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Director Of Science Jobs in Silver Spring, MD (NOW HIRING)

Centurion

Director of Operations (82928)

Baltimore, MD · On-site

The Director of Operations assists the Vice President of Operations in overseeing and managing the ... Minimum Bachelor's Degree (Master's Degree preferred) in Health Sciences, Social Science, Program ...

New

HiddenLayer

Director of Engineering

Washington, DC · On-site +1

Director of Engineering Remote [within the US] ABOUT THE ROLE: The Engineering Director is ... Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; Master's degree preferred ...

Scout Space

Director of Engineering

Reston, VA · On-site +1

Scout Space is seeking a mission-driven Director of Engineering to lead the execution, growth, and ... Science, or related technical field * 10+ years of experience in aerospace, defense, or related ...

Scout Space

Director of Engineering

Reston, VA · On-site

Scout Space is seeking a mission-driven Director of Engineering to lead the execution, growth, and ... Science, or related technical field * 10+ years of experience in aerospace, defense, or related ...

Scout Space

Director of Engineering

Reston, VA

Scout Space is seeking a mission-driven Director of Engineering to lead the execution, growth, and ... Science, or related technical field * 10+ years of experience in aerospace, defense, or related ...

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Showing results 21-40

All JobsOf Science JobsDirector Of Science JobsDirector Of Science Jobs in Silver Spring, MD

Director Of Science information

See Silver Spring, MD salary details

$83.2K

$115.7K

$148.9K

How much do director of science jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 5, 2026, the average yearly pay for director of science in Silver Spring, MD is $115,655.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $101,300.00 and $129,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a director of science?

A Director of Science is a senior leader responsible for overseeing scientific research, strategy, and operations within an organization. They manage research teams, develop scientific initiatives, and ensure projects align with the organization's goals. Their duties often include setting research priorities, securing funding, fostering innovation, and maintaining compliance with ethical and regulatory standards. Directors of Science also facilitate communication between scientists and executive leadership, helping translate complex scientific findings into actionable business strategies.

What are some common challenges faced by a director of science, and how can candidates prepare for them?

Directors of Science often navigate the challenge of balancing administrative duties with scientific leadership, such as managing budgets, overseeing multiple research projects, and ensuring regulatory compliance. They are also responsible for fostering collaboration among diverse teams of scientists and stakeholders, which can require strong communication and conflict resolution skills. To prepare, candidates should develop a solid foundation in both scientific expertise and organizational management, and seek opportunities to lead interdisciplinary initiatives. Staying current with advancements in their field and building effective mentorship practices are also essential for long-term success in this role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a director of science, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Director of Science, you need advanced expertise in scientific research, project management, and leadership, typically supported by a PhD or equivalent experience in a relevant scientific field. Familiarity with data analysis software, laboratory management systems, and regulatory compliance standards is often required. Exceptional communication, strategic thinking, and team-building skills help drive innovation and align scientific objectives with organizational goals. These abilities ensure effective oversight of research initiatives, resource allocation, and the achievement of impactful scientific outcomes.

What is the difference between Director Of Science vs Research Scientist?

AspectDirector Of ScienceResearch Scientist
CredentialsAdvanced degrees (PhD), leadership experienceTypically PhD or Master's in relevant field
Work EnvironmentLeadership, strategic planning, team managementHands-on research, experimentation, data analysis
Employer & Industry UsageResearch institutions, corporations, biotech firmsUniversities, research labs, R&D departments
Search & Comparison IntentLeadership roles, strategic research directionTechnical research, experimental work

The main difference is that the Director Of Science oversees research strategies and manages teams, while Research Scientists focus on conducting experiments and technical research. The Director Of Science has a broader leadership role, often requiring management experience, whereas Research Scientists are more hands-on with scientific work.

What does a director of science do?

A director of science oversees scientific research and development within an organization, setting strategic goals, managing research teams, and ensuring projects align with business objectives. They often coordinate with other departments, review data, and may require expertise in specific scientific fields and leadership skills.

What job categories do people searching Director Of Science jobs in Silver Spring, MD look for?

The top searched job categories for Director Of Science jobs in Silver Spring, MD are:

What cities near Silver Spring, MD are hiring for Director Of Science jobs?

Cities near Silver Spring, MD with the most Director Of Science job openings:

Director Of Science jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Of Science job openings in Silver Spring, MD as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 76% Full Time, 20% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 78% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 19% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $115,742 per year, or $55.6 per hour.

Director of Payroll

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

Chevy Chase, MD • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Retirement

Re-posted 23 days ago

Key responsibilities

  • Redesigns the payroll process from first principles, identifying and improving manual, error-prone, or unexamined steps.

  • Owns the payroll function end to end, ensuring accurate, on-time, and compliant pay across all populations and jurisdictions, including foreign nationals.

  • Leads the payroll team, setting direction, developing skills, and managing change to support a more automated and efficient payroll operation.

