Become A Senior Staff Scientist

Where do you want to work?

To get started, tell us where you'd like to work.

Sorry, we can't find that. Please try a different city or state.

Working As A Senior Staff Scientist

Getting Information
Analyzing Data or Information
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
Documenting/Recording Information

Mostly Sitting
$83,000
Average Salary

What Does A Senior Staff Scientist Do

A Senior Staff Scientist is responsible for supervising projects and activities of a company. They manage the technical, budgetary, and scheduling aspects of scientific research projects.

How To Become A Senior Staff Scientist

Medical scientists typically have a Ph.D., usually in biology or a related life science. Some medical scientists get a medical degree instead of a Ph.D., but prefer doing research to practicing as a physician.

Education

Students planning careers as medical scientists typically pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, or a related field. Undergraduate students benefit from taking a broad range of classes, including life sciences, physical sciences, and math. Students also typically take courses that develop communication and writing skills, because they must learn to write grants effectively and publish research findings.

After students have completed their undergraduate studies, they typically enter Ph.D. programs. Dual-degree programs are available that pair a Ph.D. with a range of specialized medical degrees. A few degree programs that are commonly paired with Ph.D. studies are Medical Doctor (M.D.), Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.), and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). Whereas Ph.D. studies focus on research methods, such as project design and data interpretation, students in dual-degree programs learn both the clinical skills needed to be a physician and the research skills needed to be a scientist.

Graduate programs emphasize both laboratory work and original research. These programs offer prospective medical scientists the opportunity to develop their experiments and, sometimes, to supervise undergraduates. Ph.D. programs culminate in a thesis that the candidate presents before a committee of professors. Students may specialize in a particular field, such as gerontology, neurology, or cancer.

Those who go to medical school spend most of the first 2 years in labs and classrooms, taking courses such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, psychology, microbiology, pathology, medical ethics, and medical law. They also learn how to record medical histories, examine patients, and diagnose illnesses. They may be required to participate in residency programs, meeting the same requirements that physicians and surgeons have to fulfill.

Medical scientists often continue their education with postdoctoral work. Postdoctoral work provides additional and more independent lab experience, including experience in specific processes and techniques such as gene splicing, which is transferable to other research projects.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Medical scientists primarily conduct research and typically do not need licenses or certifications. However, those who administer drugs, gene therapy, or otherwise practice medicine on patients in clinical trials or a private practice need a license to practice as a physician.

Important Qualities

Communication skills. Communication is critical, because medical scientists must be able to explain their conclusions. In addition, medical scientists write grant proposals, because grants often are required to fund their research.

Critical-thinking skills. Medical scientists must use their expertise to determine the best method for solving a specific research question.

Data-analysis skills. Medical scientists use statistical techniques, so that they can properly quantify and analyze health research questions.

Decisionmaking skills. Medical scientists must determine what research questions to ask, how best to investigate the questions, and what data will best answer the questions.

Observation skills. Medical scientists conduct experiments that require precise observation of samples and other health data. Any mistake could lead to inconclusive or misleading results.

