer feedback on the demo every month
  • Lead Generation: Create new leads by conducting aggressive demos to competitive users
  • Lead Follow-up: Follow up on leads forwarded by the territory sales executive or account manager
  • Marketing Execution: Execute instrumentation marketing plans and plan of action in accordance with established guidelines
  • Event Coordination: Conduct an assigned number of ACT (Advanced Cataract Technology), ART (Advanced Refractive Technology), RTM (Round Table Meetings) and CME (Continuous Medical Education) every year
  • Surgeon Support: Work with surgeons during and after installations to improve the post-purchase experience
  • Equipment Management: Manage all demo equipment assigned to the area
  • Market Feedback: Provide constant feedback on market information to develop an edge over competitors
  • Territory Management: Manage territory development effectively
  • Receivable Collection: Ensure receivables are collected on time to complete the sales
  • Call Management: Maintain the desired call average per month and frequency of calls as expected with respect to the dual ranking of customers
  • Program Execution: Execute regional marketing or country programs, training strategies and tactics that effectively grow brands
  • Activity Planning: Focus on activity-based management and plan SoV (Share of Voice) activities

8. Instrumentation Specialist General Responsibilities

  • Team Assistance: Assisting the Maintenance Initiatives Team of Instrument Specialists in completing the following responsibilities
  • Documentation Preparation: Preparing and organizing technical documentation, including operational, calibration, and preventive maintenance procedures, investigation reports, discrepancy response, and corrective actions
  • Training Development: Preparing training materials for all Instrument Services personnel in the proper execution of all relevant programs and processes
  • Continuous Improvement: Supporting continuous improvement programs for maintenance operations, systems, methods, and technologies
  • Equipment Procurement: Contributing to the identification and procurement of appropriate test, service, and safety equipment, as well as spare parts and materials for proper maintenance, operation and cleaning of instruments throughout the facility
  • Procedure Updating: Updating preventive maintenance, operational, and calibration procedures for instruments throughout the facility
  • Maintenance Strategy: Developing maintenance strategies and assessing change impact on equipment maintenance, activities, spare parts availability, and alignment with department practices
  • Field Walkdowns: Performing industrial and process systems field walk-downs to support validation of material support process and to resolve technical and administrative issues

9. Instrumentation Specialist Roles and Details

  • Test Setup: Determine equipment needed for testing and assist in completing test set-ups
  • Specification Reading: Read and interpret test specifications
  • Data Management: Record and maintain data in an orderly manner and turn in completed TRs
  • Technical Support: Provide technical support in troubleshooting and maintenance of mechanical and electrical test stand equipment
  • Safety Compliance: Follow all safety requirements for working in a hazardous (class 1, Division 1, Group D) area
  • Instrumentation Support: Support the implementation of the electronic interface of equipment, installation of instrumentation and data acquisition equipment
  • Project Planning: Participate in the planning and implementation of complex projects and Control System strategic planning, maintain PLC Programs and Equipment configuration files
  • Process Research: Research new process control, supervisory control and telecommunication methods, techniques and equipment, and recommend their application
  • System Maintenance: Repair and maintain complex industrial control systems, associated SCADA networks, SCADA servers, HVAC operating systems, complex automated electrical power distribution systems and related equipment in the Wastewater Treatment plants
  • Software Programming: Program, test updates and maintain change control documentation for Operational Technology (OT) control software

10. Instrumentation Specialist Duties and Roles

  • Preventive Maintenance: Perform routine preventive maintenance on systems and equipment
  • Documentation Accuracy: Accurately complete paperwork and forms, both paper and electronic
  • System Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot systems and equipment and document appropriately
  • Repair Execution: Execute repairs and document appropriately
  • Customer Response: Respond to internal customer requests and alarm conditions
  • Vendor Coordination: Coordinate with vendors to provide support
  • Procedure Development: Assist with the development of new procedures
  • Instrumentation Installation: Install monitoring instrumentation on active construction sites
  • Activity Monitoring: Monitor construction activities periodically
  • Instrument Operation: Use instrumentation such as inclinometers, total station, 3D monitoring prisms, leveling rod, water level meters, seismographs and others
  • Client Interaction: Interact with clients on field related activities
  • Project Support: Assist with technical and clerical support as well as project management
  • Team Collaboration: Work as part of a team or with limited supervision
Relevant Information
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