When people think of « working in medicines », they picture the community pharmacist. Yet a pharmaceutical plant mostly employs production operators, maintenance technicians, laboratory analysts, warehouse staff and, in the field, medical representatives. In Algeria the sector brings together public and private laboratories, subsidiaries of foreign groups and distributors, concentrated around Algiers but also present in Constantine, Blida, Oran and Tlemcen. This guide starts from the offers actually published on Chghol to describe the jobs, the training and how to land a position.
What the offers show: the jobs that are hiring
The table below groups the offers published on Chghol by pharmaceutical employers, by job family. It is a snapshot of 1 November 2026, not a market statistic: it reflects the offers on the site that day, most of them relayed from other job sites.
| Job | Offers on 01/11/2026 | What the job does | Profile most often requested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical representative | 41 | Presents the laboratory’s medicines to doctors and pharmacists in an area, follows visit and sales targets | Degree in biology, pharmacy or health sciences, driving licence, ease of speech |
| Production operator | 13 | Runs a manufacturing or packaging step (weighing, mixing, tableting, filling, blistering) following procedures | Baccalauréat to higher technician level, rigour, teamwork and shift work |
| Sales | 8 | Sells to pharmacies, wholesalers or health facilities, negotiates and follows orders | Business training, knowledge of the medicine supply chain |
| Maintenance technician | 8 | Services and repairs production machines and utilities (purified water, air handling) | Higher technician diploma or degree in industrial maintenance, electromechanics or electrical engineering |
| Quality controller | 7 | Tests raw materials and finished products in the laboratory, records results | Degree in chemistry, biology or biochemistry, laboratory practice |
| Warehouse, logistics | 11 | Receiving, storage, picking and shipping, with batch traceability and temperature control | Warehouse experience, rigour, stock management tools |
| Pharmacist | 5 | Technical responsibility, quality assurance, regulatory affairs or distribution | Doctorate in pharmacy |
| Process engineer | 4 | Improves and validates manufacturing processes, follows yields | Engineer or master in process or chemical engineering |
The jobs, from the plant to the field
Production and packaging
Operators and line operators make and pack medicines: tablets, capsules, syrups or injectables depending on the plant. The work is often in shifts (morning, afternoon, sometimes night), in protective clothing in controlled-atmosphere areas, following written procedures to the letter. Every action is traced: batch number, in-process checks, signature of the batch record. It is an entry door open without a university degree, with progression towards team leader or technician.
Quality control and assurance
Quality control tests raw materials, packaging and finished products in the laboratory (physico-chemical analyses, microbiology) before release. Quality assurance makes sure the whole plant follows good manufacturing practice: procedures, staff training, handling of deviations, audits. These posts hire graduates in chemistry, biology, biochemistry or pharmacy who like precision and writing.
Maintenance, utilities and engineering
A pharmaceutical plant depends on production machines but also on critical utilities: purified water production, clean-room air handling, refrigeration. Maintenance technicians in electromechanics, electrical engineering or automation find stable posts there. The process engineer improves processes and takes part in their validation.
Regulatory, logistics and field
Regulatory affairs prepare the registration files of medicines with the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products (ANPP). Logistics handles receiving, storage and distribution of batches, sometimes under controlled temperature. In the field, the medical representative visits doctors and pharmacists in an area: the job that hires the most, with a company car and targets. See the medical representative salaries.
The training that leads there
- Doctorate in pharmacy (6 years, pharmacy departments of the faculties of medicine): required for the technical responsibility of a pharmaceutical establishment, useful in quality assurance and regulatory affairs.
- Bachelor’s and master’s in biology, microbiology, biochemistry or chemistry: quality control, laboratory, medical representative.
- Engineer or master in process, chemical or industrial engineering: process, production, methods.
- Higher technician diplomas and INSFP or CFPA courses in industrial maintenance, electromechanics, electrical engineering or laboratory work: maintenance, production. The courses open in each wilaya are on takwin.dz; see our guide to career change through vocational training.
- Business degree or sales experience: sales and, with a science background, medical representative.
Applying to a laboratory in 6 steps
- 1
Pick your job family
Production, quality, maintenance, logistics or field: the CV and the letter are not the same. Aim at a family, not « any job in a lab ».
- 2
Use the sector’s vocabulary in your CV
Name what you have really practised: good manufacturing practice, batch traceability, analyses performed and instruments used, shift work, following procedures. An internship in a laboratory or a food plant counts. See our guide to writing a CV in Algeria.
- 3
Target the right wilayas
Algiers holds most of the offers; Constantine, Blida, Oran, Tlemcen and Boumerdès publish some too. State your mobility and your availability for shift work clearly.
- 4
Prepare the technical interview
Expect questions on rigour and safety: « What do you do if a result is out of specification? », « Why follow a procedure to the letter? ». For medical representatives: an oral presentation of a product. See the interview questions.
- 5
Take the tests
Knowledge tests (chemistry, biology, mechanics depending on the post), logic tests, sometimes a laboratory exercise. Revise the basics of your degree.
- 6
Follow the offers every week
Laboratories publish regularly, often for several posts at once. Set a Chghol alert on your job and wilaya to be told as soon as an offer is published.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to be a pharmacist to work in a pharmaceutical laboratory?
No. The law requires a pharmacist for the technical responsibility of the establishment, but most posts (production, maintenance, quality control, logistics, medical representative, support functions) are open to other diplomas: higher technician, bachelor’s, master’s or engineer.
Can you become a medical representative without a pharmacy degree?
Yes, it is common: laboratories hire graduates in biology, health sciences or natural sciences, with a driving licence and good speaking skills. Product training is given on hiring.
What is GMP?
Good manufacturing practice: the set of rules that make sure a medicine is made and checked consistently and traceably (written procedures, hygiene, training, documentation of each batch). Knowing them, even from an internship, is a real asset on a CV.
Is plant work in shifts?
Often, for production and maintenance: morning, afternoon and sometimes night teams. Hours and allowances depend on the employer and the collective agreement; ask at the interview.
Where are the plants that hire?
Mostly in the wilaya of Algiers and around it; according to the offers on Chghol on 1 November 2026, Constantine, Blida, Oran, Tlemcen and Boumerdès hire too.
Does an internship in the food industry count for a pharmaceutical plant job?
Yes, for production, quality and maintenance: traceability, hygiene and procedures are the same habits. Put those precise points forward on your CV.