How to hire a biostatistics director

How to hire a biostatistics director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step biostatistics director hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The biostatistics director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect biostatistics director 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 biostatistics directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Biostatistics Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Biostatistics Director	Statisticians use statistical methods to collect and analyze data and to help solve real-world problems in business, engineering, healthcare, or other fields.	$12-62
   Biostatistician	A biostatistician specializes in gathering and analyzing data for medical and biological research. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around devising the ideal questionnaire or survey for significant results, maintaining accurate records of data, developing conclusions and research papers, contributing findings to publications, and even collaborating with other scientists... Show more	$28-57

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • SAS
   • CRO
   • Regulatory Submissions
   • Study Design
   • Biometrics
   • Statistical Analysis
   • Study Reports
   • ICH
   • CDISC
   • Adam
   • Analysis Results
   • Regulatory Authorities
   • BLA
   • Clinical Trial Data

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Act as project director for managing the preparation of safety and efficacy reports for NDA submission.
   • Support electronic regulatory submission which include STDM, CDISC standards.
   • Create and maintain standard QC notebooks for clinical research studies.
   • Conduct validation and QC on the deliverables from internal staff.
   • Act as the internal CDSIC expert on SDTM and ADaM principles and implementation.
   • Develop SAS programs for statistical analyses and generating data tables, figures and listings.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your biostatistics director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A biostatistics director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, biostatistics directors' average salary in wyoming is 51% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level biostatistics directors earn 80% less than senior-level biostatistics directors.
   • Certifications. A biostatistics director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a biostatistics director's salary.

   Average biostatistics director salary

   $58,329yearly

   $28.04 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level biostatistics director salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

4. Writing a biostatistics director job description

   A job description for a biostatistics director 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 a biostatistics director job description:

   Biostatistics director job description example

   **ROLE SUMMARY**
   
   The Director of Biostatistics will provide statistical leadership in one or more rare disease therapeutic areas (hematology, cardiology, nephrology, metabolic, or neurology), including oversight of pre-clinical and clinical development planning and execution for multiple indications in Pfizer's expanding Rare Disease Research Unit. The position will oversee coordination of statistical support efforts across numerous indications and therapeutic modalities (gene therapy, mRNA, small molecule, and biologics). In addition to accountability for the robust planning and execution of (pre-)clinical development programs, the Director will provide strategic leadership in relevant statistical areas such as external control matching, composite endpoint development, and other topics inherent in small-sample drug development.
   
   **ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES**
   
   + Collaborate with various cross-functional scientists in the design, analysis and reporting of laboratory and early clinical studies in rare diseases
   
   + Provide statistical leadership in one or more therapeutic areas, including hematology, cardiology, nephrology, metabolic, or neurology
   
   + Core member of scientific teams responsible for determining strategy and delivering results in a timely and high-quality environment
   
   + Interact withinternal and external experts to assure sound quantitative approaches are applied to collection and analysis of a wide variety of data types
   
   + Leader to bring innovative statistical thinking and methods to help drive the Model Informed Drug Development paradigm within Pfizer. Central to this approach in the rare disease setting is the systematic review and incorporation of prior information (utilizing Bayesian methods as appropriate), statistical model building and simulation, and rigorous and robust use of external historical control data
   
   + Frequently interact and engage with regulatory agencies regarding accelerated clinical development options for indications that have substantial unmet medical need
   
   + Ensure rigorous approaches are taken to ensure good scientific practices are followed: excellent statistical methods utilized and documented in protocols, analysis plans and manuscripts, and assay methods are appropriately blinded, randomized and designed to meet clear objectives
   
   + Use statistical expertise to influence both internal and external reports and presentations, with the aim to improve the quality of internal decision making and increase our influence on the external environment
   
   + Mentor, train, and manage junior level staff
   
   **QUALIFICATIONS**
   
   + MSc (PhD preferred) in Statistics, Biostatistics, or related field
   
   + Minimum of 8 years' experience applying statistical methods in the pharmaceutical industry, with early clinical (Phase I and Phase II) and translational experience in rare disease indications a definite advantage
   
   + Experience with modeling and simulation and expertise in Model Informed Drug Development (MIDD) principles
   
   + Demonstrated strong communication skills, both oral and written
   
   + Ability to proactively influence teams with innovative clinical development strategy
   
   + Demonstrated breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes, and create business impact
   
   **OTHER JOB DETAILS**
   
   Eligible for Relocation Package
   
   Eligible for Employee Referral Bonus
   
   \#LI-PFE
   
   **Pfizer requires all U.S. new hires to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to the first date of employment. As required by applicable law, Pfizer will consider requests for Reasonable Accommodations.**
   
   **Sunshine Act**
   
   Pfizer reports payments and other transfers of value to health care providers as required by federal and state transparency laws and implementing regulations. These laws and regulations require Pfizer to provide government agencies with information such as a health care provider's name, address and the type of payments or other value received, generally for public disclosure. Subject to further legal review and statutory or regulatory clarification, which Pfizer intends to pursue, reimbursement of recruiting expenses for licensed physicians may constitute a reportable transfer of value under the federal transparency law commonly known as the Sunshine Act. Therefore, if you are a licensed physician who incurs recruiting expenses as a result of interviewing with Pfizer that we pay or reimburse, your name, address and the amount of payments made currently will be reported to the government. If you have questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact your Talent Acquisition representative.
   
   **EEO & Employment Eligibility**
   
   Pfizer is committed to equal opportunity in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, disability or veteran status. Pfizer also complies with all applicable national, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Pfizer is an E-Verify employer.
   
   Medical

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5. Post your job

   To find biostatistics directors 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 biostatistics directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level biostatistics directors 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 biostatistics director job on Zippia to find and recruit biostatistics director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting biostatistics directors 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.

   If your interviews with biostatistics director applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 biostatistics director

   Once you've selected the best biostatistics director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new biostatistics director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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