Science Writer Job Description Template

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Science Writer that will be in charge of producing diverse content directed at our target audience.

You will be working closely with our team of Science Writers on identifying and writing scientific articles backed by stats and hard evidence, including references and scientific sources. Your writing should be accurate and fact-driven but also accessible for a general audience of science enthusiasts.

The chosen candidate will research and draft articles intended for our digital publications, as well as create posts for our social media platforms. This is a remote role, so the ideal candidate must also be open to flexible working hours and able to keep in touch with his colleagues via online channels.

To fully excel in this role, our ideal candidate should be a team player, excellent communicator, and adept at organizational skills. Experience with work management tools like Basecamp and Teamwork is a plus.

Responsibilities:

• Writing research-based content to discuss scientific trends, breakthroughs, and news
• Finding opportunities for interviewing leading local science figures 
• Proofing and applying Editor’s changes before publishing
• Conducting reference searches
• Work with our online team to organize, write, and edit the content on our website
• Researching specialist media and literature, press releases and internal resources

You may also be asked to:

• Occasionally attend scientific conferences and events to learn about scientific breakthroughs
• Visit research establishments
• Plan content calendar with our Content Team Leads and Editors

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Sciences, Journalism, Communications, or English
• At least 4 years experience in science-writing
• Capacity to analyze scientific data and present it in a clear, coherent manner that is understandable to a broader audience
• Capability to coordinate and multitask various activities and prioritize certain tasks to meet deadlines
• A history of taking part in scientific organizations and teams
• Authoring and managing the production of scientific documents 
• Keeping up-to-date on scientific breakthroughs
• The ability to recognize a hot topic and proactively present it to our audience
• Ability to manage deadlines and quality of work with good organizational and interpersonal skills in a diverse team 
• Expertise in Office Suite

Salary Ranges for a Science Writer

Salaries for Science Writers vary wildly based on the candidate’s location, industry, experience, level of education, employment relationship, and the exact scope of requirements.

Here’s how the average annual salary of a Science Writer varies across the top U.S. cities, according to Glassdoor:

How To Customize Your Science Writer Job Ad To Attract Top Talent For Your Company

To create a Science Writer job ad that stands out in the sea of others and attracts highly-qualified candidates, bear in mind the following “three commandments” of a good job ad:

1. Be super-specific when writing your job description
2. Outline your own benefits and compensation plan
3. Detail your company’s core values, mission and goals

You should also be aware of similarly named job titles denoting their own set of requirements and responsibilities. 

• Scientific Writer— A role that consists of a more technical type of reporting on science, usually written in the form of a paper or a study by a scientist for an audience of their peers. Science and Nature publish examples of scientific writing. 

Similar Roles To Science Writer

Check out the table below for job description templates for roles similar to Science Writer. If your company is planning to hire people within similar or related roles, this resource may help you accelerate the process.

• Research Writer
• Research Analyst
• Scientific Editor
• Medical Copywriter
• Medical Writer
• Technical Writer
• Technical Writer and Editor
• Associate Medical Writer
• Medical Writer Remote

Check out our job description templates for every role on your content team.

Our Favorite Science Writer Job Descriptions

Here are some effective science writer job description examples that may help you embellish your job ad:

1. California State University – Science/Research Writer
2. Science Writer – Stanford University School of Medicine
3. Science Writer – Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Learn how to lower your content cost by 50% and hire top talent

How To Hire High-Quality Medicine and Science Content Team Members

Hiring a prolific content writer or editor is never an easy task, but finding candidates who can produce quality content in a medicine or science industry poses an even greater challenge. When you advertise a vacancy in your niche, you’ll always have to deal with the majority of writing applicants being unqualified.

While they can have impressive portfolios and leave a great impression on an interview, no candidate can ace a pre-hire assessment if they’re not qualified for the role. That’s why testing your applicants is a surefire way to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The problem is—the more applicants you have, the more tests you need to send out manually and keep track of each candidate’s progress. Workello is skill assessment software that automates candidate assessment and the entire hiring process in one go. All the information is visible on Workello’s single-page dashboard, and you don’t have to worry about losing a top candidate due to human error. Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for free and set up your hiring funnel in under 3 minutes
2. Post a job ad with a Workello link on various job platforms
3. Watch applications show up in your dashboard
4. Send tests to spot unqualified candidates with great portfolios 
5. Reject, interview, and send offers to candidates directly from your dashboard

Find the Best Candidate in Your Niche With a Smooth Pre-Hire Testing Process

Workello is high-volume recruiting software that helps you move candidates through the funnel effortlessly. You can use the platform to test content writers, technical writers, and copywriters with ease. Create a free account and be the fastest in the business when it comes to pre-employment assessments.