How to hire a postdoctoral associate

How to hire a postdoctoral associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step postdoctoral associate hiring guide:

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

What does a postdoctoral associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The postdoctoral associate 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

   No

   A postdoctoral associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, postdoctoral associates 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.

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

   Type of Postdoctoral Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Postdoctoral Associate	Medical scientists conduct research aimed at improving overall human health. They often use clinical trials and other investigative methods to reach their findings.	$18-35
   Research Fellow	A research fellow is an academic researcher who conducts research and analysis of comprehensive literature, data, and results and provides literature reviews. He/She supervises research assistants and recruits study participants to interview them for a particular study... Show more	$18-34
   Research Scientist	The job of research scientists is to design, undertake, and analyze information from experiments, trials, and laboratory-based investigations. They usually perform experiments in different areas, including medical research, pharmacology, and geoscience... Show more	$27-65

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • TIP
   • Data Analysis
   • Biomedical
   • CRISPR
   • Python
   • Cell Biology
   • Chemistry
   • Independent Research
   • Research Projects
   • Cell Culture
   • Immunology
   • C++
   • NIH

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
   • Co-Authore NIH grant proposal on membrane protein folding.
   • Participate in writing research grant applications including NIH and NSF.
   • X-ray protein crystallographic studies on the structures of antibodies and DNA.
   • Purify DNA from subject blood samples and organize the genome screen.
   • Complete mice handling training and currently using CRISPR technology to knockout genes in cell lines.

   More postdoctoral associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your postdoctoral associate job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A postdoctoral associate can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, postdoctoral associates' average salary in louisiana is 55% less than in maine.
   • Seniority. Entry-level postdoctoral associates 47% less than senior-level postdoctoral associates.
   • Certifications. A postdoctoral associate with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a postdoctoral associate's salary.

   Average postdoctoral associate salary

   $54,350yearly

   $26.13 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level postdoctoral associate salary

   $39,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average postdoctoral associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$69,360	$33
   2	Connecticut	$61,844	$30
   3	New Jersey	$59,869	$29
   4	Maryland	$57,328	$28
   5	Massachusetts	$56,759	$27
   6	Wyoming	$55,118	$27
   7	Minnesota	$55,028	$26
   8	Colorado	$54,949	$26
   9	New York	$54,351	$26
   10	Vermont	$51,775	$25
   11	Pennsylvania	$51,356	$25
   12	Arkansas	$47,585	$23
   13	Ohio	$46,891	$23
   14	North Carolina	$46,713	$22
   15	Virginia	$45,878	$22
   16	Florida	$44,665	$21
   17	Texas	$42,706	$21
   18	Missouri	$41,215	$20
   19	Mississippi	$39,271	$19

   Average postdoctoral associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Argonne National Laboratory	$75,716	$36.40	102
   2	Battelle	$74,930	$36.02	4
   3	Oak Ridge National Laboratory	$74,476	$35.81	30
   4	Sandia National Labs	$72,982	$35.09	16
   5	Applied Materials	$66,626	$32.03
   6	Arizona State University	$64,465	$30.99	8
   7	East Tennessee State University	$63,907	$30.72	4
   8	Tennessee Technological University	$63,165	$30.37
   9	Brown University	$62,289	$29.95	9
   10	Stanford University	$62,065	$29.84	31
   11	Health Research, Inc.	$62,008	$29.81	1
   12	Colorado College	$60,955	$29.31
   13	NatureServe	$60,869	$29.26
   14	M.I.T. International, Inc.	$60,181	$28.93	34
   15	Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies	$60,080	$28.88
   16	University of California	$59,798	$28.75	34
   17	Cytec Industries	$59,579	$28.64
   18	University of Nebraska System	$59,139	$28.43
   19	Univ Of Colorado-Colorado Spgs	$58,873	$28.30
   20	Carnegie Mellon University	$58,856	$28.30	59

4. Writing a postdoctoral associate job description

   A postdoctoral associate 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 a postdoctoral associate job description:

   Postdoctoral associate job description example

   This is intended to be a renewable appointment with the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy's Rutgers Economic Advisory Service (R/ECON™). The successful candidate will work with a team of researchers from R/ECON™ in coordination with other groups within the Bloustein School and across Rutgers Universities campuses on various research projects in the area of regional economic impact analysis. The position is being made possible through the funding of the Rutgers New Jersey State Policy Lab. R/ ECON has promised to deliver weekly blogs, bi-weekly policy briefs, and bi-monthly policy reports as part of its contribution to the Lab. The candidate will be a key contributor to the Lab's deliverables. S/he also will be required to maintain client contact and, hence, communicate with excellence in English, in both written and oral formats.
   
   Prior to being hired candidates shall have completed all requirements for a Ph.D. degree in economics, public policy, planning, geography, agricultural economics, applied economics, or a related field prior to hiring. Proven skill in the implementation of systems econometric time-series models and/or input-output models is key. Being able to design and run applied computable general equilibrium ( CGE ) models would be a plus. Demonstrated experience in publishing academic articles and public reports is desired.
   Minimum Education and Experience
   
   Completion of Ph.D. degree requirements in economics, public policy, planning, geography, agricultural economics, applied economics, or a related field prior to hiring.
   
   Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
   
   Basic ability in MS Excel is required. A demonstrated ability to run/produce systems econometric time-series models and/or use input-output models. The ability to write extremely well in English with a sense of how regional economies operate and how public finance can be used to nudge such state and local economies. It will help if candidates know basic of Stata and EViews software. It is even better if the candidate knows one of the following computer languages: Matlab, R, Python, and/or Octave.
   
   Completion of Ph.D. requirements signal an ability to work independently. The universal dissertation/thesis requirement of this degree also displays the candidate's ability to write cogently.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right postdoctoral associate 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 postdoctoral associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit postdoctoral associates 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 postdoctoral associate job on Zippia to find and recruit postdoctoral associate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with postdoctoral associate 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.

   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.

   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 postdoctoral associate

   Once you've found the postdoctoral associate 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new postdoctoral associate. 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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How much does it cost to hire a postdoctoral associate?