At an academic medical center, research university, or biotech, you manage human-subjects and research compliance — supporting IRB submissions, monitoring active studies, training researchers on regulatory requirements, and the operational compliance work that lets research run.
Most weeks tend to mix IRB submission support, study monitoring, researcher training, and the steady cadence of compliance conversations — reviewing IRB protocols for completeness, conducting routine monitoring visits at active studies, training new investigators on human-subjects requirements, fielding questions on protocol amendments. You're often the operational compliance voice that helps researchers stay within regulatory rails. Studies in compliance and protocols approved on time are the operating measures.
The harder part is often the tension between research timelines and compliance review — investigators feel the pressure of grants and publications, and compliance review can feel like a brake. Variance across employers is wide: at major academic medical centers the role runs in deep regulatory teams; at smaller institutions it tilts more generalist.
This role rewards people who are patient educators, comfortable with regulatory text, and able to coach researchers without alienating them. CIP and CCRP credentials anchor advancement. The trade-off is operating as both watchdog and partner to researchers — a balance that requires steady relational work.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Business Operations roles →At an academic medical center, research university, or biotech, you manage human-subjects and research compliance — supporting IRB submissions, monitoring active studies, training researchers on regulatory requirements, and the operational compliance work that lets research run.
Median pay for a Research Compliance Specialist is about $78K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $46K to $130K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Judgment and Decision Making.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 3% through 2034, with roughly 397,770 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Compliance Director, Senior Research Compliance Specialist, and Research Director.
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