How to hire a regulatory affairs director

How to hire a regulatory affairs director, step by step

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

What does a regulatory affairs director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the regulatory affairs director you need to hire. Certain regulatory affairs director 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 regulatory affairs director 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 regulatory affairs director that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of regulatory affairs directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Regulatory Affairs Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Regulatory Affairs Director		$38-88
   Compliance Manager	Compliance managers are professionals who maintain the ethical and legal integrity of an organization. They establish and oversee control systems to deal with and prevent violations against internal policies and legal guidelines... Show more	$31-65
   Compliance Director	Compliance Directors oversee the adherence of different business units to company policies. They are considered experts on the different processes, policies, and regulatory systems that govern the business's operations, be it internal or external... Show more	$34-70

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Regulatory Affairs
   • FDA
   • Regulatory Strategy
   • Global Regulatory
   • Regulatory Agencies
   • Regulatory Submissions
   • EU
   • IND
   • Regulatory Issues
   • CMC
   • Medical Devices
   • Product Development
   • Regulatory Authorities
   • NDA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Implement ISO 9001complaint quality system and manage surveillance audits.
   • Assess state Medicaid manage care contract and vendor contract requirements to create compliance audit plans.
   • Manage customer complaints, including MDR submissions, maintenance of complaint database, and correspondence with the customer.
   • Provide subject matter expertise involving applicable FDA regulations, EU directives, ISO and ASTM standards, and applicable ICH guidelines.
   • Secure timely approvals for company products (IDE, PMA, Import/Export, ISO).
   • Prep stability reports for international markets in accordance with FDA and ICH guidelines.

   More regulatory affairs director duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, regulatory affairs directors' average salary in florida is 52% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level regulatory affairs directors 56% less than senior-level regulatory affairs directors.
   • Certifications. A regulatory affairs director 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 regulatory affairs director's salary.

   Average regulatory affairs director salary

   $122,617yearly

   $58.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level regulatory affairs director salary

   $81,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average regulatory affairs director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$141,440	$68
   2	Massachusetts	$139,420	$67
   3	Maryland	$135,304	$65
   4	New Jersey	$128,233	$62
   5	New York	$126,733	$61
   6	Washington	$125,857	$61
   7	North Carolina	$120,947	$58
   8	Ohio	$114,973	$55
   9	Pennsylvania	$113,147	$54
   10	Virginia	$107,331	$52
   11	Arizona	$106,524	$51
   12	District of Columbia	$104,972	$50
   13	Connecticut	$104,928	$50
   14	Illinois	$100,217	$48
   15	Georgia	$99,697	$48
   16	Colorado	$99,523	$48
   17	Florida	$57,475	$28

   Average regulatory affairs director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Coty	$147,735	$71.03
   2	Bloomberg	$147,448	$70.89	2
   3	UC Health	$143,325	$68.91
   4	Exelixis	$140,042	$67.33	5
   5	VIVUS	$137,527	$66.12
   6	Deutsche Bank	$136,109	$65.44	2
   7	Foundation Medicine	$134,009	$64.43
   8	Northwell Health	$133,353	$64.11	4
   9	Expedia Group	$133,116	$64.00
   10	Sutro Biopharma	$132,778	$63.84
   11	Biogen	$131,626	$63.28	1
   12	Pwc	$131,243	$63.10
   13	AstraZeneca	$130,730	$62.85	6
   14	Silicon Valley Bank	$130,414	$62.70
   15	Horizon Pharma USA, Inc.	$127,970	$61.52
   16	AIG	$127,825	$61.45	3
   17	Eli Lilly and Company	$126,328	$60.73	1
   18	AbbVie	$126,278	$60.71	11
   19	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$125,887	$60.52	9
   20	Sony Pictures	$125,309	$60.24

4. Writing a regulatory affairs director job description

   A regulatory affairs director 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 regulatory affairs director job description:

   Regulatory affairs director job description example

   The Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs will be responsible for regulatory, compliance, and legislative matters, grant applications and grant administration, and reporting to multiple municipal and state agencies in California. This position involves: superior communication skills including extensive written and verbal advocacy; grant application work to include project managing, preparing and submitting grant applications; data analysis to ensure accurate reporting, and analysis regarding regulations, legislation, drafting legislative and regulatory proposals and establishing processes and procedures to ensure compliance with state regulations and multiple reporting requirements. The position will also involve proactive outreach to elected and non-elected municipal and state officials. The Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs will also coordinate with various internal departments to monitor, prepare, and report on California compliance obligations-including restructuring related compliance obligations-to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), other relevant parties and state regulatory agencies and will function as the point of contact with the CPUC's designated compliance monitor.
   Job Requirements/Special Skills
   
   Develop and maintain an on-going, positive relationship with legislators, regulators and other government officials.
   Favorably represent Frontier and effectively advocate its positions with key stakeholders and others in the industry.
   Monitor and interpret regulatory orders and legislation to identify compliance requirements, business opportunities, and threats.
   Communicate legislative and regulatory opportunities and threats internally to impacted management and impacted groups within the organization, coordinate development of a necessary advocacy strategy, and execute advocacy strategy effectively to take advantage of opportunities and mitigate threats.
   Develop and oversee procedures designed to maintain an on-going awareness of and compliance with all state rules, laws, and agency orders applicable to telecommunications carriers and effectively guide Frontier through legal and regulatory obstacles to its business, product and financial goals.
   Provide guidance to Frontier leadership on issues involving state regulatory and government matters.
   Help craft necessary compliance protocols, documentation, and processes in collaboration with other business units and external parties, as necessary.
   Coordinate data identification and collection to ensure timely response to internal and external data requests on topics such as service quality, fiber to the premise buildout and status on required engineering projects.
   Produce compliance reports that are accurate, consistent, verifiable, and understandable and serve as primary point of contact for the California CPUC compliance monitor.
   Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data and provide analysis and trends surrounding data and reports.
   Support other Frontier personnel on understanding compliance requirements/data analysis/reporting.
   Identify creative means to access data and develop narratives based on the data to facilitate understanding.
   Own additional ad hoc regulatory and compliance data reporting and analysis projects.
   
   Qualifications:
   
   Bachelor of Science in Business, Finance, Economics or related field,
   Graduate degree preferred,
   Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, experience in wireline telecommunications experience regulatory affairs (California Public Utilities Commission experience or experience with another agency that interacts with the CPUC) and/or government relations strongly preferred,
   Ability to work independently and successfully address multiple priorities,
   Proficiency in MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel,
   Strong analytical, problem-solving, and written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
   Proven ability to effectively distill and relay complex data issues in a straightforward manner
   Ability to work well with cross-functional teams including ability to build a positive rapport with others working remotely, ability to understand complex legal and regulatory documents, and
   Ability to develop positive relationships within the industry and with Frontier's business partners.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with regulatory affairs director 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 regulatory affairs director

   Once you've selected the best regulatory affairs 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.

   To prepare for the new regulatory affairs director 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 regulatory affairs director?