Show Less

Senior Staff Scientist jobs

Add To My Jobs

Senior Staff Scientist Career Paths

Senior Staff Scientist

Principal Scientist Associate Director Program Director

Chief Operating Officer

11 Yearsyrs

Research And Development Director Vice President Of Research And Development

Chief Technology Officer

11 Yearsyrs

Senior Project Manager Senior Product Manager Senior Manager

Director Of Analytics

13 Yearsyrs

Consultant Adjunct Faculty Clinical Manager

Director Of Clinical Operations

13 Yearsyrs

Adjunct Professor Instructional Designer Program Manager

Engineering Director

13 Yearsyrs

Group Leader Production Supervisor Manufacturing Engineer

Engineering Manager

10 Yearsyrs

Project Manager Senior Project Manager Business Developer

Managing Director

11 Yearsyrs

Group Leader Project Manager Product Manager

Product Development Manager

8 Yearsyrs

Senior Project Manager Chief Executive Officer Management Consultant

Product Manager

7 Yearsyrs

Principal Scientist Project Manager

Program Manager

8 Yearsyrs

Consultant Senior Software Engineer Engineering Manager

Quality Manager

11 Yearsyrs

Project Manager Program Manager

Senior Manager

10 Yearsyrs

Director President Of Operations Product Developer

Senior Manager, Product Development

10 Yearsyrs

Director President Fellow

Senior Research Associate

6 Yearsyrs

Adjunct Professor Faculty Assistant Professor

Senior Scientist

9 Yearsyrs

Research And Development Director Director Of Product Development Vice President Of Engineering

Vice President Of Research And Development

12 Yearsyrs

Average Length of Employment

Associate Principal Scientist 6.3 years
Senior Principal Scientist 6.1 years
Principal Research Scientist 5.3 years
Senior Staff Scientist 5.0 years
Senior Scientist 4.9 years
Scientist, Project Leader 4.8 years
Senior Associate Scientist 4.7 years
Principal Scientist 4.7 years
Chemist Scientist 4.4 years
Senior Assistant Scientist 4.2 years
Senior Scientific Associate 4.1 years
Senior Development Scientist 3.9 years
Associate Research Scientist 3.8 years
Research Scientist 3.8 years
Senior Research Associate 3.7 years
Lead Scientist 3.5 years
Senior Applications Scientist 3.5 years
Staff Scientist 3.4 years
Scientist 3.4 years
Assistant Research Scientist 3.3 years
Development Scientist 3.2 years
Research And Development Scientist 3.1 years
Associate Scientist 3.1 years
Process Scientist 2.9 years
Assistant Scientist 2.9 years
Assay Development Scientist 2.3 years
Contract Scientist 1.3 years

Top Careers Before Senior Staff Scientist

Top Careers After Senior Staff Scientist

Senior Staff Scientist Demographics

Gender

Male
64.6%
Female
22.2%
Unknown
13.1%

Ethnicity

White
70.3%
Asian
21.8%
Hispanic or Latino
5.6%
Unknown
1.9%
Black or African American
0.4%

Languages Spoken

Spanish
20.7%
German
10.3%
Russian
10.3%
Chinese
6.9%
French
6.9%
Swahili
3.4%
Swedish
3.4%
Indonesian
3.4%
Icelandic
3.4%
Dutch
3.4%
Ukrainian
3.4%
Serbian
3.4%
Japanese
3.4%
Cherokee
3.4%
Armenian
3.4%
Polish
3.4%
Xiang
3.4%
Korean
3.4%

Senior Staff Scientist

Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.

Senior Staff Scientist Education

Schools

University of Delaware
12.5%
University of Arizona
7.3%
Pennsylvania State University
6.3%
University of Southern California
6.3%
State University of New York Stony Brook
6.3%
University of Iowa
6.3%
University of California - San Diego
5.2%
The Academy
5.2%
University of Florida
4.2%
Harvard University
4.2%
Johns Hopkins University
4.2%
University of Phoenix
4.2%
Michigan State University
4.2%
University of California - Irvine
4.2%
University of Georgia
4.2%
University of Alabama
3.1%
North Carolina State University
3.1%
University of Pennsylvania
3.1%
University of Rochester
3.1%
University of Illinois at Chicago
3.1%

Majors

Chemistry 25.4%
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology 11.4%
Physics 11.4%
Biology 8.4%
Electrical Engineering 7.0%
Microbiology 5.7%
Geology 3.7%
Business 3.7%
Chemical Engineering 2.7%
Pharmacology 2.7%
Environmental Science 2.3%
Materials Science And Engineering 2.3%
Computer Science 2.0%
Project Management 2.0%
Genetics 1.7%
Mathematics 1.7%
Physiology And Anatomy 1.7%
Astronomy And Astrophysics 1.7%
Medicine 1.3%
Mechanical Engineering 1.3%

Degrees

Doctorate
49.3%
Masters
20.6%
Bachelors
18.2%
Other
8.7%
Certificate
2.2%
Associate
0.7%
Diploma
0.2%

Senior Staff Scientist

Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.