Job description

Primary Work Address: 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815
Current HHMI Employees, click here to apply via your Workday account.
HHMI is focused on supporting and moving science forward in a variety of different ways ranging from conducting basic biomedical research, empowering educators, inspiring students, developing the next generation of scientists - even stretching into film and media production. Our Headquarters is in the greater Washington, DC metro area and is home to over 300 employees with expertise in investments, communications, digital production, biomedical sciences, and everything in between. The work housed here supports and augments the groundbreaking research conducted in HHMI labs across the nation. As HHMI scientists continue to push boundaries in laboratories and classrooms, you can be sure that your contributions while working here are making a difference.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute is one of the nation's largest private biomedical research philanthropies, employing roughly 2,600 people across three distinct populations: headquarters staff in Chevy Chase, Maryland; the Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia; and host-site scientists and staff embedded at more than 100 universities nationwide. HHMI is the employer of record for everyone, owning payroll, benefits, and visa sponsorship directly, which makes payroll a genuinely complex operation spanning multiple states and worker types. The Director of Payroll leads the payroll team and owns the function end to end, from day-to-day accuracy to the systems and processes behind it.
Why This Role Matters
HHMI is not looking for someone to keep the current payroll process running as is. The mandate is to take it apart and rebuild it from first principles into a Workday-native, AI-first operation that reflects the best available technology rather than inherited habit. Where a step survives only because it has always existed, this role is expected to say so, and where a better tool or model exists, to make the case and build toward it. Payroll also sits at the seam between Finance and People & Culture, so the role only works if that partnership holds, with People & Culture trusting this person to get pay right, explain hard tradeoffs plainly, and bring them along on change rather than spring it on them.
What You Will Actually Do
  • Redesigns the payroll process from first principles. Maps how payroll works today by finding what is slow, manual, error-prone, or simply unexamined. Then rebuilds it around best practice. Treats the current process as a starting point to question, not a constraint to preserve.

  • Owns the payroll function end to end, including compliance and controls. Runs accurate, on-time, compliant pay across all HHMI populations, including foreign nationals, and the states and tax jurisdictions in which they work, while leading the payroll team to that standard. Keeps payroll compliant across multi-state tax, wage and hour, foreign national withholding, and reporting obligations, and partners with ADP, which prepares W-2s and remits state payroll taxes. Also builds controls that catch problems early and documents the process, so it does not live in one person's head.

  • Makes Workday do the work. Drives payroll deeper into Workday, including configuration, automation, controls, and reporting. Cut the workarounds and spreadsheets that sit alongside the system and replace them with the system itself.

  • Puts AI to real use. Uses current AI tools to reduce manual effort, catch errors before they reach an employee's paycheck, and free the team for higher-value work. Decides where AI genuinely helps, where it does not, and builds accordingly.

  • Builds customer service into the design. Builds the new process around the people it serves, so employees can get a clear, fast, accurate answer about their pay. Treats responsiveness and accuracy as design goals rather than afterthoughts.

  • Partners with P&C and Science, and briefs executive leadership. Works hand in glove with People & Culture and Science on everything that touches pay, including onboarding, leaves, terminations, comp changes, time keeping, and benefits deductions. Also translates payroll strategy, risk, and tradeoffs into clear terms for the President, the COO, and the General Counsel, bringing recommendations rather than status.

  • Leads the team. Sets direction for the payroll staff, develops their skills toward a more automated operation, and communicates clearly through change, so the team is brought along rather than left behind.

What We Are Looking For
  • Deep payroll expertise. Knows payroll at a level few people do, including multi-state tax, wage and hour, garnishments, off-cycle and retro pay, year-end, and the full mechanics. Has designed payroll processes, not just operated them.

  • Workday command. Knows Workday payroll well enough to redesign around it, including how to configure it, automate it, and stop fighting it. Can tell the difference between a system limitation and a process the organization never bothered to fix.

  • Fluent in current AI. Uses today's AI tools in real work and has opinions about where they help. Can spot the manual steps a model should be doing and is comfortable building toward that.

  • Not bound by the status quo and current on the field. Says so when a step exists only out of habit and is willing to consider and implement change rather than defend the inherited way. Stays current on the best practices, tools, and operating models at the leading edge of payroll, and brings that outside view rather than designing only from what HHMI has done before.

  • Thinks strategically and owns the seam. Sees payroll as a system to be designed, not a task list to be completed, while still getting this Friday's pay run right. When something falls between Finance and P&C, keeps it moving until pay is correct and on time rather than waiting to find out whose job it is.

  • Strong with two audiences and a real partner to P&C and Science. Can go deep with the team on the mechanics and then brief the President, COO, or General Counsel at the right altitude. Treats People & Culture and Science as partners rather than a counterparty, brings them in early, and earns their trust to get pay right.

  • Depth over tenure. HHMI is not counting years for this role. What matters is genuine subject-matter mastery of payroll and payroll process design, real command of Workday, and fluency with current AI tools.

Nice to Have
  • Benefits experience. Experience working with and understanding of benefits, gained from working closely with a benefits team.

What This Role Is Not
  • Not a role for someone who wants to run the existing process well and leave it there. The job is to redesign it.

  • Not a pure compliance or processing role. The mechanics matter, but the point is to rethink how the function works, not just execute it.

  • Not a role for someone who needs the status quo defended. This is not the seat for someone most comfortable when nothing changes.

  • Not a back-office role removed from leadership. This role briefs the President, COO, and General Counsel and partners with P&C leadership directly.

Practical Details
This is a full-time, permanent HHMI position based at headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with a hybrid schedule. The Director of Payroll reports to the Chief Financial Officer and partners closely with People & Culture. Please direct inquiries to the Office of People & Culture.
We encourage qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States to apply.Please note, we are not able to sponsor a visa for this position at this time.
#LI-EG1
Compensation and Benefits
Our employees are compensated from a total rewards perspective in many ways for their contributions to our mission, including competitive pay, exceptional health benefits, retirement plans, time off, and a range of recognition and wellness programs. Visit our Benefits at HHMI site to learn more.
Hiring Pay Range
$185,378.40 - $231,723.00
Pay Type:
Annual
The posted range reflects HHMI's good faith estimate of the anticipated hiring salary range for this role at the time of posting. Actual hiring compensation is determined by a candidate's qualifications, experience, and internal equity.
HHMI is an Equal Opportunity Employer
We use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.

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