How to hire a senior research fellow

How to hire a senior research fellow, step by step

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

What does a senior research fellow do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior research fellow you need to hire. Certain senior research fellow 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

   A senior research fellow's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior research fellows 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 research fellow salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Research Fellow	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Research Fellow	Medical scientists conduct research aimed at improving overall human health. They often use clinical trials and other investigative methods to reach their findings.	$19-45
   Scientist	A scientist is responsible for researching and analyzing the nature and complexities of the physical world to identify discoveries that would improve people's lives and ignite scientific knowledge for society. Scientists' duties differ in their different areas of expertise, but all of them must have a broad comprehension of scientific disciplines and methods to support their experiments and investigations... Show more	$32-67
   Research Laboratory Technician	Research laboratory technicians play a vital role in scientific laboratories. They perform varied duties and responsibilities, which include setting up, operating, and maintaining the laboratory equipment, assisting in laboratory-based research activities such as sampling, testing, and analyzing results, and providing technical support to the laboratory team members... Show more	$14-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Python
   • Research Projects
   • Data Analysis
   • C++
   • Research Findings
   • Data Collection
   • Visualization
   • Statistical Analysis
   • Technical Assistance
   • Product Development
   • Chemistry
   • Patients
   • Java
   • Prototyping

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead a project aim at improving DNA yields from various soil types in Dr. Connell's lab.
   • Manage grant base research and submit the grant proposal to ICAR and get approved for fund research.
   • Mentore a graduate student on the following topics: study design, literature reviews, drafting data plans and SAS.
   • Contribute to the creation of new markup standards for scholarship in the humanities.
   • Research unidentify payments and patients.
   • Conduct long-term observations of grind water dynamics and chemistry.

   More senior research fellow duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior research fellow job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior research fellow salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior research fellow in Louisiana may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level senior research fellow usually earns less than a senior-level senior research fellow. Additionally, a senior research fellow with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior research fellow salary

   $62,129yearly

   $29.87 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior research fellow salary

   $40,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average senior research fellow salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Hawaii	$155,066	$75
   2	California	$120,151	$58
   3	New Jersey	$116,651	$56
   4	Maryland	$99,837	$48
   5	Massachusetts	$91,937	$44
   6	District of Columbia	$90,378	$43
   7	New York	$86,379	$42
   8	Virginia	$77,713	$37
   9	Arizona	$76,774	$37
   10	Pennsylvania	$76,105	$37
   11	Michigan	$69,639	$33
   12	Ohio	$69,327	$33
   13	North Carolina	$68,766	$33
   14	Oregon	$66,736	$32
   15	Illinois	$65,916	$32
   16	Minnesota	$64,782	$31
   17	Washington	$64,522	$31
   18	Colorado	$62,346	$30
   19	Florida	$60,624	$29
   20	Georgia	$58,948	$28

   Average senior research fellow salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$163,638	$78.67	130
   2	Urban Institute	$162,166	$77.96	4
   3	Apple	$159,189	$76.53	59
   4	The Cato Institute	$156,491	$75.24	6
   5	Peterson Institute for International Economics	$155,707	$74.86
   6	The Heritage Foundation	$155,361	$74.69
   7	The Brookings Institution	$155,031	$74.53	8
   8	CSIS	$154,736	$74.39	7
   9	Center for American Progress	$154,337	$74.20
   10	International Peace Institute	$151,902	$73.03
   11	VMware	$150,263	$72.24
   12	Atlantic Council	$144,190	$69.32
   13	Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation	$144,099	$69.28
   14	Institute for New Economic Thinking	$134,461	$64.64
   15	Nike	$130,777	$62.87	2
   16	Adobe	$128,276	$61.67	10
   17	McKinsey & Company Inc	$125,169	$60.18
   18	Intuit	$122,300	$58.80	3
   19	Stimson Center	$114,688	$55.14	3
   20	East-West Center	$113,839	$54.73

4. Writing a senior research fellow job description

   A senior research fellow 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 senior research fellow job description:

   Senior research fellow job description example

   Job DescriptionSalary:
   

   The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) is an award-winning, independent, global, non-profit research organization that provides data-driven research to policies to reduce the health and environmental impacts of the transportation sector. The ICCT offers a mission-driven and culturally diverse workplace where intelligence, flexibility, transparency, and good humor are highly valued. Join our team of more than 100 talented researchers and operations staff with offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Berlin, Beijing, and São Paulo.

   The ICCT is looking for an enthusiastic Senior Researcher to join the organization’s Passenger Vehicles Program team with a focus on the United States. You will contribute to ICCT’s efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and drive electrification of the U.S. passenger vehicle fleet. You will contribute to a campaign on decarbonizing vehicle manufacturing supply chains and grow our wide-ranging research on vehicle technology, charging infrastructure, and associated policies. You will be based in either our San Francisco, CA or Washington, D.C. offices. You will report to our United States Program Director.

   You Will:

   • Develop and lead complex projects, including collaborations with multiple ICCT team members and external partners
   • Lead technical research on the embedded carbon in passenger vehicle supply chains
   • Lead policy-relevant research projects on electrification and passenger vehicle efficiency
   • Lead the development of comprehensive strategies to influence specific policies on passenger vehicles.
   • Collect data and maintain databases on vehicle technology
   • Conduct rigorous data and policy analysis
   • Write reports, blogs, and other materials for publication
   • Organize outreach activities, such as briefings, meetings, and workshops
   • Engage directly with policymakers and external stakeholders
   • Supervise and mentor ICCT interns and fellows
   • Manage other ICCT staff on collaborative projects

   You Have:

   • M.S. or Ph.D. in engineering, environmental science or policy, transportation, or related field
   • 5+ years of applicable research experience
   • Ability to conduct technical analysis and write concise reports for a variety of audiences
   • Demonstrated skills in data collection, research, analytical methods, and drawing conclusions from analytical research
   • Strong English communication skills, both written and verbal
   • Superior proficiency with MS Office and applicable data collection and analysis software

   Our Benefits:

   This full-time position will be based in our San Francisco, or Washington, D.C. office. Your salary will be $100,400 (DC) or $110,400 (San Francisco). We offer an excellent benefits package, including hybrid/remote flexibilities, health insurance, substantial paid vacation, retirement contribution with generous 7% employer contribution, transportation subsidies, and other benefits.

   Application:

   Please submit a cover letter, resume, two relevant research reports primarily written by the applicant (links to other applicable reports within your resume are also welcome).

   We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find senior research fellows for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior research fellows they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior research fellows with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior research fellow job on Zippia to find and recruit senior research fellow candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior research fellows, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 research fellow

   Once you've found the senior research fellow 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.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior research fellow. 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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