Director of research with 17 years in agricultural biotechnology, leading a 40-person R&D organization developing biological crop inputs. Brought five products to market that now generate $65M in annual revenue. Brings portfolio strategy, regulatory experience with EPA and USDA, and a record of building teams that deliver on stage-gate timelines.
Experience
Director of Research, Fieldmark Biosciences (St. Louis, MO)
Mar 2020 – Present
Lead 40 scientists across microbiology, formulation and field trials with an $11M annual R&D budget
Launched 3 microbial biostimulants through EPA and state registration, adding $28M in revenue by 2025
Rebuilt the stage-gate process with commercial and regulatory teams, cutting discovery-to-launch time from 7 to 5 years
Research Manager, Plant Microbiome, Prairie Crop Sciences (Research Triangle Park, NC)
May 2014 – Feb 2020
Built a microbial strain library of 30,000 isolates and the screening pipeline that yielded 2 commercial products
Managed 12 scientists and 300+ field trial sites per season across 9 states
Senior Scientist, Prairie Crop Sciences (Research Triangle Park, NC)
Aug 2009 – Apr 2014
Developed greenhouse assays for nitrogen-fixing bacteria and co-authored 6 patents
Education
Ph.D. Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University (Aug 2004 – Aug 2009)
B.S. Agronomy, Iowa State University (Aug 2000 – May 2004)
Skills
Science: plant microbiome, microbial fermentation, formulation, field trial design
Regulatory: EPA FIFRA registration, USDA APHIS, state fertilizer registrations
A strong Director of Research resume shows the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Show the organization you ran (team size, budget, revenue) and the business results you are accountable for.
Sections, in order
Summary
Experience
Education
Projects
Skills
Certifications
Length: Two pages are common for leadership roles; keep the first page strong enough to stand alone.
Summary: Lead with your leadership scope and the business outcomes you are known for.
Skills to feature
Experimental design
Laboratory techniques and instrumentation
Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism)
Data integrity (ALCOA+)
GLP and GMP compliance
Method development and validation
Scientific writing and publishing
Grant writing
Literature review
Cross-functional collaboration
Example bullet points
Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%
Co-authored 5 peer-reviewed papers, including a first-author study in Journal of Biological Chemistry cited 60+ times
Wrote the preliminary-data section of an NIH R01 renewal that secured $2.4M over five years
Tips from recruiters
Name the techniques, instruments and software you used hands-on (qPCR, HPLC, flow cytometry, ImageJ) because hiring managers screen for exact methods.
List publications, posters and patents in a short selected list and link to ORCID or Google Scholar rather than pasting a full CV.
For industry roles, translate research into outcomes such as programs advanced, methods transferred or batches released, not only papers.
Recommended templates
Academic (ATS-friendly): Scholarly CV with small-caps headings and rules
Classic (ATS-friendly): Jake's-style LaTeX classic: small caps and hairline rules
Ivy (ATS-friendly): Harvard-style Times layout with centered headings
Director of Research resume FAQ
What should a Director of Research resume include?
A Director of Research resume should show the questions you investigated, the methods and instruments you mastered, and the data, publications or products your work produced. Use these sections in this order: Summary, Experience, Education, Projects, Skills and Certifications. Show the organization you ran (team size, budget, revenue) and the business results you are accountable for.
What is the best resume template for a Director of Research?
Academic, Classic and Ivy work well for Director of Research roles. They are single-column with standard headings, so applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse them reliably.
How long should a Director of Research resume be?
Two pages are common for leadership roles; keep the first page strong enough to stand alone.
Which skills should a Director of Research put on a resume?
Prioritize the skills named in the job posting. Common ones for Director of Research roles are Experimental design, Laboratory techniques and instrumentation, Statistical analysis (R, Python, GraphPad Prism), Data integrity (ALCOA+), GLP and GMP compliance and Method development and validation.
How do I write strong Director of Research resume bullet points?
Start with an action verb, say what you did, and end with a measurable result such as assay throughput, method precision (CV%) and turnaround time. For example: "Developed an LC-MS/MS method for 14 metabolites with under 6% CV, replacing two legacy assays and cutting run time by 40%."