Life sciences hiring in Ireland in 2026 is uneven. Validation, quality, automation and regulatory skills remain scarce and several sites are still building teams, while a small number of large plants are cutting. For employers, pharma recruitment in Ireland now turns on how quickly you can reach and decide on a short list of people who fit.
Which roles are in shortage
The SOLAS National Skills Bulletin 2025, published on 23 October 2025 using 2024 data, lists shortages of quality control and quality assurance engineers, process and design engineers, automation engineers, analytical and process scientists, and laboratory and manufacturing technicians. In its November 2024 survey of recruitment agencies, validation, process, quality and automation engineers were among the roles most often called difficult to fill, along with regulatory affairs, compliance and quality specialists in pharma.
In the job titles employers use, the scarce groups are:
- CQV (commissioning, qualification and validation) and process validation engineers
- Quality assurance and quality control specialists
- Automation engineers, including robotics and PLC skills
- Regulatory affairs specialists
- Qualified Persons with licence experience
CQV engineers and Qualified Persons are named in a recruiter salary guide for 2026, not in the SOLAS list. For medtech, the KPMG and Irish Medtech Skillnet report Talent to Thrive, covering 2024 to 2028, lists computer system validation, automation and regulatory affairs among its skills priorities.
Which sites are ramping up
The employers named in this article are cited from dated public announcements, as market context only. Announced job numbers are ceilings over several years, not open vacancies.
- Eli Lilly, Limerick: on 12 September 2024 the company announced a further US$1 billion investment and 150 new jobs in engineering, science, quality assurance and operations, with the plant due to begin operations in 2026 (Silicon Republic).
- MSD Ireland: on 6 January 2025 it said it had agreed to acquire a vaccines facility in Dundalk, with 150 additional roles planned there (MSD Ireland).
- Aerogen, Galway and Shannon: on 10 February 2025 it announced 725 jobs over ten years (Limerick Post).
- ICS Medical Devices, Galway: on 6 June 2025 it announced 72 jobs by 2028 in engineering, manufacturing, quality and HR (Enterprise Ireland).
Which sites are cutting
Two dated announcements stand out.
- Pfizer, Ringaskiddy: 102 voluntary redundancies were announced on 23 April 2026, effective in the fourth quarter of 2026, with patent expiries cited, according to the Eurofound restructuring monitor.
- Boston Scientific: on 22 July 2026 the company notified the Department of Enterprise of proposed collective redundancies as part of a global restructuring running from 2026 to 2029, the Irish Examiner reported. The reports reviewed gave no figure for Ireland. In April 2026 the same company announced a €75 million research and development investment in Galway.
Cuts like these bring experienced operators, quality staff and engineers to the market, but do not by themselves close the gap in validation, automation or regulatory work.
Contract versus permanent
Contract hiring is growing. In the Employment and Recruitment Federation's Irish Labour Market Monitor for Q2 2026, published on 14 August 2026, 52% of recruiters said they filled contract vacancies in June 2026, up from 41% in April. In the same monitor, 58% reported longer times to fill permanent roles, against 40% for contract roles. These figures cover all sectors, not life sciences alone.
A practical split: use contractors for work with an end date, such as CQV on a capital project, and hire permanently where the role holds site knowledge or licence responsibility, such as quality leadership, regulatory affairs and Qualified Persons.
How employers can move faster
IrishJobs put the median time to hire at 10 weeks in a survey carried out from 3 to 5 September 2025. In a separate IrishJobs report dated 19 September 2025, 44% of HR leaders cited slow internal feedback and 36% acknowledged too many interview rounds. Part of the delay sits inside the employer, so it can be fixed.
- Agree the interview stages, the decision maker and feedback deadlines before the role goes to market.
- Run one technical assessment early instead of adding rounds later.
- State the salary or day rate range at the start.
- Consider candidates from restructuring sites and from other regulated manufacturing, including food.
On permits, law firm Mason Hayes & Curran reported that pharmaceutical technician was added to the General Employment Permit list without a quota in May 2026. The Critical Skills minimum salary for roles with a relevant degree rose to €40,904 on 1 March 2026 under the Roadmap Review 2025 from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. Both are the position at the date of this article and can change, so confirm with the Department.
FH Recruitment recommends agreeing a hiring timetable with every brief. This article is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Confirm details with the relevant authority or an adviser.
Sources
Named sources and dates used in this article:
- SOLAS, National Skills Bulletin 2025, published 23 October 2025
- KPMG and Irish Medtech Skillnet, Talent to Thrive, 2024 to 2028
- Silicon Republic, 12 September 2024; MSD Ireland, 6 January 2025; Limerick Post, 10 February 2025; Enterprise Ireland, 6 June 2025
- Eurofound restructuring monitor, 23 April 2026; Irish Examiner on the 22 July 2026 notification
- Employment and Recruitment Federation, Irish Labour Market Monitor Q2 2026, published 14 August 2026, as reported by ThinkBusiness
- IrishJobs, September 2025
- Mason Hayes & Curran, 2026 updates to the employment permit regime
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Roadmap Review 2025
- A recruiter salary guide for 2026, for the CQV and Qualified Person shortages
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