How To Become A Process Development Scientist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a process development scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Lisa Cuchara Ph.D.

Process development scientists are specialists who take up the role of process development within their organization. As such, they play an integral part in the laboratory team, which can and always has an effect on the work of others.

The duties of a process development scientist can vary considerably depending on the area in which they work and may also vary within the sciences. However, in general, process development scientists can be responsible for planning, integrating, improving, and tracking different systems within their organization. They are most commonly involved in the manufacture of protein drugs from living biological processes, both on a small and large scale. Drawing from engineering and life science theories, experts in this field often work on scaling up drug compounds to commercial manufacture while staying in compliance with regulatory policies.

Like other occupations, a varied range of skills is required to be successful as a process development scientist. These skills often include knowledge of the basic principles of engineering since they are crucial to any scale-up operation and to the large-scale manufacturing of drug products. As far as formal education is concerned, these positions often include a Ph.D., but a Master's or Bachelor's degree in any of the topical fields would suffice.

What general advice would you give to a Process Development Scientist?

Lisa Cuchara Ph.D.

Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Quinnipiac University

Practice both public speaking (presentations, journal clubs, research meetings) as much as possible and also practice "elevator speeches".

Do more than the minimum. Is there a conference you can present at, a journal club you can be involved in, an ASM branch or student chapter to participate in.

ScoreProcess Development ScientistUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $101,098

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.3

Growth Rate 17%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 26.43%

Black or African American 6.32%

Hispanic or Latino 9.55%

Unknown 4.09%

White 53.47%

Gender

female 32.06%

male 67.94%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.7

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a process development scientist

Explore process development scientist education requirements

Most common process development scientist degrees

Bachelor's

66.7 %

Master's

18.5 %

Doctorate

13.3 %

Start to develop specific process development scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
GMP	10.06%
Data Analysis	6.80%
Technical Reports	5.68%
Harvest	4.77%
CMC	3.17%

Complete relevant process development scientist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New process development scientists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a process development scientist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real process development scientist resumes.

Research process development scientist duties and responsibilities

Lead development of ELISA microplate assay for Cardiolipin antibodies
Improve the cell culture harvest titer without compromising the product quality requirements.
Execute experiments under FDA, GMP, and GLP standards in order to develop next gen processing and manufacturing procedures.
Review CMC sections of IND/BLA documents.

Prepare your process development scientist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your process development scientist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a process development scientist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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Apply for process development scientist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a process development scientist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average process development scientist salary

The average Process Development Scientist salary in the United States is $101,098 per year or $49 per hour. Process development scientist salaries range between $74,000 and $138,000 per year.

Average Process Development Scientist Salary

$101,098 Yearly

$48.60 hourly