How to hire a clinical researcher

How to hire a clinical researcher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step clinical researcher hiring guide:

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

What does a clinical researcher do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a clinical researcher, 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 clinical researcher 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.

   This list presents clinical researcher salaries for various positions.

   Type of Clinical Researcher	Description	Hourly rate
   Clinical Researcher	Natural sciences managers supervise the work of scientists, including chemists, physicists, and biologists. They direct activities related to research and development, and coordinate activities such as testing, quality control, and production.	$18-37
   Study Director	Technically, a study director carries out scientific responsibilities for protocol design or study plan and approval. Study directors supervise the gathering, analysis, interpretation, documentation, and reporting of data results... Show more	$26-56
   Study Coordinator	Study coordinators oversee the entire process of clinical research from its inception to its completion. The coordinators make certain that human subjects are safe and well-protected... Show more	$16-31

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Informed Consent
   • IRB
   • Clinical Trials
   • Data Collection
   • FDA
   • Data Management
   • Data Entry
   • HIPAA
   • Clinical Research Studies
   • Data Queries
   • Consent Forms
   • NIH
   • Institutional Review

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage site master file contents and work with sites to ensure communication requirements between site and IRB are adhere to.
   • Establish and maintain strong community partnerships to achieve HIV prevention objectives.
   • Maintain study database to in compliance with FDA regulations.
   • Perform NIH studies, coordinate interviews of clinical research trial participant's.
   • Support IRB applications and analyze collected data.
   • Interact with and assess patients to determine effectiveness of medicine.

   More clinical researcher duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your clinical researcher job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A clinical researcher 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 clinical researcher in Alabama may be lower than in California, and an entry-level clinical researcher usually earns less than a senior-level clinical researcher. Additionally, a clinical researcher 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 clinical researcher salary

   $55,453yearly

   $26.66 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level clinical researcher salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 12, 2026

   Average clinical researcher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$77,764	$37
   2	Washington	$68,456	$33
   3	Massachusetts	$62,930	$30
   4	New Jersey	$62,914	$30
   5	District of Columbia	$62,666	$30
   6	New York	$59,615	$29
   7	Illinois	$58,226	$28
   8	Minnesota	$57,965	$28
   9	Delaware	$57,419	$28
   10	Maryland	$57,392	$28
   11	Texas	$56,749	$27
   12	Georgia	$56,480	$27
   13	Rhode Island	$55,468	$27
   14	Florida	$52,432	$25
   15	Connecticut	$51,910	$25
   16	Pennsylvania	$51,772	$25
   17	Missouri	$51,459	$25
   18	Michigan	$50,633	$24
   19	Colorado	$47,402	$23
   20	Utah	$47,251	$23

   Average clinical researcher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Edwards Lifesciences	$83,957	$40.36	31
   2	Thermo Fisher Scientific	$68,967	$33.16	40
   3	Novo Nordisk	$66,310	$31.88
   4	University of Maryland, Baltimore	$59,157	$28.44	31
   5	SGS	$59,007	$28.37	3
   6	The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute	$58,938	$28.34
   7	InBody USA	$58,934	$28.33
   8	Sound Physicians	$58,763	$28.25
   9	Ascension Michigan	$58,700	$28.22	46
   10	Medpace	$58,614	$28.18	33
   11	Ncpa	$58,582	$28.16
   12	Univ. Of Texas Cancer Ctr.	$58,561	$28.15	34
   13	*n/a*	$58,552	$28.15
   14	Catholic Health Initiatives - Colorado	$58,547	$28.15	32
   15	Katalyst Surgical	$58,547	$28.15
   16	CES	$58,547	$28.15
   17	Biorasi	$58,546	$28.15
   18	Fitness Centre At Celebration Health	$58,495	$28.12
   19	CONNEXUS Incorporated	$58,370	$28.06	1
   20	Children's Hospital Colorado	$58,359	$28.06	4

4. Writing a clinical researcher job description

   A job description for a clinical researcher 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 clinical researcher job description:

   Clinical researcher job description example

   This position will assist the Principal Investigator (PI) in planning and implementing clinical research studies as assigned.
   PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
   
   Responsible for assisting in the recruitment of study participants. Assesses potential patients and eligibility for inclusion in a particular protocol based on protocol requirements. Reviews all eligibility and ineligibility criteria in the patient's record. Verifies information with the physician. Interviews patients to obtain information for eligibility assessment, explain the study, and obtains signature for the informed consent form.
   
   Organizes strategies for recruiting study participants, and screening study participants for eligibility on the telephone, in the clinic and other settings as required.
   
   Completes follow up with study participants in prescribed settings as required. Performs necessary tests as needed and as appropriate to level of training such as EKGs, Walk tests,etc.
   
   Completes record abstraction of source documents, conducting required study measurements and completing study Case Report Forms in accordance with best practice methods. Conducting a QC check of completed CRFs prior to submission for data entry; coordinating resolution of all data queries. Completing data entry as warranted.
   
   Performs basic laboratory activities as needed
   
   Complies with all institutional policies and government regulations pertaining to human subjects protections. Maintains regulatory binders, case report forms, source documents, and other study documents. Monitors the occurrence of clinical adverse events, reporting any to the (PI), the study sponsor and Institutional Review Board.
   
   Reviews protocol with the clinical team and ensure clinical team is aware of their roles and responsibilities.
   
   Maintains communication with IRB and study sponsor and takes lead in reporting adverse events, protocol deviations, safety reports, and other items as directed by regulatory guidelines.
   
   Develops standard operating procedures in collaboration with site staff and sponsor to ensure compliance. Identifies and resolves problems with protocol compliance by notifying investigator and as necessary with the protocol sponsor.
   
   May disburse drugs and provide patient teaching regarding administration.
   
   Responsible for assisting with IRB requirements for each study including meeting institutional educational requirements, submitting documents for review, adverse event reporting and annual reviews.
   
   Initiates, participates, and/or consults in interdisciplinary meetings to formulate, evaluate, and implement appropriate study plans. Monitors enrollment and provide enrollment updates for the clinical team and the sponsors. Collaborates with professional staff both within and outside the hospital.
   
   Maintains patient confidentiality per HIPAA regulations and keeps study information in a safe and secure location. Adheres to FDA Good Clinical Practice Guidelines.
   
   Organizes and participates in site visits with the study sponsor to review completeness and accuracy of study documentation.
   
   May develop, in collaboration with the investigators and site staff, the site-specific protocol documents and informed consent document, with assistance from the sponsors.
   
   May assist in budgeting clinical trials, grant preparation, and writing research reports and scientific papers.
   
   May be responsible for junior staff supervision.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right clinical researcher for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with clinical researchers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit clinical researchers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting clinical researchers 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. 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 clinical researcher

   Once you've found the clinical researcher candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new clinical researcher 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 clinical researcher?