Job type you want

Full Time

Part Time

Internship

Temporary

Real Senior Staff Scientist Salaries

Job Title	Company	Location	Start Date	Salary
Senior Staff Scientist	SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory	Menlo Park, CA	Jan 11, 2010	$165,000
Senior Staff Scientist	Harvard University	Boston, MA	Jul 16, 2012	$150,000
Senior Staff Scientist	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Tarrytown, NY	Jun 10, 2015	$137,000 - $151,000
Senior Staff Scientist	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.	Tarrytown, NY	Oct 11, 2013	$128,700
Senior Staff Scientist	Bayer Healthcare LLC	Sunnyvale, CA	Oct 15, 2009	$125,000 - $130,000
SR. Staff Scientist	Sas Institute, Inc.	Cary, NC	Jul 01, 2013	$124,007
Senior Staff Scientist	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Tarrytown, NY	Jan 08, 2015	$120,000 - $140,000
Senior Staff Scientist/Engineer	Optovue, Inc.	Fremont, CA	Apr 19, 2010	$120,000
Senior Staff Scientist	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.	Tarrytown, NY	Oct 11, 2010	$120,000
Scientist, SR. Staff	Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.	Hoffman Estates, IL	Oct 11, 2015	$115,507
Senior Staff Scientist-Research Bioinformatics Core	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Tarrytown, NY	Dec 10, 2016	$113,000 - $198,800
Senior Staff Scientist	The Scripps Research Institute	San Diego, CA	Dec 01, 2016	$100,000
Senior Staff Scientist	The Scripps Research Institute	San Diego, CA	Jan 12, 2016	$100,000
Instructor/Senior Staff Scientist	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Boston, MA	Jan 09, 2016	$100,000
Instructor/Senior Staff Scientist	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Boston, MA	Sep 01, 2016	$100,000
Senior Staff Scientist	The Scripps Research Institute	San Diego, CA	Oct 01, 2013	$98,987
Senior Staff Scientist	Covance Inc.	Madison, WI	Mar 05, 2010	$96,211
Senior Electromagnetic Methods Staff Scientist	Geometrics, Inc.	San Jose, CA	Sep 01, 2012	$95,000
Senior Staff Scientist	Ashland Inc.	Columbus, OH	Sep 01, 2013	$78,562 - $91,800
SR. Staff Scientist	The Scripps Research Institute	San Diego, CA	Oct 11, 2010	$78,146
Senior Staff Scientist, Pharmaceutical Development	Incyte Corporation	Wilmington, DE	Aug 17, 2016	$78,000
Senior Staff Scientist	Hysitron, Inc.	Eden Prairie, MN	Sep 18, 2015	$77,834
Senior Staff Scientist	Nanosurface Technologies, LLC	Maple Grove, MN	Oct 20, 2010	$77,043 - $100,000
Senior Staff Scientist	The Scripps Research Institute	San Diego, CA	Sep 01, 2014	$76,794
Senior Staff Scientist I	Riverside Technology, Inc.	MD	Sep 01, 2009	$75,005

No Results

To get more results, try adjusting your search by changing your filters.

Top Skills for A Senior Staff Scientist

Top Senior Staff Scientist Skills

Laboratory
Method Development
Analytical Methods

You can check out examples of real life uses of top skills on resumes here:

Ensured GMP compliance and efficiency in all aspects of laboratory operations.
Route selection and method development for the Development Candidate for cognition/metabolism.
Develop and implement bioanalytical methods for small molecules in various biological matrices.
Managed laboratories responsible for the development, optimization and characterization of cell lines used for the production of recombinant proteins.
Extracted and analyzed drug concentrations in matrix and tissue.