Senior Biostatistician

General role description

Senior Biostatisticians use advanced statistical skills to support research projects in healthcare, clinical trials, or public health. They help plan how studies are designed, analyse complex data, and make sure the results are accurate and clearly reported. These roles are important in making sure research findings are reliable and useful. Senior Biostatisticians often work with doctors, researchers, and other scientists, and often mentor junior staff.

Key tasks and responsibilities

  • Develop plans for analysing data and help design research studies
  • Analyse data and help interpret results from clinical, public health, or lab-based research
  • Work closely with research and clinical teams to provide statistical input
  • Contribute to reports, publications, and sharing research findings
  • Support or supervise junior statisticians or research staff
  • Use statistical software such as R, SAS, or Stata to complete analyses

Workplace settings

  • Universities and Medical research institutes
  • Government public health organisations
  • Healthcare organisations
  • Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industry
  • Contract Research Organisations

Required qualifications

  • Most roles require a Master’s degree in biostatistics, statistics, or a related quantitative field
  • Some roles may prefer candidates with a PhD, particularly for more research-intensive or leadership-focused positions

Other notable requirements

Most roles require:

  • Experience working on clinical trials or public health research
  • Proficiency in statistical software such as R or SAS
  • Demonstrated ability to develop statistical analysis plans and reports
  • Strong leadership and project coordination skills
  • Experience working within multidisciplinary research teams on complex or long-term projects

Common next roles

Principal Biostatistician (a senior technical expert role leading complex statistical work; operates at the same level as a Manager but without formal people or resource management duties)

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