How to hire a cell biologist

How to hire a cell biologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step cell biologist hiring guide:

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

What does a cell biologist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your cell biologist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a cell biologist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A cell biologist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, cell biologists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents cell biologist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Cell Biologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Cell Biologist		$21-49
   Computational Biologist	A computational biologist is an expert in computational management, high-performance computing, data algorithm, and biological and statistical processes. You study to understand biological systems using computational theoretical principles... Show more	$18-47
   Research Biologist	A research biologist is a scientist who works in the outdoors, laboratories, and offices to study the natural elements so that they can better understand how living organisms work. Research biologists must design experiments for various research projects conducted under standard operating procedures and good laboratory practice guidelines... Show more	$24-46

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Molecular Biology
   • Data Analysis
   • Cell-Based Assays
   • Stem Cells
   • PCR
   • Tissue Culture
   • Elisa
   • Assay Development
   • Experimental Data
   • Sops
   • GMP
   • Extraction
   • FACS
   • QC

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage detailed GLP laboratory manual daily.
   • Project require review of existing environmental data, identification of permitting requirements, wetland identification/delineation and sensitive and endanger species issues.
   • Result in Neuroscience poster presentation.

   More cell biologist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your cell biologist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A cell biologist 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 a cell biologist in New Mexico may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level cell biologist usually earns less than a senior-level cell biologist. Additionally, a cell biologist 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 cell biologist salary

   $68,698yearly

   $33.03 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level cell biologist salary

   $45,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average cell biologist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$85,544	$41
   2	California	$81,300	$39
   3	Washington	$76,354	$37
   4	Georgia	$68,510	$33
   5	Virginia	$68,374	$33
   6	Indiana	$68,239	$33
   7	Minnesota	$65,978	$32
   8	Colorado	$61,654	$30
   9	Texas	$60,236	$29

   Average cell biologist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Eli Lilly and Company	$95,528	$45.93	48
   2	Boehringer Ingelheim	$94,098	$45.24	12
   3	Corning Incorporated	$91,053	$43.78	7
   4	Cargill	$84,672	$40.71	5
   5	University of California	$80,093	$38.51	3
   6	General Electric	$77,718	$37.36	12
   7	University of California-Berkeley	$77,504	$37.26
   8	Experis US Inc	$75,740	$36.41
   9	Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory	$75,272	$36.19	4
   10	CSL Plasma	$72,334	$34.78
   11	Glaxosmithkline	$72,231	$34.73
   12	Lilly & Company	$71,580	$34.41	32
   13	UC Merced	$67,280	$32.35
   14	Seagen	$66,904	$32.17
   15	PerkinElmer	$66,476	$31.96
   16	Massachusetts General Hospital	$65,035	$31.27	3
   17	University Of Minnesota Physicians	$57,823	$27.80	1
   18	Kelly Services	$56,587	$27.21	13
   19	Morehouse School of Medicine	$50,143	$24.11	4
   20	UT Health San Antonio	$50,111	$24.09	3

4. Writing a cell biologist job description

   A cell biologist 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a cell biologist job description:

   Cell biologist job description example

   Job Title
   Cell Biologist I -Tissue Culture (Large Scale/WAVE)
   Location(s)
   San Diego - BioLegend
   BioLegend, Inc. (a PerkinElmer Company) develops world-class, cutting-edge antibodies and reagents for biomedical research, manufactured in our state-of-the-art facility in San Diego, CA. Our mission is to accelerate research and discovery by providing the highest quality products at an outstanding value, along with superior customer service and technical support. Our product expertise covers a diverse set of research areas including Immunology, Neuroscience, Cancer, Stem cells, and Cell Biology.In 2021, PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE: PKI) a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world, acquired BioLegend. The acquisition, the largest in PerkinElmer's history, further expands the Company's life science franchise into high-growth areas such as cytometry, proteogenomic, multiplex assays, recombinant proteins, magnetic cell separation and bioprocessing.
   
   Job Summary
   The Cell Biologist I for our Large-Scale Tissue Culture group offers the opportunity to work in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment and to perform experiments designed to increase yield within the production platform. This position offers a varied work load and will enable you to gain solid experience that will allow you to grow and increase your skill set within a fast-growing and stable biotech company. This position will also allow you to gain experience in all areas of tissue culture and cross training on a variety of other supporting tasks such as downstream processing, ELISA assays, qPCR, mycoplasma detection, and NOVA BioProfile 400 use and maintenance.
   The primary functions of this position include culturing, setting up, feeding, maintaining, and harvesting of bioreactors with hybridoma cells, finding, testing, and developing new procedures to increase the quality and efficiency of our product and processes, and maintenance of regularly used equipment.
   
   Essential Functions
   Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
   Tissue culture using aseptic technique Maintenance and feeding of cells in bioreactors Culturing hybridoma cells Cell counting Preparation of media Preparation of autoclaved supplies related to production Assisting on other areas including ELISA, data entry, etc.Maintenance of bioreactors and associated equipment Assist in experiments for process improvement and optimization Other projects or responsibilities as may be required.
   iACT Competencies
   innovate - Be better, keep improving, be more efficient, creative, and be in the forefront of development Aspire - Have desire, purpose, and ambition challenging ourselves to push the limits and reach new heights Collaborate - Foster teamwork, common goals, selflessness, communication and mutual support Transform - Adapt, learn, re-invent and change for future development and growth
   Minimum Qualifications - Education and Experience
   Associate's Degree in Biology, Biochemistry, or related area OR a Biotech CertificateFamiliarity with aseptic technique6 months of related experience Some holiday and weekend work will be required
   Preferred Qualifications - Education and Experience
   Bachelor's degree in Biology, Biochemistry, or related area Previous tissue culture experience Previous experience working with bioreactors Experience working in an ISO 13485, QSR, GMP/GLP environment Microsoft Office including Excel proficiency Additional experience with handling different cell lines and bioreactors
   
   Condition of Employment
   
   Concerns regarding COVID-19 continue as positive cases are experienced in the communities in which we operate. Please be aware that, as a condition of employment, BioLegend requires proof of COVID vaccination for all U.S.-based employees (subject to limited exceptions) beginning January 18, 2022.
   
   PerkinElmer is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability status, age, or veteran status or any other characteristics protected by applicable law. PerkinElmer is committed to a culturally diverse workforce.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting cell biologists 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 cell biologist

   Once you've decided on a perfect cell biologist 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.

   To prepare for the new cell biologist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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 a cell biologist?