How to hire a senior development scientist

How to hire a senior development scientist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior development scientist hiring guide:

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

What does a senior development scientist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior development scientist 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 senior development scientist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior development scientists 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 senior development scientist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Development Scientist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Development Scientist	Medical scientists conduct research aimed at improving overall human health. They often use clinical trials and other investigative methods to reach their findings.	$35-67
   Laboratory Analyst	A Laboratory Analyst helps conduct experiments, run laboratory tests, and analyze results. They compile and record data for the documentation needed for testing and report preparation.	$14-29
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • GMP
   • Data Analysis
   • Technical Reports
   • Analytical Methods
   • Method Development
   • Assay Development
   • FDA
   • HPLC
   • CMC
   • QC
   • Cell-Based Assays
   • Product Development
   • Clinical Trials
   • ICH

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage method validations and sample analysis for pre-clinical GLP studies.
   • Lead solvates diversity study of API to understand the mechanism of rejecting impurities by crystallization.
   • Manage formulating, packaging, distribution and QC of the PDAR, AoD and ABD product line in manufacturing environment.
   • Lead development of ELISA microplate assay for Cardiolipin antibodies
   • Work with quality department during production runs; assist QC with in-process HPLC.
   • Prepare regulatory submission package (CMC section) including reference standard, drug substance characterization and impurity characterization.

   More senior development scientist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior development scientist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior development scientist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, senior development scientists' average salary in iowa is 53% less than in tennessee.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior development scientists earn 47% less than senior-level senior development scientists.
   • Certifications. A senior development scientist 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 senior development scientist's salary.

   Average senior development scientist salary

   $102,262yearly

   $49.16 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior development scientist salary

   $74,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average senior development scientist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$135,859	$65
   2	Tennessee	$127,754	$61
   3	New Jersey	$111,319	$54
   4	Indiana	$109,347	$53
   5	Massachusetts	$104,564	$50
   6	Minnesota	$102,788	$49
   7	Washington	$100,383	$48
   8	Maryland	$99,386	$48
   9	Illinois	$96,448	$46
   10	Pennsylvania	$94,903	$46
   11	Rhode Island	$87,735	$42
   12	Virginia	$86,805	$42
   13	Wisconsin	$83,831	$40
   14	North Carolina	$80,897	$39
   15	Florida	$77,016	$37
   16	Utah	$71,633	$34
   17	Georgia	$70,333	$34
   18	Missouri	$69,179	$33

   Average senior development scientist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Amazon	$136,321	$65.54	771
   2	Genentech	$117,576	$56.53	75
   3	Novartis	$117,259	$56.37	3
   4	Eli Lilly and Company	$117,025	$56.26	106
   5	AbbVie	$116,811	$56.16	112
   6	Natera	$116,277	$55.90	24
   7	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$115,864	$55.70	144
   8	Biogen	$115,476	$55.52	4
   9	Upsher-Smith Laboratories	$113,279	$54.46
   10	PTC Therapeutics	$111,510	$53.61	2
   11	AstraZeneca	$109,000	$52.40	33
   12	Emergent BioSolutions	$108,678	$52.25
   13	CyberCoders	$108,504	$52.17	2
   14	Waters	$107,915	$51.88	5
   15	Agenus	$107,065	$51.47
   16	Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings	$106,501	$51.20	26
   17	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$106,473	$51.19	4
   18	Ingevity	$105,844	$50.89	3
   19	BD	$103,067	$49.55	6
   20	Amgen	$102,620	$49.34	63

4. Writing a senior development scientist job description

   A senior development scientist 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 senior development scientist job description:

   Senior development scientist job description example

   FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc., is a worldwide leader in the innovation and manufacture of cell culture media, reagents, and medical devices for researchers and clinicians. The company provides unrivaled service and quality to scientists working in biopharmaceuticals, cell therapy, and regenerative medicine, assisted reproductive technology and cytogenetics, and industrial cell culture for the large-scale production of biotherapeutics and vaccines. FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific adheres to both ISO and FDA regulations and operates dual cGMP manufacturing facilities in California, USA, and Tokyo, Japan. The company's consultative philosophy combined with expertise in cell culture and compliance provides customers with unique capabilities and support. For over 50 years, FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific has remained uniquely flexible and focused on media while becoming a strategic global leader in media products and services. FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc. is a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation reporting to FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation.
   
   FUJIFILm, Irvine Scientific had a new opportunity for a Senior Scientist II in Process Developent. In this position, our team member willl provide technical leadership in support of commercialized products, late-stage product development, process development, and new product evaluations to meet company standards and customer expectations.
   External US • Develop experimental strategies and plans to improve manufacturing processes for commercialized products and products in development.
   • Work closely with the Technical Support team to investigate technical issues with commercialized products, develop plans of action, execute on plans, and achieve a resolution. This may be in the form of corrective action preventive actions (CAPA).
   • Apply scientific/engineering principles and techniques to develop, characterize, analyze and implement processes to solve technical challenges.
   • Supervise and conduct experimental work related to support and/or improve marketed products.
   • Develop new applications for products and processes to meet customer needs based on feedback from customers.
   • Design and execute scale-up and tech transfer of products for products in late stage product development depending on project needs.
   • Perform technical evaluations on internal products or external products (e.g. potential OEM or licensing opportunities) considered for addition to the portfolio as needed.
   • Provide scientific support, as needed, for the preparation of regulatory submissions for FDA/EU/CMDR or other regulatory agencies.
   • Work with internal legal team to organize and facilitate administrative actions to support the intellectual property portfolio.
   • Support marketing and new products through presentations, publications, collaborative studies, interactions with key customers and as a participant in conferences.
   • Contribute to development of long-range plans for R&D.
   • Learn, maintain and advance expertise in areas relevant to company's products and strategic goals.
   • Effectively and consistently communicate with management, cross-functional partners and relevant stakeholders on progress towards milestones and forthcoming program needs.
   • Effectively manage employees if managing is required. Requisites: Ph.D. with more than 5 years of relevant experience in Life Science, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, or related science. Minimum five years of relevant experience, with emphasis in cell culture. Cell culture experience. Broad scientific knowledge of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Microbiology. Experience with conducting and creating new assays as needed.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit senior development scientists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 senior development scientist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the senior development scientist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new senior development scientist. 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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