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Senior development scientist vs staff scientist

The differences between senior development scientists and staff scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior development scientist and a staff scientist. Additionally, a senior development scientist has an average salary of $102,262, which is higher than the $93,941 average annual salary of a staff scientist.

The top three skills for a senior development scientist include GMP, data analysis and technical reports. The most important skills for a staff scientist are data analysis, research projects, and molecular biology.

Senior development scientist vs staff scientist overview

Senior Development ScientistStaff Scientist
Yearly salary$102,262$93,941
Hourly rate$49.16$45.16
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs93,481121,054
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a senior development scientist do?

The job of a senior development scientist revolves around product development, ensuring that the product will pass every stage of the process from design to delivery. You will oversee and guide the product development team in designing and testing new products and collecting and analyzing data needed for product release. As the senior product development scientist, you are expected to uphold all rules and regulations during production and development and ensure staff members adhere to safety protocols. You will also work closely with other departments, such as quality assurance and external consultants.

What does a staff scientist do?

The primary role of a Staff Scientist is to develop and manage scientific research projects with minimal supervision. They are also responsible for the technical and budgetary aspects of scientific research projects.

Senior development scientist vs staff scientist salary

Senior development scientists and staff scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Development ScientistStaff Scientist
Average salary$102,262$93,941
Salary rangeBetween $74,000 And $140,000Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CARedwood City, CA
Highest paying stateTennesseeCalifornia
Best paying companyAmazonEtsy
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalTechnology

Differences between senior development scientist and staff scientist education

There are a few differences between a senior development scientist and a staff scientist in terms of educational background:

Senior Development ScientistStaff Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorChemistryChemistry
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaDuke University

Senior development scientist vs staff scientist demographics

Here are the differences between senior development scientists' and staff scientists' demographics:

Senior Development ScientistStaff Scientist
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 71.7% Female, 28.3%Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 26.5% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between senior development scientist and staff scientist duties and responsibilities

Senior development scientist example 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.
  • Show more

Staff scientist example responsibilities.

  • Lead efforts to replace a critical radioactive immunoassay with a non-radioactive format to measure clinical samples.
  • Manage clinical sample testing using MSD and ELISA in LIMS, including data review and approval using LIMS.
  • Assist in managing and maintenance of HPLC and Prep-HPLC systems to ensure maximum productivity for the process development group.
  • Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
  • Assist with RNA and DNA extractions from FFPE tissue and blood.
  • Supervise temps performing HPLC assays and validations during development and production campaigns under GMP conditions.
  • Show more

Senior development scientist vs staff scientist skills

Common senior development scientist skills
  • GMP, 8%
  • Data Analysis, 8%
  • Technical Reports, 5%
  • Analytical Methods, 5%
  • Method Development, 4%
  • Assay Development, 3%
Common staff scientist skills
  • Data Analysis, 9%
  • Research Projects, 7%
  • Molecular Biology, 5%
  • Next-Generation Sequencing, 4%
  • Statistical Analysis, 4%
  • RNA, 4%

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