Quick answer: a biologist studies living organisms, from microbes to plants and animals, and how they interact with their environment. A strong biologist job description names the specialization, the balance between lab work and field work, the degree required, and the research and communication skills the person will use every week.

Most biologist postings fail in the same way. They list “conduct research” and “analyze data” and stop there, so a molecular biologist, a wildlife biologist, and a quality control scientist all end up applying to the same vague req. What follows is a template you can adapt, plus the details that help the right candidates recognize themselves in it.

What a biologist does

Biologist studies cover how living things grow, reproduce, evolve, and respond to their surroundings. In practice, biologist work falls into three blocks of time: designing and running studies, collecting and analyzing data, and explaining the results to people who need to act on them.

The mix depends heavily on the employer. A biologist at a biotech company can spend most of the week at a bench running assays. A biologist at an environmental consultancy or a state wildlife agency can spend whole seasons outdoors surveying habitats, then months writing reports. Say which of these your role is before a candidate has to guess.

Biologist job description template

Copy this biologist job description into your ATS and replace the bracketed text.

Job title: [Research / Field / Laboratory] Biologist

Location and schedule: [City, onsite / hybrid], [full time / contract], [percentage of time in the field, if any]

About the role: We are hiring a biologist to [design and run studies on X / monitor Y populations / support Z product development]. You will work with [team or partners] and report to [title]. Your findings will feed [regulatory filings / conservation plans / product decisions].

Responsibilities:

• Plan and carry out laboratory experiments or field surveys using accepted scientific methods
• Collect, label, and preserve biological samples from plants and animals, soil, water, or cell cultures
• Analyze data with statistical software such as R, Python, or SPSS, and interpret what the results mean for the project
• Keep accurate lab notebooks and field records that meet [GLP / agency / internal] standards
• Write research proposals, technical reports, and, where relevant, papers for peer reviewed journals
• Present findings to scientists, managers, regulators, or community groups
• Follow safety, permitting, and animal care protocols
• Maintain lab and field equipment and track supplies

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in biology or a related field; a master’s degree or PhD for [independent research / senior] roles
• [0 to 2 / 3 to 5 / 5 or more] years of experience in [lab / field / industry] research
• Hands on experience with [PCR, microscopy, cell culture, species identification, GIS, or other named techniques]
• Working knowledge of statistics and data analysis tools
• Clear written and verbal communication skills
• [Valid driver’s license, ability to hike rough terrain, or ability to lift 40 pounds, if the role is field based]

Nice to have: [publications, specific certifications, a second language used by local partners]

Compensation: [salary range], plus [benefits]. Posting a range usually lifts apply rates and cuts late stage dropoff.

Skills and qualifications

A degree gets a biologist through the door. The skills below decide whether they succeed once they are there.

Technical skills:

• Experimental design, including controls, sample sizes, and replication
• Lab techniques relevant to the role, such as DNA extraction, PCR, chromatography, or tissue culture
• Field methods such as transect surveys, trapping, tagging, and species identification
• Data analysis and visualization, including basic scripting
• Record keeping that holds up in an audit or peer review

Communication skills:

• Writing reports that a non scientist can act on
• Explaining uncertainty honestly without burying the finding
• Presenting to mixed audiences, from lab peers to regulators

Working traits:

• Patience with slow, repetitive protocols
• Attention to detail when a single mislabeled sample can ruin a dataset
• Comfort working alone in the field or as part of a large research team

Entry level vs. senior biologist roles

Treat seniority as a scope question, not only a years question.

An entry level biologist usually holds a bachelor’s degree and has lab courses, an internship, or a season of fieldwork behind them. They run established protocols, collect and log samples, and do first pass data analysis under supervision. Titles include biological technician, research assistant, and associate scientist. Keep entry level requirements realistic: asking for three years of experience plus a master’s degree for a technician role shrinks your pool without improving it.

A mid level biologist designs parts of a study, trains technicians, and writes sections of reports or papers.

A senior biologist or principal investigator sets the research question, secures funding or budget, manages a team, and owns the conclusions. Most have a PhD or deep industry experience and a record of publications or regulatory submissions.

Work environment and specializations

The work environment varies more for biologists than for most scientific roles, so describe it plainly in the posting.

• Laboratory: climate controlled, regular hours, strict safety and contamination protocols
• Field: outdoor work in heat, cold, or rain, irregular hours around animal activity or tides, travel to remote sites
• Office: data analysis, modeling, grant or report writing, meetings with stakeholders

Common specializations and how they tilt the role:

• Molecular and cell biologist: bench heavy, genetics and protein work, common in biotech and pharma
• Microbiologist: studies bacteria, viruses, and fungi for healthcare, food safety, or environmental testing
• Wildlife biologist or zoologist: studies animals in their habitats, often for government agencies or conservation groups
• Botanist or plant biologist: studies plant growth, disease, and ecology, often in agriculture
• Marine biologist: studies ocean organisms, with boat work and diving on some teams
• Ecologist or environmental biologist: studies how plants and animals interact with ecosystems, often for impact assessments

If your biologist job description names one of these, use the specific title in the posting headline. Candidates search by specialization.

For pay benchmarks, check the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, which reports separate figures for microbiologists, zoologists and wildlife biologists, and biological technicians. Pay varies widely by specialization, sector, and region, so compare against the closest match to your role.

How to screen biologist candidates

Resumes in biology look alike. Most list the same techniques, the same software, and the same degree. The difference shows up when you ask candidates to reason through real work.

Screening checklist:

• Ask for a short written summary of a past study: the question, the method, what went wrong, and what they concluded
• Give a small dataset and ask how they would analyze it and what they would flag as unreliable
• Present a protocol with one flaw, such as a missing control, and see whether they catch it
• For field roles, ask how they would adjust a survey plan after a week of bad weather
• Test communication skills directly: ask them to explain a finding in three sentences for a non scientist manager
• Confirm certifications, permits, and licenses before the final round

Structured, skills based assessments make this repeatable across a large applicant pool. With the Glider AI skill assessment software, you can set up open ended video or text questions and score answers against a rubric your hiring team defines, so every candidate is judged on the same criteria. AI interview software from Glider can then run a consistent first round before a hiring manager joins. You can browse ready made tests in the Glider skill test library and adapt them to your role.

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