Science R&D Manager
You run a research group — a lab, an R&D function, a field program. You set the agenda, defend the budget, hire and keep scientists, and decide which lines of work continue. You read enough of every project to judge it, and you stop doing the bench work yourself.
Updated
Typical Pay (US)*
$157kmedian*Outlook
Steady R&D investment supports above-average growth for a small, highly-credentialed cohort; strategic scientific judgment is hard to automate.
What does a Science R&D Manager do?
You run a research group — a lab, an R&D function, a field program. You set the agenda, defend the budget, hire and keep scientists, and decide which lines of work continue. You read enough of every project to judge it, and you stop doing the bench work yourself.
A day in the life
- Review a postdoc's data and decide whether the result is real.
- Defend next year's headcount to a VP who reads no chemistry.
- Sit on a portfolio review and kill one promising project.
- Recruit a specialist your competitor is also calling this week.
- Read two manuscripts, a safety report, and a vendor contract.
How to become a Science R&D Manager
- 1
Go deep in one science
A PhD, or a master's plus years of results, is the entry ticket.
- 2
Publish or ship
A record others cite is what makes senior scientists accept your judgment.
- 3
Lead a project before a team
Run a study, own a milestone, mentor a junior. Management starts informally.
- 4
Learn budgets, grants, and people
Funding cycles, headcount, and performance conversations are the actual daily work.
- 5
Move up inside a lab
Group leader, then department head. These roles almost never hire from outside.
Skills that matter
Learn the actual skills
Mochivia teaches in short, interactive lessons on iPhone, a few minutes a day.
