By Justine de Ponte, Group Quality Lead, Supplier Management

I’ve always loved a good puzzle.

Science, for me, has always been the way to solve them. It’s structured, logical, something you can reason through. At the same time, I’ve always liked making people happy, I’m a bit of a clown at heart, so combining those two things naturally led me into chemistry.

That carried me through to a master’s project in cancer research, and then into a slightly unexpected detour. When I struggled to find work, I became a science teacher. In South Africa, there’s a real need for that, so it was a good path at the time.

What I didn’t realize then was how relevant that experience would be later.

When I interviewed at Astrea Bioseparations, it was actually my teaching background that helped me get the role. Quality, in many ways, is about the same core skills. Paying attention to detail, checking work carefully, and helping others understand what “good” looks like.

If I had to describe my job simply, I’d say: I check things, but it’s a bit more than that!

I check whether the right procedures are in place to make sure we produce and receive materials of the right quality. I look at whether those procedures actually work in practice, and where they could be improved. I help ensure that what we bring in from suppliers supports us in manufacturing consistent, high-quality products.

Day to day, that translates into reports, questionnaires, meetings, and risk assessments. It’s structured work, which suits me. There’s something satisfying about being able to reason through a process and know whether it holds up.

When “simple” gets complicated

One of the biggest challenges recently has been working on new quality policies across the wider Biotage group. On paper, it sounds straightforward, but in reality, it’s anything but.

You’re trying to build something that works across global sites, all with different terminology, different processes, and different ways of doing things. At the same time, you still need consistency and compliance.

That balance is hard to get right, but it’s also what makes the work rewarding. It forces you to learn, and that’s something I’ve realized is a constant in this role.

That same idea carries through into the projects I enjoy most.

One I’m particularly proud of is a supplier risk assessment process for defining when onsite audits are needed. It’s quite a demanding project and depends on input from a lot of very busy people, so it’s taught me patience as much as anything else.

What makes it especially interesting is that it’s never really “done”. Each year, I revisit it, looking for ways to improve or streamline it. That continual improvement mindset changes how you see the work. Instead of feeling repetitive, it becomes something you refine over time.

If there’s one thing experience has really taught me, it’s that auditing isn’t just about asking the right questions, it’s about people.
You’re trying to understand a company in a relatively short amount of time, and that can make people defensive. There’s often a perception that auditors are there to find fault, which isn’t really the case, making part of the job to change that dynamic.

I’ve learned to use my personality to do that. A bit of humor at the start of a meeting can completely shift the tone. It reminds people that you’re not there to catch them out, you’re there to make sure things work as they should.

It sounds simple, but it matters. We can get so caught up in the seriousness of what we do that we forget that people respond to how you make them feel.

Sometimes, just having a small laugh at the start makes everything that follows easier.

Learning from the wider supply chain

One of the things I enjoy most is the exposure to different environments.

Auditing takes me into companies working in areas I wouldn’t normally see, from plastics to CNC machining to chromatography-related materials. You’re not just learning what they produce, but how they operate, how they think, and how they structure their processes and that’s valuable.

It gives you a broader view of the supply chain and lets you bring ideas back into your own organization. It also changes how you approach your work, because you start to see things from multiple perspectives.

That wider perspective is also shaped by the people you work with internally.

I’ve ended up collaborating with most departments at some point, and that helps build a much clearer picture of what the business actually needs. When you understand those needs, your audits become more meaningful.

You’re not just checking compliance, you’re checking whether the system really supports the people using it.

When things are moving quickly or under pressure, good collaboration comes down to support and perspective. Bringing together people from different areas usually leads to ideas you wouldn’t have considered on your own.

The responsibility behind the detail

One thing people outside the industry don’t always see is the level of responsibility that sits behind this kind of work.

There’s always an awareness that what you do can ultimately impact patient safety further down the line, which is what drives the attention to detail.

I’ve been called a perfectionist, but it’s not really about perfection. It’s about knowing you’ve done your part properly to make sure quality is upheld.

Staying curious, even when it’s difficult

What keeps me motivated is the opportunity to keep learning.

Every audit brings something new. It might be a new material, a different process, or even just a different way of thinking about a problem. That variety keeps things interesting and stops the role from becoming routine. Not every part of the job is comfortable. Auditing can be challenging, especially when you have to ask difficult questions. But those are usually the questions that matter most.

Advice for getting started

If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be this: Every day is a learning day.

You won’t always know exactly what you’re doing, and that’s okay. Over time, you figure it out. The important thing is to stay curious and not be afraid to ask questions, even when they’re uncomfortable.

In the end, that’s how you improve things, not just for yourself, but for everyone involved.