Certification Program Coordinator

Element Portland is a specialized EMC, EMI, and wireless compliance laboratory delivering Product Qualification Testing services across the Pacific Northwest. With fully accredited MIL-STD-461 and RTCA DO-160 capabilities, the laboratory supports the validation of products against performance, reliability, and regulatory requirements.

About the role

Element has an opportunity for a Certification Program Coordinator, who independently manages the coordination of certification projects through the full lifecycle including application intake, project setup, client communication, certificate issuance, registry updates, and surveillance logistics. This role serves as a primary client contact for assigned projects and handles standard regulator and accreditation-body submissions with minimal oversight, escalating complex, contentious, or precedent-setting matters to the Certification Manager. Fully accountable for day-to-day execution on assigned projects, while developing toward program-level process ownership.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage application intake and screening for assigned projects: verify completeness, confirm routing to the correct certification scheme, and process per documented procedures to maintain a defensible audit trail
• Set up certification projects in internal systems, confirm scope details, and formally notify clients of project initiation
• Flag out-of-scope or ambiguous applications to the Certification Manager before formal acceptance
• Act as the primary point of contact for clients and laboratories on assigned projects, managing timeline expectations while maintaining strict separation from technical review content and certification decisions
• Track technical review progress against schedule, proactively resolve routine delays, and escalate at-risk projects with a recommended course of action
• Communicate certification decisions to clients and keep client-facing process documentation current
• Upload applications and required documentation to regulatory websites, ensuring timeliness and completeness
• Serve as operational point of contact for complaints on assigned projects: acknowledge, gather facts, coordinate the response, and manage ongoing client communication while QA/Compliance ensures impartial handling
• Manage customer outreach for market surveillance samples and establish subcontractor laboratory arrangements when applicable
• Attend internal and external ISO17065 audits in support of the TCB; assist with documentation for the annual management review and oversight committee communications
• Monitor training records, CB status on regulatory websites, and supporting laboratory recognition status; report gaps or changes to the Certification Manager with recommended actions
• Take on stretch assignments from the Certification Manager (e.g., leading preparation for a specific audit cycle) as development toward a senior role

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, quality management, engineering technology, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 2–5 years of experience in project coordination, certification body operations, testing laboratory administration, or regulatory compliance
• Working familiarity with accredited conformity assessment operations (e.g., ISO/IEC 17065 environments) and regulator or accreditation body interfaces
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple concurrent projects with strong documentation discipline
• Professional, service-oriented written and verbal communication with clients and external bodies
• Proficiency with project tracking tools, document management systems, and Microsoft Office

Preferred Skills

• Experience in radio/EMC, telecom, or product certification, or supporting a Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB)
• Direct experience preparing materials for accreditation assessments or regulatory audits
• Familiarity with market surveillance and corrective-action tracking processes

About the company

Element is one of the fastest growing testing, inspection and certification businesses in the world. Globally we have more than 9,000 brilliant minds operating from 270 sites across 30 countries. Together we share an ambitious purpose to ‘Make tomorrow safer than today’. When failure in use is not an option, we help customers make certain that their products, materials, processes and services are safe, compliant and fit for purpose. From early R&D, through complex regulatory approvals and into production, our global laboratory network of scientists, engineers, and technologists support customers to achieve assurance over product quality, sustainable outcomes, and market access. While we are proud of our global reach, working at Element feels like being part of a smaller company. We empower you to take charge of your career, and reward excellence and integrity with growth and development. Industries across the world depend on our care, attention to detail and the absolute accuracy of our work. The role we have to play in creating a safer world is much bigger than our organization.