Synthetic Biology Engineer
Impact: Medical breakthroughs and sustainable materials through expert biological systems engineering
Design and engineer biological systems and organisms with novel functions. Apply genetic engineering, metabolic engineering, and computational biology to develop biological solutions for medicine, agriculture, materials, and environmental remediation.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Minimal
- Team vs solo
- 45% Team / 55% Solo
- Client facing
- Rarely
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- 10 to 15% for conferences
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 45 to 60 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $165,000
- Entry-level
- $90,000 - $125,000
- Senior
- $280,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 20% (faster than average)
- Demand
- Growing Fast
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High - 65 to 80% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $0 - $30,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Genetic engineering
- CRISPR
- Metabolic engineering
- Bioinformatics
- Python
- DNA synthesis
- Lab techniques
Soft skills
- Analytical thinking
- Intellectual curiosity
- Creativity
- Attention to detail
- Ethical reasoning
Technical complexity: Very High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- PhD
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 3 to 5 years
- Years to senior
- 8 to 12 years
- Career switching
- Very Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Research Scientist > Synthetic Biology Engineer > Senior Engineer > Principal Scientist > Research Director
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 10% low risk as biological design requires human creativity
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Growing Fast
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 8.8/10
- Meaning
- 9.2/10
- Work-life balance
- 7/10
- Prestige
- 8.5/10
- Social perception
- Very High