How to hire an assistant research scientist

How to hire an assistant research scientist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step assistant research scientist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an assistant research scientist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new assistant research scientist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an assistant research scientist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an assistant research scientist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect assistant research scientist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of assistant research scientists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Assistant Research Scientist	Description	Hourly rate
   Assistant Research Scientist	An Assistant Research Scientist assists in planning, conducting, and analyzing various research projects. They also order and manage lab inventory, materials, and equipment.	$20-42
   Research Fellow	A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study... Show more	$18-34
   Scientist	A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations... Show more	$32-67

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Research Projects
   • Data Collection
   • Data Analysis
   • Lab Equipment
   • Cell Culture
   • Chemistry
   • Laboratory Equipment
   • Experimental Design
   • Python
   • PI
   • Extraction
   • Analyze Data
   • Literature Reviews
   • Statistical Analysis

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead a group of four employees in optimizing DNA purification technologies for production DNA sequencing.
   • Evaluate patients' study eligibility via medical history, obtain informed consent, enroll patients, and achieve enrollment quotas.
   • Experience in SAS programming in biomedical research.
   • Prepare salivary samples for Cortisol ELISA assays.
   • Gather and code quantitative and qualitative data using SPSS and Atlas.ti.
   • Standardize assays to elucidate the mechanism of action of lead molecules.

   More assistant research scientist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your assistant research scientist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An assistant research scientist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an assistant research scientist in Iowa may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level assistant research scientist usually earns less than a senior-level assistant research scientist. Additionally, an assistant research scientist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average assistant research scientist salary

   $62,780yearly

   $30.18 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level assistant research scientist salary

   $43,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average assistant research scientist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$76,479	$37
   2	Illinois	$71,426	$34
   3	Georgia	$68,643	$33
   4	Maryland	$67,879	$33
   5	Florida	$64,837	$31
   6	Wyoming	$62,552	$30
   7	Indiana	$61,797	$30
   8	Michigan	$60,216	$29
   9	Arizona	$59,616	$29
   10	Wisconsin	$59,600	$29
   11	New York	$57,176	$27
   12	Hawaii	$56,228	$27
   13	Iowa	$54,482	$26
   14	Kansas	$52,006	$25
   15	Texas	$50,227	$24

   Average assistant research scientist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California	$82,295	$39.56	141
   2	Johnson & Johnson	$81,437	$39.15	85
   3	UC Santa Barbara	$80,860	$38.88
   4	University of California-Berkeley	$80,687	$38.79
   5	California Institute of Technology	$77,208	$37.12	7
   6	New York University	$75,738	$36.41	36
   7	Yale University	$73,448	$35.31	23
   8	University of Michigan	$71,949	$34.59	62
   9	The University System of Maryland Foundation	$71,621	$34.43
   10	UC Merced	$70,586	$33.94
   11	Carnegie Mellon University	$70,344	$33.82	81
   12	The Catholic University of America	$70,163	$33.73
   13	University of Illinois Springfield	$69,755	$33.54	2
   14	University of Maryland, Baltimore	$69,469	$33.40	48
   15	TTI Maumee Equipment	$69,069	$33.21	1
   16	Texas A&M University–Central Texas	$69,053	$33.20
   17	Arizona State University	$69,014	$33.18	8
   18	University of Rhode Island	$68,836	$33.09	7
   19	University	$68,691	$33.02
   20	The University of Alabama	$68,174	$32.78	69

4. Writing an assistant research scientist job description

   A job description for an assistant research scientist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an assistant research scientist job description:

   Assistant research scientist job description example

   The Materials Characterization and Processing (MCP) facility of Johns Hopkins University is looking to hire an experienced Research Scientist as our Focused Ion Beam Specialist. The successful applicant will be responsible for operation, training, technical support, and maintenance of our 2 year old Helios G4 UC FIB within the MCP and 10% personal research time. . Secondary responsibility would be to support the TEM and µCT Managers. Specific required FIB experiences are: 1) TEM sample preparation, 2) 3D EDX and EBSD data acquisition and processing, 3) cryo-FIB applications and 4) quantitative EDX analysis with standards.
   
   JHU engages in a wide variety of research activities ranging from functional materials to biology, from Earth materials to mechanical properties testing. You will be expected to develop appropriate uses of electron microbeam instruments to serve JHU's diverse research needs.
   
   JHU offers the opportunity to work in a top-ten university without the high-volume pressures of larger institutions. The MCP is currently renovating new space where you will have an opportunity to shape the future of analytical facilities at Hopkins.
   
   JHU offers the opportunity to work in a top-ten university without the high-volume pressures of larger institutions. The MCP's new location is currently renovating where you will have an opportunity to shape the future of analytical facilities at Hopkins. Two new top-end TEMs are to be purchased, new sample preparation facilities, and high-speed data handling and AI computing center are also being developed.
   
   A Ph.D. in Materials Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field is required.
   Please submit your CV, cover letter and list of three references for consideration.
   
   Job Type: Full Time Johns Hopkins University is committed to active recruitment of a diverse faculty and student body. The University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer of women, minorities, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities and encourages applications from these and other protected group members. Consistent with the University's goals of achieving excellence in all areas, we will assess the comprehensive qualifications of each applicant.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right assistant research scientist for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your assistant research scientist job on Zippia to find and recruit assistant research scientist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting assistant research scientists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new assistant research scientist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the assistant research scientist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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