How to hire a senior statistician

How to hire a senior statistician, step by step

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

What does a senior statistician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior statistician 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

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   Hiring the perfect senior statistician also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of senior statisticians.

   Type of Senior Statistician	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Statistician	Statisticians use statistical methods to collect and analyze data and to help solve real-world problems in business, engineering, healthcare, or other fields.	$18-70
   Principal Biostatistician	Principal biostatisticians are professionals who are responsible for communicating all the activities related to biostatistics of assigned projects to the sponsor companies. These biostatisticians are required to participate in the development of finished products used in clinical trials and provide statistical oversight to ensure data integrity and appropriate analysis are performed... Show more	$40-82
   Research Biostatistician	Most of the research biostatisticians oversee clinical trials and gather data for the development of new treatment interventions. They ensure that legal, scientific protocols are followed but are concerned with the accurate gathering and evaluation of data and recording... Show more	$29-60

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Statistical Methods
   • Data Analysis
   • Healthcare
   • Data Management
   • Clinical Trials
   • Study Design
   • Experimental Design
   • Statistical Support
   • Statistical Analysis
   • Data Collection
   • FDA
   • Regression
   • Survival Analysis
   • Statistical Expertise

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Extract and manage data from different sources, proficient in query language SQL.
   • Serve as the lead statistician in NDA submissions to FDA, review clinical modules in CTD.
   • Develop logistic regression scoring models to predict the likelihood of charge-off of potential customers for an auto finance company.
   • Perform edit checks on the SPSS files using SPSS to ensure data quality.
   • Generate integrated summaries of safety and efficacy for FDA submissions.
   • Create presentations using PowerPoint and give presentations to highlight Texas immunization data.

   More senior statistician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior statistician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A senior statistician can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, senior statisticians' average salary in oklahoma is 56% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior statisticians 73% less than senior-level senior statisticians.
   • Certifications. A senior statistician with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a senior statistician's salary.

   Average senior statistician salary

   $76,403yearly

   $36.73 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior statistician salary

   $39,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average senior statistician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$110,657	$53
   2	Massachusetts	$102,101	$49
   3	Maryland	$101,745	$49
   4	New Jersey	$100,117	$48
   5	District of Columbia	$99,528	$48
   6	Connecticut	$96,073	$46
   7	New York	$94,849	$46
   8	North Carolina	$94,223	$45
   9	Washington	$91,888	$44
   10	Illinois	$91,843	$44
   11	Delaware	$89,036	$43
   12	Virginia	$85,861	$41
   13	Indiana	$81,525	$39
   14	Pennsylvania	$79,148	$38
   15	Texas	$77,401	$37
   16	Georgia	$75,800	$36
   17	Florida	$67,840	$33
   18	Michigan	$66,116	$32
   19	Missouri	$63,523	$31
   20	South Carolina	$61,427	$30

   Average senior statistician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Allina Health	$194,172	$93.35
   2	Google	$140,316	$67.46
   3	Chegg	$139,214	$66.93
   4	Citi	$136,404	$65.58
   5	Genentech	$131,511	$63.23	1
   6	AstraZeneca	$127,810	$61.45
   7	Boehringer Ingelheim	$127,414	$61.26
   8	DemandTec	$127,167	$61.14
   9	Novartis	$126,137	$60.64	1
   10	AbbVie	$125,986	$60.57	4
   11	Eli Lilly and Company	$125,924	$60.54	1
   12	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$124,750	$59.98
   13	Sanofi US	$123,808	$59.52	8
   14	Natera	$121,749	$58.53
   15	Amylin Pharmaceuticals	$120,518	$57.94
   16	Amgen	$120,398	$57.88
   17	Merck	$119,947	$57.67	2
   18	Expedia Group	$119,447	$57.43
   19	Bayer	$117,345	$56.42
   20	Incyte	$115,957	$55.75

4. Writing a senior statistician job description

   A senior statistician 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 statistician job description:

   Senior statistician job description example

   The Celestar Corporation has been issued a task order to employ a Senior Level Statistician/Mathematician support of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C. If interested and qualified, we welcome you to apply for this challenging opportunity.
   Job Title: Senior Statistician/Mathematician
   
   SECURITY CLEARANCE: The position requires a TOP SECRET/SCI Security Clearance.
   
   Location: Washington, DC
   
   About Us:
   
   Celestar, a Veteran Owned Company is Very Competitive with Salaries and Benefits. As an example, we offer Company Paid Benefits that include Employee and Family Dental Insurance, Employ Health Insurance, Life Insurance and Disability Insurance as well. We also offer a 401K retirement company match, paid Holidays and Personal Time off.
   
   RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   * Develop and apply fundamental mathematics, mathematical or statistical theory to collect, organize, interpret and summarize numerical data to generate usable information to support the management or the Defense Intelligence All Source Analysis Enterprise.
   * Plan and perform data collection and data for processing by organizing information and checking for inaccuracies
   * Design, test, install, maintain, operate, and develop in programming/scripting languages including. but not limited to Python and R. for the purpose of automating the collection and processing or data.
   * Produce results of analyses in graphs, charts, tables. and metrics.
   * Prepare written and visual products to describe and document findings and research.
   * Document all code and store both the code and accompanying documentation in central repository on JWICS.
   
   REQUIREMENTS:
   
   * Experience: Minimum 12 years of Statistics/Mathematic experience with at least a portion of the experience within the last 2 years
   * Education: Master' s degree in an area related to the Statistics/Mathematics from a college or university accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; or have Bachelor's degree related to the labor category from a college or university accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and an additional 5 years of related senior experience. for a total of 17 years, as a substitute in lieu of the Master 's Degree.
   
   Location and hours:
   
   * Washington, DC - Normal Business Hours
   
   Anticipated Start Date/Period of Performance:
   
   * October 2020
   
   IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a Best Athlete Selection Process! With this in mind, please ensure that the required and/or desired experience is reflected on your resume to receive fair and competitive consideration.
   
   Join a company that truly cares about its employees!
   
   Celestar is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, protected veteran status, disability status, gender identity or national origin.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right senior statistician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with senior statisticians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit senior statisticians who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior statistician job on Zippia to find and recruit senior statistician 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 statisticians, 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.

   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.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview senior statistician candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 statistician

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior statistician 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with 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 statistician. 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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