Research Director
What this job does:
Provides strategic scientific leadership over a research program, department, or therapeutic area - setting the scientific vision, overseeing a portfolio of projects, and leading teams of scientists. Day-to-day involves strategic planning (deciding which questions to pursue and how to allocate resources), mentoring and managing direct reports, reviewing experimental data at a high level, representing the organization externally, and ensuring research programs align with broader organizational goals. In industry, the role is oriented toward translating science into pipeline value; in academic institutes, the emphasis is on funding, publishing, and building a program's reputation.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Setting a research agenda and choosing which questions to pursue, managing projects at different timelines and risk profiles, mentoring junior researchers, making strategic pivots when data did not support initial hypotheses
Typical starting salary range
$150k to $220k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Scientific strategy and portfolio oversight: setting direction, prioritization, go/no-go decisions (30%)
- Team leadership and talent development: managing scientists, mentoring, hiring (25%)
- Data review, scientific interpretation, and decision-making (20%)
- External engagement and collaboration: KOL interactions, partnerships, conferences, publications (15%)
- Cross-functional and operational activities: budget, regulatory, clinical and commercial interactions (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Deep domain expertise in relevant therapeutic area or discipline; strategic thinking and scientific vision; people leadership and team management; experimental design acumen and scientific rigor; ability to synthesize data across programs into actionable insights; strong publication and presentation record; cross-functional collaboration; budget and resource management; knowledge of drug discovery and development; stakeholder influence and executive communication; familiarity with regulatory landscape
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about setting a research agenda - choosing which questions to pursue and why - managing a research portfolio with projects at different timelines and risk profiles, mentoring junior researchers, and making strategic pivots when data did not support initial hypotheses. Talk about big-picture scientific vision and how you communicated research strategy to diverse stakeholders.
Alternative job titles to search:
Scientific Director; Director of Research; VP of Research; Head of Research; Director - Discovery Research; Senior Director - Biology; Therapeutic Area Head; Director of Scientific Strategy; Head of Discovery; Director - Translational Research
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
