Free Access No Registration Updated: 2026-06-01

Research Associate Career Market Report 2026

623 active jobs. 174 companies. Median salary $78K. Data from Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Ashby, SmartRecruiters, Workable, and 14 additional ATS sources. Last computed: 2026-06-01.

623
Active Job Openings
174
Companies Hiring
$78K
Median Salary (US)
78%
With Salary Data

About This Report

The Research Associate market data on this page is updated daily from 800,000+ active job postings across 20 ATS platforms.

Greenhouse Lever Workday Ashby SmartRecruiters Workable + 14 more ATS sources

Salary: Extracted via NLP. Only USD $5K-$3M included. Skills: Named entity recognition, noise-filtered (generic soft skills excluded). Experience: Inferred from title + description. Coverage: 78% of positions include salary data.

Key Findings

Median salary: $78K in the US

Middle 50% of salaries range from $60K to $141K.

Data Analysis is the most-demanded skill at 23%

R demand rose +8.0pp — fastest-growing skill

Ntu leads hiring with 82 open positions

Biggest salary jump: Entry-Level → Junior (+$11K, +16%)

Salary increase: +$11K · Sample: Entry-Level → Junior

AI automation risk: medium-high (score 70/100)

Score: 70/100 · AI/LLM demand: 34% of postings

Salary by Experience Level

LevelJobsP25MedianP90
Senior34$75K$81K$109K
Junior22$58K$75K$250K
Mid-Level12$55K$78K$90K
Entry-Level8$41K$64K$110K

What jumps out

Entry-Level → Junior: +$11K (16%) — the biggest single-step increase. The salary curve is back-loaded: the largest raises come at transitions where scope changes from executing tasks to owning outcomes, or from owning outcomes to shaping architecture across teams.

Salary by Country

CountryJobsMedianCurrency
United States90$80KUSD
Singapore5$250KUSD
United Kingdom5$47KGBP

Work Mode

ModeShare
On-Site4.3%
Remote2.7%
Hybrid0.3%

~80% of postings do not specify work mode. Figures show only positions where it is explicitly stated.

Top Skills in Demand

Data Analysis
23%
AI/LLM
19%
Python
15%
R
8%
Project Management
7%
CFA
5%
Robotics
4%
MATLAB / Simulink
4%

Skills on the Rise

R ↑+8.0ppRobotics ↑+4.5ppMATLAB / Simulink ↑+4.3pp

Declining in Demand

Attention to Detail ↓-23.6ppSustainability ↓-18.6ppJournalism ↓-18.1ppExcel ↓-15.1ppPatient Care ↓-11.0pp

Top Companies Hiring

CompanyOpeningsShare
Ntu8213.2%
Umiami416.6%
Integratedresources375.9%
Lsu254.0%
Utaustin142.2%
Montefiore101.6%
Modernatx101.6%
Flagshippioneering71.1%

Top Countries by Job Volume

CountryJobs
United States316
Singapore85
United Kingdom20
India10
Remote6
Nigeria4
Australia4
France3

Education Requirements

LevelSharePositions
Master's Degree33.1%162
Associate Degree29.7%145
Bachelor's Degree19.2%94
PhD / Doctorate8.6%42
MBA0.8%4

Certifications

CFA (6%)MBA (3%)

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