How to hire an associate principal scientist

How to hire an associate principal scientist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step associate principal 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 associate principal scientist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new associate principal scientist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an associate principal scientist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the associate principal scientist you need to hire. Certain associate principal scientist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 associate principal 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.

   Here's a comparison of associate principal scientist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Associate Principal Scientist	Description	Hourly rate
   Associate Principal Scientist	Medical scientists conduct research aimed at improving overall human health. They often use clinical trials and other investigative methods to reach their findings.	$37-76
   Fellow	A fellow's responsibility will depend on the organization or industry where one belongs. However, most of the time, a fellow's duty will revolve around conducting research and analysis, presiding discussions and attending dialogues, handle lectures while complying with the guidelines or tasks set by supervisors, and assist in various projects and activities... Show more	$22-44
   Researcher	A researcher is responsible for collating, organizing, and verifying necessary information for a specific subject. Researchers' duties include analyzing data, gathering and comparing resources, ensuring facts, sharing findings with the whole research team, adhering to required methodologies, performing fieldwork as needed, and keeping critical information confidential... Show more	$17-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Analysis
   • Chemistry
   • Project Management
   • Clinical Trials
   • GMP
   • Sops
   • Clinical Development
   • Technical Reports
   • Regulatory Submissions
   • Clinical Studies
   • Regulatory Agencies
   • Experimental Design
   • Analytical Methods
   • NDA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop strategies for the CMC teams to achieve global regulatory compliance.
   • Manage transfer of processes to CMO's and oversee GMP manufacturing when technology not available in house.
   • Manage technology transfer for clinical API supply delivery.
   • Manage stability coordination activities for market drug products in accordance to company and ICH guidelines.
   • Perform analytical method development and GMP method validations.
   • Assess CROs for conducting studies cost-effectively with high quality.

   More associate principal scientist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the associate principal scientist job description is a good way to get more applicants. An associate principal scientist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an associate principal scientist in Mississippi may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level associate principal scientist. Additionally, an associate principal scientist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average associate principal scientist salary

   $112,297yearly

   $53.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level associate principal scientist salary

   $78,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average associate principal scientist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$155,534	$75
   2	Nevada	$129,182	$62
   3	New Jersey	$119,823	$58
   4	Indiana	$117,961	$57
   5	Massachusetts	$107,762	$52
   6	Delaware	$107,049	$51
   7	Pennsylvania	$100,875	$49
   8	New York	$100,008	$48
   9	North Carolina	$99,911	$48
   10	Maryland	$95,845	$46
   11	West Virginia	$92,676	$45
   12	New Hampshire	$91,425	$44
   13	Georgia	$87,828	$42
   14	Ohio	$87,540	$42
   15	Wyoming	$87,401	$42
   16	Colorado	$85,392	$41
   17	Virginia	$84,531	$41
   18	Kentucky	$81,910	$39
   19	Texas	$81,618	$39
   20	North Dakota	$79,852	$38

   Average associate principal scientist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Schrödinger Inc	$127,412	$61.26	3
   2	bluebird bio	$125,736	$60.45
   3	Biogen	$121,499	$58.41	1
   4	PepsiCo	$118,377	$56.91	9
   5	Novartis	$118,340	$56.89	3
   6	Catalent Pharma Solutions	$115,092	$55.33	25
   7	Frito-Lay	$114,485	$55.04
   8	Codiak BioSciences	$114,369	$54.99
   9	Generation Bio	$114,301	$54.95
   10	Omega Therapeutics	$112,753	$54.21
   11	Planet Pharma	$112,689	$54.18	2
   12	Nurix	$112,249	$53.97
   13	KSQ Therapeutics	$112,030	$53.86
   14	Gossamer Bio	$111,101	$53.41
   15	L'Oréal	$109,793	$52.79
   16	IBM	$109,035	$52.42	49
   17	Merck	$108,674	$52.25	81
   18	Avery Dennison	$108,130	$51.99
   19	Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc	$108,057	$51.95	10
   20	AstraZeneca	$106,903	$51.40	19

4. Writing an associate principal scientist job description

   An associate principal scientist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an associate principal scientist job description:

   Associate principal scientist job description example

   About This Role
   
   The Gene Therapy Accelerator Unit (GTxAU) at Biogen is seeking an enthusiastic, scientifically motivated, and dependable scientist to contribute to the generation of gene therapy clinical candidates for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. The Principal Associate Scientist will be part of a team focused on engineering enhanced AAV (adeno-associated virus) vectors for therapeutic gene delivery. This role will be responsible for execution of mammalian cell-based in vitro assays and small/middle scale of virus production/purification, with the opportunity to grow and expand into other roles within the team.
   
   What You'll Do
   
   · As a Principal Associate Scientist, you will work closely with scientists to design in vitro experiments; independently execute, analyze, troubleshoot, and develop assays to characterize and validate new vector designs.
   
   · Culture, maintain, and transfect mammalian cell lines for in vitro cell-based assays.
   
   · Perform small to middle scale of AAV production and purification.
   
   · Independently perform molecular biology experiments following established protocols including but not limited to RNA/DNA extraction, and PCR to support high-throughput screening workflow and AAV capsid discovery.
   
   · Maintain updated and organized electronic laboratory notebooks, present data to the team, and assist in generating study reports.
   
   · Help organize and maintain lab supplies.
   
   Who You Are
   
   You are self-motivated to develop your skills and career in drug discovery research and innovation. You are comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, and have excellent organizational and time-management skills. You show strong attention-to-detail, and strive to produce work of high quality. You enjoy working as part of a creative, collaborative and dynamic team, and have strong communication and interpersonal skills.
   
   Why Biogen?
   
   Our mission to find therapies for neurological and rare diseases is a unique focus within our industry and this shared purpose is what connects us as a team. We work together to overcome obstacles and to follow the science. We are resilient as we strive to make an impact on our patients' lives and on changing the course of medicine. Together, we pioneer. Together, we thrive.
   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find associate principal scientists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any associate principal scientists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level associate principal scientists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit associate principal scientists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 associate principal scientist

   Once you've decided on a perfect associate principal scientist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new associate principal scientist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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How much does it cost to hire an associate principal scientist?