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With many groundbreaking discoveries waiting to be made and innovative solutions being developed, the biotechnology industry provides many rewarding career opportunities for individuals who want to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives. So, if you are searching for a job in the field, we have highlighted eight biotechnology careers that are not only in high demand today but are also expected to remain essential in the years to come.
Table of contents
AI specialists in drug discovery
Given the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the biotechnology industry in the last few years, it is no surprise that AI specialists represent a career in high demand right now – a trend that will likely continue into the future, as AI becomes even more involved in all aspects of drug development.
With many companies now incorporating AI into their drug discovery process, it is important to have people who are specialized in knowing exactly how the technology works, so they can streamline the drug development process as much as possible and know how to fix any technical issues that may occur with the AI technology they are using.
Dr. Sheila Gujrathi, a biotech entrepreneur and executive, and co-founder of Biotech CEO Sisterhood, told Labiotech: “By integrating machine learning and deep learning into early-stage R&D [research and development], especially in the fields of protein design and medicinal computational chemistry techniques, these professionals are helping companies reduce time and cost while increasing the probability of success of bringing novel, differentiated candidates forward to the clinic.”
And, as Gideon Ho pointed out to Labiotech in a previous article about using AI in clinical research, people who use AI will ultimately replace people who don’t use AI. “It’s a natural evolution of things,” he said. “If you have new tools and you do not use them, you’re basically rendering yourself obsolete. If it is a good tool, we should use it and embrace it so that we will continue to remain relevant to the industry.”
Regulatory affairs specialists
With the growing sophistication of biotech products, ensuring compliance is critical. This is where regulatory affairs specialists come in; these professionals are ultimately responsible for ensuring that every product their company sells meets relevant government legislation.
“Navigating complex and evolving global regulatory frameworks requires not only scientific fluency but also strategic foresight – especially as novel modalities reach clinical and commercial milestones,” commented Gujrathi.
The key responsibilities for the role include preparing regulatory submissions and leading interactions with regulators, monitoring changes in legislation, guidelines, and industry standards, advising on compliance, and collaborating with Quality Assurance to maintain audit-ready records and implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Natalie Dolphin, managing director of Investor Relations at HLTH Communications, who spoke to some of her clients to provide some feedback, told Labiotech that the reason regulatory affairs specialists are currently in demand is due to the heightened complexity involving areas like cell and gene therapies, digital endpoints, and data privacy. Additionally, tighter timelines mean seasoned regulatory affairs talent is one of the hardest seats to fill.
Gene therapy researchers and scientists
From genetics to virology, biotech researchers have contributed to some of the world’s most pioneering technological advances. As the name suggests, these professionals primarily conduct research, and often specialize in one particular area or type of work. Daily work might include deciding on research methods and objectives, collecting data, analyzing results, creating reports on their research, studying cell cultures and other items relevant to their research, and publishing reports.
As the success of the COVID-19 vaccine helped to highlight the biotech industry’s impact on global healthcare technology and research, demand for experts and researchers across all areas of biotech is now very high.
Amber Penrose, founder of Moxee, a specialized recruitment agency for life sciences startups, said that a specific career currently in high demand within the field is gene therapy research. “These experts are in the limelight for their ground-breaking work in gene therapy, an area showing great promise for treating genetic disorders. Their role is crucial in creating and honing methods to manipulate genes within cells, aiming to cure diseases. The marked rise in clinical trials and regulatory green FDA lights underscores the significance of their expertise.”
Meanwhile, Gujrathi noted that cell and gene therapy scientists in general remain crucial to the biotech industry as we push the boundaries of what is possible in personalized and curative medicine. “From vector engineering to gene editing and manufacturing, these experts are vital to advancing a new generation of treatments across rare disease, oncology, and beyond.”
Bioprocess/MSAT (Manufacturing Science and Technology) engineer
When it comes to bringing new drugs to the market, having a consistent, scalable, and safe manufacturing process is key. Bioprocess/MSAT engineers are the ones who truly make this work, ensuring that all GMP manufacturing processes are crafted and delivered in a compliant and efficient manner. Their work involves designing and scaling reproducible manufacturing processes, transferring tech to CDMOs, ensuring comparability and quality, and troubleshooting production.
