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How to hire a scientific consultant

Scientific consultant hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring scientific consultants in the United States:

  • In the United States, the median cost per hire a scientific consultant is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new scientific consultant to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a scientific consultant, step by step

To hire a scientific consultant, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a scientific consultant:

Here's a step-by-step scientific consultant hiring guide:

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

What does a scientific consultant do?

A scientific consultant provides consultation services for scientific projects and research for implementation and enabling scientific missions to the customers. They strategize solutions for business or organizational problems as well as providing a fresh perspective and knowledge based on their expertise. Their duties and responsibilities include compiling and presenting information to the organization through reports.

Learn more about the specifics of what a scientific consultant does
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Post a scientific consultant job for free, promote it for a fee
  1. Identify your hiring needs

    First, determine the employments status of the scientific consultant you need to hire. Certain scientific consultant 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?

    A scientific consultant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, scientific consultants 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 shows salaries for various types of scientific consultants.

    Type of Scientific ConsultantDescriptionHourly rate
    Scientific ConsultantWholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain product features, answer any questions that their customers may have, and negotiate prices.$24-62
    Professional Healthcare RepresentativeProfessional Healthcare representatives are sales employees who manage the company's healthcare products and healthcare client accounts. They are in charge of achieving the sales targets of the company... Show more$10-28
    Pharmaceutical Sales RepresentativeThe job of pharmaceutical sales representatives is to inform and educate doctors about a company's medical and pharmaceutical products. They serve as the link between a company and healthcare professionals to hit sales targets... Show more$20-52
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • SQL
    • R
    • FDA
    • Laboratory Procedures
    • Experimental Design
    • Scientific Journals
    • Data Analysis
    • Regulatory Compliance
    • Diabetes
    • Scientific Literature
    • Clinical Trials
    • Medical Literature
    • PCR
    • Apis
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
    • Define and document a new application architecture which load client databases with properly format data using in-house develop Java ETL applications.
    • Support regulatory submissions (ISSs, NDA), CDISC (SDTM, ADaM).
    More scientific consultant duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your scientific consultant job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A scientific consultant salary can vary based on several factors:
    • Location. For example, scientific consultants' average salary in hawaii is 63% less than in california.
    • Seniority. Entry-level scientific consultants earn 61% less than senior-level scientific consultants.
    • Certifications. A scientific consultant with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a scientific consultant's salary.

    Average scientific consultant salary

    $82,034yearly

    $39.44 hourly rate

    Entry-level scientific consultant salary
    $51,000 yearly salary
    Updated January 30, 2026

    Average scientific consultant salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$119,459$57
    2Massachusetts$100,718$48
    3Washington$92,534$44
    4Texas$92,453$44
    5District of Columbia$91,436$44
    6New York$87,857$42
    7Virginia$84,073$40
    8New Jersey$83,252$40
    9Pennsylvania$59,750$29

    Average scientific consultant salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Booz Allen Hamilton$104,574$50.28
    2EPAM Systems$94,847$45.6014
    3Inscopix$89,263$42.91
    4GenScript$84,406$40.58
    5Professional Management Healthcare Consultants$79,726$38.33
  4. Writing a scientific consultant job description

    A scientific consultant 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 scientific consultant job description:

    Scientific consultant job description example

    • PhD in Neuroscience or closely related field in the Biological Sciences
    • Expertise with in vivo calcium imaging (1P or 2P), fiber photometry, in vivo electrophysiology and/or optogenetics OR experience with Inscopix products
    • Excellent time management and organizational skills with the ability to work independently and within a team-centric environment
    • Enjoys being an advocate for customers and being patient as they learn our products
    • Strong oral, written, and presentation skills, with experience presenting technical topics in academia and industry environments
    • Ability and interest to travel between 25-50%
    • Demonstrated ability to publish in peer reviewed scientific journals
    • Remote position based in the Bay Area, Seattle, or San Diego
    • Must be COVID-19 vaccinated in accordance with our policy around contagious diseases

    About Inscopix :

    Decoding the neural language of the brain is the defining scientific challenge and opportunity of the 21st Century. Inscopix is a discovery phase neurotechnology company based in Palo Alto developing a platform and full stack for real-time brain mapping. Our team brings together deep domain expertise in neuroscience, physics, engineering, software development, and data science and is enabling radically new approaches to understanding the brain in health and disease. nVista, nVoke, and nVue, our flagship products, are in use today at over 600 research institutions across the world, and have resulted in over 180 top-tier scientific publications on learning, memory, cognition, and on the brain circuits implicated in diseases such as Parkinson's. Our instrumentation products are accompanied with sophisticated data analysis software as part of end-to-end solutions for generating and analyzing brain activity data. Inscopix has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and by Deloitte as one of North America's fastest growing technology companies.

    Inscopix is an equal opportunity employer.

    Inscopix welcomes and values diversity and we encourage candidates that are underrepresented in STEM fields to apply. Since our technology impact people of different backgrounds, thoughts and beliefs, we feel it's critical to employ people that reflect the diversity of people our technology is set out to help. Employment decisions at Inscopix are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity and/or expression, ethnic or national origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, disability, HIV status, sexual orientation, marital or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical or genetic history or any other protected status. Inscopix is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind.

  5. Post your job

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

    Recruiting scientific consultants 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 scientific consultant

    Once you've decided on a perfect scientific consultant 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 employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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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How much does it cost to hire a scientific consultant?

There are different types of costs for hiring scientific consultants. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new scientific consultant employee.

Scientific consultants earn a median yearly salary is $82,034 a year in the US. However, if you're looking to find scientific consultants for hire on a contract or per-project basis, hourly rates typically range between $24 and $62.

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