Quality Assurance Officer

Location: Shoreditch, London

Working Structure: Office Based (Thursday we work from home)

Reports to: Co-Founder & Exec Director

Who are we?

Since medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018, Cantourage UK has been building the infrastructure that makes this industry work - safely, compliantly and at scale.

We operate across two deeply interconnected worlds:

• A regulated tele-health clinic, delivering high-quality patient care
• A licensed pharmaceutical supply operation, powering the wider ecosystem

Together, they form a complex, high-trust system where clinical integrity, operational excellence and smart technology must work in lockstep.

Quality is not a back-office function here. It is the engine that keeps us compliant, trusted and ready to scale. As we move from startup to scaleup, our Quality team is growing to match our ambition. This is your chance to help raise the bar in one of the most closely watched and genuinely exciting sectors in UK healthcare.

What's the purpose of the role?

The Quality Assurance Officer is a core operational and compliance role sitting within our Quality team and supporting the Responsible Person (RP). You will own the day-to-day quality activities that keep our GDP licence in good standing, from Controlled Drug record-keeping and import/export permit coordination, to supplier qualification, deviation investigations, and computerised systems validation. You will be comfortable operating in a regulated environment where precision matters, and equally comfortable thinking through novel situations where the rules are still being written.

What impact will you have?

Controlled Drugs & Regulatory Compliance

• Support the import, export, storage, and distribution of Controlled Drugs (CDs) and Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs) in full compliance with GDP, Home Office and MHRA requirements.
• Coordinate and review Home Office import and export permits, verifying accuracy, completeness, and alignment with commercial documentation, customer authorisations, and Letters of No Objection (NOIs).
• Ensure all activities are conducted in accordance with GDP principles, Home Office licensing requirements, MHRA expectations, company procedures, and applicable pharmaceutical regulations.

Record-keeping & Documentation

• Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records including Controlled Drug Registers, export documentation, Pick & Pack records, and customer transaction logs, keeping us always inspection-ready.
• Maintain accurate stock records including management of non-conforming, damaged, quarantined, expired, and destroyed stock; perform routine reconciliation between internal and contract storage records.
• Support data integrity initiatives and ensure compliance with ALCOA+ principles across quality records, computerised systems, and business processes.

Supplier & Customer Qualification

• Support supplier and customer qualification activities including due diligence, Technical Agreement management, and ongoing verification; ensuring products are sourced only from approved suppliers and supplied only to authorised customers.
• Assist in the creation of Technical Agreements for all outsourced activities and support monitoring and audits of outsourced entities.

Deviations, Investigations & Continuous Improvement

• Conduct investigations into deviations, complaints, permit discrepancies, stock discrepancies, and other quality incidents to support root cause analysis, CAPAs, and continuous improvement activities.
• Assist with product recalls, returns investigations, destruction activities, and pharmaceutical waste management, ensuring appropriate authorisations and documentation are obtained and maintained.

Computerised Systems & Validation

• Support the validation and lifecycle management of bespoke software, spreadsheets, and computerised systems used in GDP-regulated activities including User Requirements Specifications, risk assessments, validation plans, test evidence, and validation reports.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, Operations, and Quality colleagues to assess system changes, determine validation impact, and ensure validated systems remain in a controlled and compliant state throughout their lifecycle.

Quality Management System & RP Support

• Support the Responsible Person (RP) by providing quality metrics, reporting on QMS performance, escalating quality and compliance concerns, and ensuring regulatory obligations are met.
• Assist in the training of Quality staff and wider teams named within the QMS. Support GDP onboarding training for all new starters.

What will you bring to the table?

• A strong working knowledge of GDP principles and pharmaceutical quality management systems.
• Experience working with Controlled Drugs, import/export permitting, or CBPM supply chains within a licensed environment.
• Meticulous attention to detail and a genuine commitment to record accuracy and inspection readiness.
• Experience conducting deviation investigations, root cause analysis, and CAPA management.
• Comfort working with computerised systems in a regulated context (including contributing to validation activities and data integrity programmes).
• A collaborative working style. You build relationships across Engineering, Product, Operations, and clinical teams as naturally as you do within Quality.
• The ability to operate in a fast-moving environment where the landscape is evolving and not every answer comes from a textbook.

If you have the following, it'll be a huge bonus

• Direct experience with CBPMs, cannabis-based medicines, or the UK medical cannabis regulatory framework.
• Background in gene therapy, advanced therapeutics, or large pharmaceutical manufacturing environments
• Experience managing or transitioning from paper-based to electronic QMS (eQMS) platforms.
• Familiarity with supplier and customer Technical Agreement frameworks in an outsourced or third-party logistics model.
• Experience supporting or leading QMS audits of outsourced entities.

Who wouldn't thrive in this role?

• Someone who needs a fully defined rulebook before they can act. Medical cannabis regulation is a live, evolving space. Grey areas are part of the job, not an exception to it. You'll need to think through risk clearly and make well-reasoned judgements under ambiguity.
• Someone who views Quality as a tick-box function rather than a commercial and clinical enabler. This role is a genuine lever in how we scale. The right person will see that and want to leave their mark on it.
• Someone uncomfortable with digital transformation. We are actively moving towards automated workflows and exploring new tools/systems. You need to be engaged with, not resistant to, that transition.

What do we offer?

📅 36 day annual leave (includes your birthday + all UK public holidays)

💰 Performance based annual bonus

📈 Share options - we all have skin in the game

🍽️ Inhouse chef - nutritious lunches cooked 3 days a week

🐶 Dog-friendly office

🩺 Comprehensive private medical insurance

🤸 ClassPass membership (gyms, fitness classes, yoga, massages & more)

🚴 Cycle-to-work scheme