According to Dolphin, bioprocess/MSAT engineers specializing in cell and gene therapy manufacturing are in particularly high demand right now. This is because, while cell and gene therapy pipelines continue to expand, manufacturing remains a significant bottleneck; skill shortages in this area, as well as rapid market growth, mean that these hires are critical for companies working in the field.
Manufacturing associates in drug production
Another in-demand manufacturing-based career path is a manufacturing associate, which is essentially an entry-level role that involves handling the production of pharmaceuticals. These professionals work in factories and laboratories, ensuring that products are made to the correct specifications, which is ultimately a crucial role in ensuring that patients receive the treatments they need.
Manufacturing associates also play an important role in troubleshooting any issues that may arise during production, working closely with other team members to identify and resolve any problems. In addition, they also maintain records of all production activities and keep track of any changes that are made to the manufacturing process.
“There’s a growing call for professionals adept at producing pharmaceuticals, particularly those in scarce supply like certain ADHD treatments, GLP-1s, and cell-based therapies,” said Penrose. “Such biotechnology roles offer a degree of job security and a rapid learning curve, with career progression leading to project and program management away from the production floor.”
Computational biologists
Computational biology has become a highly sought-after biotechnology career due to the increasing volume of biological data and the growing need for its analysis in fields like drug discovery and personalized medicine. According to Dolphin, companies are currently upskilling at scale and prioritizing hires who can translate biology into deployable models.
Demand is particularly strong for professionals with expertise in bioinformatics, large-scale data analysis, and machine learning, as well as skills in structured query language and Python. The role itself involves tasks like building models and pipelines to analyze omics data, predicting targets and leads, and optimizing trial design.
To reinforce just how in demand computational biologists are at the moment, the global computational biology market is estimated to increase from $6.6 billion in 2023 to more than $20.5 billion by 2030, and this growth is attributed to the growing demand for predictive modeling from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Microbiologists
Microbiology is becoming an increasingly in-demand biotechnology career due to challenges like antimicrobial resistance and the constant need for disease prevention and control, particularly in sectors like healthcare, pharmaceuticals, food safety, and environmental monitoring.
Essentially, microbiologists aim to answer many important global questions by understanding microbes. Their role is to study microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, and some types of parasites. They then attempt to understand how these organisms live, grow, and interact with their environments. They can then use this knowledge to prevent or treat diseases and develop new technologies.
Many microbiologists work as biomedical scientists in hospitals and laboratories, testing samples of body tissue, blood, and fluids to diagnose infections, monitor treatments, or track disease outbreaks. Some microbiologists work as clinical scientists in hospitals, universities, and medical school laboratories where they carry out research and give scientific advice to medical staff. Meanwhile, other microbiologists work on disease-causing microbes and use the information they find to develop vaccines and improve current treatments.
As Penrose commented, microbiologists’ “ability to pioneer microbiome-focused diagnostic tools and personalized medical treatments is transforming the healthcare landscape…(which is) pretty cool!”
CRISPR-based gene editing scientists
For the last few years, CRISPR gene editing has very much been in the limelight, validated by the first-ever approval in late 2023 of a CRISPR-based gene therapy. The technology is seen to hold significant potential when it comes to developing therapies for a range of different diseases.
The technology allows scientists to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding, or altering sections of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence. As you can imagine, this is an extremely complicated process, meaning there is currently a very high demand for scientists who understand gene editing techniques and are specialized in using CRISPR.
Penrose said: “The FDA’s nod to Casgevy, a therapy developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, has triggered a flurry of recruitment in this niche, revealing a concerning gap between academic training and industry needs. The versatility of CRISPR technology is proving instrumental across various sectors, even in enhancing global food security.”
The biotech job market in 2025: A challenging year so far
It is fair to say that the biotech industry has had another difficult year so far in 2025, as many biotech and pharma companies have resorted to mass layoffs to preserve cash, and several others have even shut their doors because of their struggles. As we mentioned in our article in April, the idea that 2025 would mark a turning point has not materialized for most biotech companies, and that is still true in September. The current market is marked by hiring freezes, intense competition, and a sharp increase in employer expectations. Ultimately, this means that for pharma and biotech professionals, staying competitive requires not only technical skill but also strategic adaptability.
Advancements in antimalarial drug discovery and development
