APAC Life Science RA/QA Recruitment | WanYun Nie
16 May, 20253 MinsSix-Year Specialist in Regulatory Affairs & Quality Talent For six years, WanYun Ni...
Six-Year Specialist in Regulatory Affairs & Quality Talent
For six years, WanYun Nie has focused on the compliance end of drug development, including Regulatory Affairs (RA), Quality Assurance (QA), and Pharmacovigilance (PV). While her colleagues in Barrington James Singapore cover every other stage of the product life-cycle, WanYun delivers the talent that keeps products safe and audit-ready.
Where Her Singapore Desk Recruits
WanYun recent hiring footprints include:
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong
- China
Being in Singapore, our APAC headquarters, means that WanYun is able to meet 90% of hiring managers face-to-face and keep close time-zone alignment with Australia, Hong Kong and wider regions.
What Changed in 2024?
- Headcount is moving out of Singapore. As medium sized companies now base service centres in Malaysia, Indonesia, or Vietnam to stay cost-effective.
- Leaner RA/QA teams. As it is harder for non-revenue roles to win approval, so employers want "jack-of-all-trades" compliance professionals.
- Plant relocations. An example of this is a major medical device firm has relocated an entire plant from Singapore to Thailand.
Looking Ahead to 2025
WanYun has observed the following shifts and expects:
- Short-Term contingent workers hired to cover audits, product launches, or single projects.
- Continued caution on permanent in non-sales functions ensuring a flexibility first approach.
- Slow but growing acceptance of contracts in RA/QA, although specialists within this sector are remaining more conservative opposed to commercial roles.
Why Clients Partner Our Singapore Barrington James Team
- Personal Contact - "we aim to meet every client we represent"
- Proactive Market Insight - the team shares salary and talent trends even when there is no open vacancy.
- End-to-End APAC Coverage - multi-country searches managed seamlessly from Singapore.
- Regulatory & Quality Depth - backed by a Singapore team that spans the entire drug-development cycle.
Why Clients Partner with WanYun Nie
Executive Placement of the Site Quality Head in Vietnam
A confidential global medical-device manufacturer faced chronic leadership turnover at its Vietnam plant, losing five site-quality heads in as many years. The company needed a discreet, high-impact replacement who could restore stability without disrupting operations or morale. Treating the contingency brief with retained-search rigor, WanYun conducted a fully NDA-bound global search, produced research-backed long- and short-lists, and led weekly alignment calls with HR and site leadership. She then managed the end-to-end relocation and onboarding of a U.S. quality executive, moving the leader from Denver to Vietnam for a permanent assignment.
Outcomes
- Confidential global search delivered in five months with zero leaks
- Seamless leadership transition and no production downtime
- Culturally aligned executive positioned to rebuild morale for a 250-employee workforce
Ready to Hire Elite RA & QA Talent?
If you're looking to build out your QA/RA and PV functions within your APAC teams and need elite talent to hit the ground running. Reach out to WanYun Nie via + 65 8282 8254 or email at wanyun@barringtonjames.com .
