If you join NIAID as a scientist, administrator, or trainee, you can make a difference and help find new methods of disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to improve health. Read on to learn about NIAID, find vacancy announcements, and get tips on the unique government job application process.
Get to Know NIAID’s Organization and Staff
Start by exploring the NIAID Careers section of our website. Life at NIAID includes testimonials from staff about working here, benefit information, and much more. NIAID Role in Research summarizes our fulfilling mission, accomplishments, and areas of science. We offer Research Training at NIAID for candidates from high school through postdoctoral levels.
NIAID’s Organization structure includes multiple divisions, offices, and functional groups. As a quick summary:
- The Office of the Director provides scientific leadership, policy guidance, and overall coordination for NIAID.
- Four divisions direct and manage grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements at external academic and research institutions. We call this external research “extramural.”
- Three divisions conduct studies and clinical investigations in laboratories at NIAID, known as “intramural” research.
Different Roles at NIAID and NIH
While many NIAID careers require expertise specific to our area of science, other positions don’t require an advanced or scientific degree.
Many Jobs at NIH have similar titles and functional roles across NIH’s many institutes and centers (ICs). Find descriptions of typical positions by category:
- Scientific Careers—Health science administrators (program officers or scientific review officers), extramural medical officers, nurse researchers, physician-scientists, intramural clinical and basic researchers, and data scientists.
- Executive Careers—Senior- and executive-level positions such as IC directors and deputy directors.
- Administrative Careers—Grants management specialists, contract specialists, administrative officers, budget and program analysts, and facilities support staff.
Find Vacancy Announcements
NIAID Career Opportunities is your best source to see all our current career opportunities. It’s also the only place to find certain intramural laboratory positions.
The list at NIAID Career Opportunities can change daily; we advise you to Subscribe for NIAID Email Updates and choose the “NIAID Careers” category in the About Us section. You can also follow @NIAIDcareers on Twitter, NIAID on LinkedIn, or our Facebook account.
Each NIAID vacancy announcement links to details and specifies your application method:
- For some intramural laboratory announcements, you must apply by email.
- For all other intramural and extramural vacancies, apply through the USAjobs.gov link. (Learn more about USAjobs.gov below.)
You should also consider current and upcoming vacancy announcements at NIH Global Recruitment. “Global” means NIH-wide in this context. NIAID and the other ICs may choose relevant candidates from NIH’s global list of applicants.
Apply or Search at USAJOBS
For most U.S. federal government vacancies, you must use USAJOBS. Learn How does the application process work? and know How to see your application and job status. Before you apply, we encourage you to check NIAID’s advice at the end of this article.
Although we still recommend that you use NIAID Career Opportunities as your primary source to locate our listings, USAJOBS offers many search and filter functions. Get an overview of How to search using filters and How to search by your preferences for work location, schedule, travel, and more.
To check vacancies for a certain type of work, consider searching USAJOBS by series, i.e., unique numbers that identify job occupations and categories. How to filter results by series covers the major numeric groups.
Your USAJOBS search results will vary daily, only showing NIAID results when we have vacancies posted. Follow instructions at How to save a search to create custom queries and sign up for email notifications.
NIAID Advice for Job Seekers
To aid your quest to get hired, NIAID shares extensive Application Tips, including links to videos and other guidance. Here are just a few examples:
- NIH Federal Resume Tips and other Information for Applicants
- USAJOBS videos on How to Apply for Federal Jobs and Five Tips for Communicating Your Qualifications
- Three Steps to Get Referred to the Selecting Official for Government Jobs Using USAJOBS
If you have any questions about NIAID Careers, hiring, or postdoctoral opportunities, Contact Us for Information About Joining NIAID.