How to hire a computational biologist

How to hire a computational biologist, step by step

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

What does a computational biologist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the computational biologist you need to hire. Certain computational biologist 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a computational biologist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a computational biologist that fits the bill.

   This list presents computational biologist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Computational Biologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Computational Biologist		$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
   Biologist	A biologist is a specialized scientist focusing on studying living organisms and their relationship to the existing ecosystem. Biologists spend lots of time doing research and validating theories to support the complexity of the living matter... Show more	$22-43

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Python
   • Machine Learning
   • Next-Generation Sequencing
   • C++
   • Visualization
   • Biological Data
   • RNA-seq
   • Java
   • NGS
   • Computational Methods
   • Linux
   • Unix
   • DNA
   • New Algorithms

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop UNIX shell script, PERL and AWK program and apply TECPLOT software macro files to automate data processing and report.
   • Manage detailed GLP laboratory manual daily.
   • Design and perform model-based gene expression analysis with whole genome tiling-microarray data sets using SAS.
   • Generate QC report and plots for new RNASeq samples using BAM files, PICARD, SAM tools etc.
   • Foster collaborations both within USDA and with external scientists.
   • Breed the mice, perform genotyping, injection and operation.

   More computational biologist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the computational biologist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A computational biologist 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 a computational biologist in Louisiana may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level computational biologist. Additionally, a computational biologist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average computational biologist salary

   $61,449yearly

   $29.54 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level computational biologist salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average computational biologist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$92,656	$45
   2	New York	$83,868	$40
   3	Washington	$77,405	$37
   4	Massachusetts	$77,092	$37
   5	Hawaii	$72,994	$35
   6	Maryland	$72,899	$35
   7	Virginia	$67,716	$33
   8	Indiana	$66,295	$32
   9	Oregon	$66,242	$32
   10	Tennessee	$65,678	$32
   11	Michigan	$63,746	$31
   12	North Carolina	$60,764	$29
   13	Colorado	$60,322	$29
   14	Alabama	$57,061	$27
   15	Wisconsin	$56,573	$27
   16	Ohio	$54,415	$26
   17	Texas	$54,396	$26
   18	Nebraska	$51,772	$25

   Average computational biologist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$131,929	$63.43	27
   2	10x Genomics	$112,988	$54.32
   3	Genentech	$106,261	$51.09	29
   4	Novartis	$102,453	$49.26
   5	Booz Allen Hamilton	$89,849	$43.20	8
   6	Bayer	$89,535	$43.05	149
   7	Amazon	$87,969	$42.29	13
   8	Amgen	$84,839	$40.79	8
   9	23andMe	$84,432	$40.59
   10	Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.	$84,097	$40.43	8
   11	Merck	$83,244	$40.02	6
   12	Sanofi US	$82,839	$39.83	1
   13	Stanford University	$81,827	$39.34	25
   14	UCB	$79,583	$38.26
   15	Oak Ridge National Laboratory	$79,453	$38.20	28
   16	Argonne National Laboratory	$79,351	$38.15	26
   17	Pfizer	$78,453	$37.72	9
   18	Agilent Technologies	$78,422	$37.70	9
   19	UChicago Argonne	$76,589	$36.82
   20	CFD Research	$76,397	$36.73

4. Writing a computational biologist job description

   A job description for a computational biologist 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 computational biologist job description:

   Computational biologist job description example

   We are seeking an experienced bioinformatician to join our team that develops and maintains a large web-based analysis resource for the infectious disease research community. This resource, known as the Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center (BV-BRC), is funded by the NIH/NIAID. The BV-BRC provides integrated genomic data analysis and visualization tools to the biomedical research community focusing on infectious diseases, including bacteria and viruses. This position is located at Argonne National Laboratory with a joint appointment at the University of Chicago.
   
   The successful candidate applies bioinformatics and machine learning techniques to research problems in the life sciences with an emphasis on using computational approaches for detecting sequence patterns in a variety of contexts including complex microbial community (metagenomic) datasets. The successful candidate also develops and applies computational models on new experimental data, provides measures of uncertainty, and participates in interdisciplinary discussions aimed at the design of new experiments. Problems typically involve the construction of computational models for phenotype and/or class prediction from genomic sequence data and other genomics data. The successful candidate will report on results of research including publishing scholarly papers in scientific journals, giving presentations at conferences, meetings, and seminars, and participates in the preparation of reports and proposals required by funding agencies to obtain and continue funding support.
   
   Master's and 3+ years of experience, or PhD and 0+ years of experience in bioinformatics, computational biology, computer science, or biology, or equivalent
   Knowledge of machine learning and/or statistics Knowledge of bioinformatics analysis techniques and tools Experience with NGS data analysis workflows Understanding of computational algorithms to support DNA sequence alignment, small nucleotide polymorphism detection Experience with bacterial genomics and metagenomics (demonstrated work in microbiology preferred) Fluency in Perl or Python preferred Familiarity with the Unix command line environment and commands Analytical and problem-solving skills required Ability to think independently and innovatively to develop exceptional technical solutions required Effective verbal and written communication skills Ability to write research reports and publications Organizational skills and attention to detail Ability to work independently and as part of a team Collaborative skills, including the ability to interact well with external collaborators preferred Ability to model Argonne's Core Values: Impact, Safety, Respect, Integrity, and Teamwork
   
   Job Family
   Research Development (RD)
   
   Job Profile
   Software Engineering 2
   
   Worker Type
   Regular
   
   Time Type
   Full time
   
   As an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer, and in accordance with our core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork, Argonne National Laboratory is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace that fosters collaborative scientific discovery and innovation. In support of this commitment, Argonne encourages minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply for employment. Argonne considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
   
   Argonne employees, and certain guest researchers and contractors, are subject to particular restrictions related to participation in Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities, as defined and detailed in United States Department of Energy Order 486.1A. You will be asked to disclose any such participation in the application phase for review by Argonne's Legal Department.
   
   All Argonne offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes an assessment of criminal conviction history conducted on an individualized and case-by-case basis. Please be advised that Argonne positions require upon hire (or may require in the future) for the individual be to obtain a government access authorization that involves additional background check requirements. Failure to obtain or maintain such government access authorization could result in the withdrawal of a job offer or future termination of employment.
   
   Please note that all Argonne employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. All successful applicants will be required to provide their COVID-19 vaccination verification as a condition of employment, subject to limited legally recognized exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right computational biologist 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 computational biologist job on Zippia to find and recruit computational biologist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with computational biologist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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 computational biologist

   Once you've selected the best computational biologist 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new computational biologist. 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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