Boston, MA · Life sciences hiring guide
Careerscape is a national staffing agency whose recruiters specialize by industry and fill Boston-area roles remotely, from lab scientists to hospital finance teams. Here is what the 2026 data says about life sciences hiring, what the roles pay, and the Massachusetts pay-range and non-compete rules.
Life sciences shape this labor market more than any single number shows. In May 2025, 2.5% of jobs in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro were life, physical and social science occupations, against 0.9% nationally, per BLS wage survey data. When biotech slows, Boston feels it.
It slowed in 2025. MassBio reports that Massachusetts biopharma employment fell 3.1%, about 3,600 jobs, the first annual drop since the state's 2008 Life Sciences Initiative. The cuts were concentrated in R&D, while biomanufacturing added 238 jobs.
2026 looks different on the money side. Massachusetts biopharma companies raised $3.45 billion in venture capital in the first half, up 25% from a year earlier, and eight went public, as many as in 2024 and 2025 combined. But the money went to fewer, larger bets: the average Series A grew to $79.6 million while the average seed round shrank. Some large employers grew anyway. In MassBio's count, Lilly more than doubled its Massachusetts headcount, from 540 to 1,423, and Sanofi, Vertex, Pfizer, Alnylam, AbbVie and Biogen all added staff, while others, led by Moderna, cut back. Lab vacancy, meanwhile, reached roughly 31% statewide by mid-2026.
Hospitals and universities, the other half of Boston's science economy, are under federal pressure. Harvard's federal research revenue fell almost 20% to $506 million in fiscal 2026, and its Faculty of Arts and Sciences began a restructuring with layoffs in July 2026. Even so, education and health services is still the metro's largest sector, and it grew 1.0% over the year to September. For employers, that means more experienced candidates on the market. For job seekers, it means a slower, more selective search, and more contract work.
Careerscape has no Boston office. Our recruiters specialize by industry and work for Boston-area employers and candidates remotely, by phone, video and our portals.
By the numbers
The first two figures are for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro, which includes Rockingham and Strafford counties in New Hampshire. The biopharma figures are statewide for Massachusetts.
Massachusetts pay-range and non-compete rules
Massachusetts regulates two things many states leave alone: the pay range in a job post and the non-compete in an offer letter. Here is how each works as of October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Employers with 25 or more employees whose primary place of work was Massachusetts in the prior year must list a pay range in every job posting. That includes remote roles tied to a Massachusetts worksite. Commission and piece-rate jobs list the expected range.
The annual salary or hourly wage range the employer "reasonably and in good faith" expects to pay at the time of posting. Ranges also go to employees offered a promotion or transfer, and current employees can ask for the range for their own job.
The Attorney General enforces the rule. A first violation brings a warning, a second a fine of up to $500 and a third up to $1,000. Until October 29, 2027, employers get two business days to fix a problem after a notice to cure.
Employers may not ask about a candidate's pay history until after an offer with compensation has been made. With ranges posted up front, the negotiation starts from the job, not the last paycheck.
Under the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act of 2018, a non-compete generally cannot last more than 12 months after employment ends. It must be backed by garden leave, at least 50% of the employee's highest base salary in the past two years paid during the restricted period, or other agreed consideration spelled out in the agreement.
Non-competes cannot be enforced against employees who are non-exempt under federal overtime law, interns and students in short-term jobs, people 18 or younger, or anyone laid off or fired without cause. Hourly, non-exempt lab technicians fall in the first group.
For a new hire, the agreement must be in writing, signed by both sides, state the right to consult a lawyer, and arrive with the formal offer or 10 business days before the start date, whichever is earlier. Non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements are not covered by these limits.
Governor Healey's April 2026 economic development bill proposed tightening the consideration rules. The committee reported the bill without that change, and a Senate amendment to restore it was withdrawn in July, so the 2018 statute stands for now. Federally, the FTC gave up defending its nationwide non-compete ban in September 2025, so the Massachusetts statute is the rule that matters here.
Pay benchmarks
Median annual wages for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Across all jobs, the metro's mean hourly wage was $43.09, against $33.54 nationally.
| Role | Median annual pay | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Software developers | $166,090 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Medical and health services managers | $136,760 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Biochemists and biophysicists | $131,550 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Medical scientists (except epidemiologists) | $129,500 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Bioengineers and biomedical engineers | $128,550 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Registered nurses | $106,180 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Accountants and auditors | $100,150 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
| Biological technicians | $61,610 | BLS OEWS via O*NET OnLine (U.S. DOL), May 2025 |
Medians cover all employers and experience levels; the median for all occupations in the metro was $66,620. These are a good check on the range you post or are offered. For role-level ranges by seniority, see the 2026 Salary Guide.
Where the work is
The federal metro covers Suffolk, Middlesex, Norfolk, Essex and Plymouth counties in Massachusetts plus Rockingham and Strafford in New Hampshire. Life sciences work clusters in a few districts, and they did not all move the same way in 2025.
MIT's neighborhood, on the Red Line at Kendall/MIT. Biogen signed 2025's largest lease, 580,000 square feet in Cambridge, and AstraZeneca has named Kendall Square for a new global strategic R&D center. Cambridge companies drew 47% of the state's biopharma venture dollars in early 2026.
Boston's waterfront office district. Vertex has been headquartered at Fan Pier since 2014 and was reported in 2024 to be renewing its roughly 1.1 million-square-foot lease. Biopharma R&D jobs in Suffolk County (Boston) edged up 1.2% in 2025, while they fell in Middlesex and Norfolk.
Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess, Boston Children's, Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School share this campus. Mass General Brigham, with about 85,000 employees, calls itself the state's largest private employer.
Newer lab districts just west of the city. Watertown companies took 12% of state biopharma venture dollars in early 2026, and Flagship Pioneering and Foghorn Therapeutics leased labs there in 2025. Genentech leased 70,000 square feet in Allston.
Suburban lab and manufacturing space. AbbVie, ImmunoGen and CBSET took labs in Waltham in 2025, and Genezen leased a 103,800-square-foot manufacturing site in Lexington. Middlesex County R&D jobs fell 6.7% that year.
Biomanufacturing jobs in Essex County rose 23.9% in 2025, and Generate:Biomedicines leased lab space in Andover. Rockingham and Strafford counties in New Hampshire are part of the metro data on this page.
Roles we recruit
Careerscape recruits across 25+ industries. For Boston-area employers, we recruit for role families like these, as direct hire, contract or contract-to-hire.
For job seekers
Practical points for scientists, clinicians and operations people searching in Greater Boston in late 2026.
Employers with 25 or more Massachusetts employees must post a range. Compare it with the metro medians above and with the Salary Guide before the first call, and you cannot be asked what you earn today.
If an offer includes one, check the length, the geography and what you get in return. If you are paid hourly and non-exempt, it cannot be enforced against you.
In 2025, biomanufacturing and Suffolk County R&D added jobs while Middlesex County R&D, which includes Cambridge, shrank. Process, quality and manufacturing skills travel well between companies.
When companies are cautious about headcount, contract and contract-to-hire roles often open first. They keep your bench skills current and can convert to permanent jobs.
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