Max Life Recruitment runs permanent searches across UK life sciences, pharma, biotech, medical devices, regulatory and clinical operations. We work the way the sector works - methodically, with the paperwork right, and with the patient outcome in mind throughout.
Life sciences hiring is not transferable from generic agency work. The credentials matter. The audit trail matters. The patient outcome at the end of the chain matters most. We work like the operations and quality teams we serve.
We come to the briefing call ready. ICH-GCP for clinical, MDR / IVDR for medical devices, EU GMP for pharma, ISO 13485 for quality - we know which standards apply to which roles. We will not waste your call asking the basics.
Right-to-work, references, regulatory training records, and notice periods all confirmed before a CV reaches you. Where the role demands it, we verify pharma certification, sponsor experience and audit history before introduction.
The person who picks up your call runs the search end to end - briefing, sourcing, vetting, offer, mobilisation, day-90 check-in. No researcher hand-offs. Nothing falls between cracks because there are no cracks.
Outside this list, ask. Our network reaches further than the page, and we will tell you straight whether your brief sits in our wheelhouse.
RA managers, EU and UK QPPVs, regulatory submissions specialists, MDR / IVDR leads, CTA and CTIS specialists, RA directors.
Clinical project managers, CRAs, clinical operations directors, study managers, clinical trial leaders, CRO oversight specialists, GCP auditors.
QA managers, GMP / GCP / GLP auditors, ISO 13485 specialists, QPs, validation leads, deviation and CAPA specialists, quality systems managers.
Manufacturing managers, production scientists, cleanroom team leaders, scale-up engineers, technical transfer leads, fill / finish specialists.
Design assurance engineers, medical device R&D leads, design transfer specialists, MDR remediation leads, post-market surveillance managers.
Process development scientists, formulation chemists, downstream / upstream process specialists, biotechnology engineers, scale-up scientists.
PV specialists, drug safety officers, ICSR processors, signal detection scientists, EU QPPVs, aggregate reports specialists, PV physicians.
MSLs, medical advisors, medical directors, medical communications specialists, scientific affairs leads, real-world evidence scientists.
Brand managers, key account managers (NHS / private), market access managers, health economics specialists, commercial directors, BD managers.
HSE managers in pharma / biotech, environmental compliance leads, GxP compliance officers, data integrity specialists, validation engineers.
Bioinformaticians, biostatisticians, clinical data managers, programmers (SAS / R), real-world data scientists, data engineers in life sciences.
Heads of R&D, VPs Operations, Directors of Quality, Heads of Regulatory, CSOs, Site Heads, GM-track searches in life sciences.
We move at the pace the sector expects. Audit-trail-ready, paperwork-grade, transparent. You always know where the search is.
One call to lock the role, regulatory scope, salary band against current sector data, offer process and the make-or-break qualities. We come prepared, not script-reading.
Network first, then targeted outreach. Every approach references your business carefully - we name nobody we have not already prepared the candidate for.
Three to five candidates, each ranked against the brief with a short note on regulatory background, motivation and notice period. ICH-GCP, EU GMP and right-to-work confirmed before introduction.
We coordinate the offer, manage counter-offer pressure, line up the start date and any pre-employment checks, and check in at week 2, 6 and 12.
UK life sciences hiring is not the place for a generic agency that learnt the acronyms last week. Operations directors at biotech sites, quality managers in pharma manufacturing, RA leads at medical device companies - they all see straight through a recruiter who has not been in the room before. We have. The team has placed across UK clinical-stage biotech, pharma manufacturing sites, medical device companies and the consultancies that serve them.
That experience translates into searches that close. We know the difference between a UK Marketing Authorisation Holder and an EU MAH. We know which RA submissions experience matters for which therapeutic area. And we know that mid-career life sciences professionals only move for a reason that survives scrutiny.
Quality directors, R&D heads, RA leaders, operations directors and HR business partners at UK life sciences operators - SMEs, mid-market and the UK arms of multinational pharma / med-tech. Companies that would rather take an extra fortnight to land the right person than rush to a "fine" hire.
Clinical-bedside healthcare (we partner with clinical specialists), pure academic research positions, very junior individual contributors, and senior corporate executive search above £200k base. We will refer rather than try to compete in adjacent waters.