top of page
Search

The Growing Demand for Diagnostics and IVD Talent: Trends and Hiring Strategies

The in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and clinical diagnostics sector is one of the fastest-growing segments in life sciences — and one of the most chronically underserved by the recruiting industry. While biotech and pharma attract abundant recruiting attention, diagnostics companies routinely struggle to find qualified candidates for technical, regulatory, and commercial roles.

This article examines why diagnostics and IVD hiring has become so competitive, the specific roles driving demand, and what diagnostics companies should know when building or expanding their recruiting strategy.

Why Diagnostics Talent Is Harder to Find Than It Looks

Diagnostics is a deceptively specialized field. On the surface, many of the titles — VP of R&D, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Senior Scientist — look identical to their pharma or biotech counterparts. In practice, the technical requirements are substantially different.

A regulatory affairs leader who has navigated FDA 510(k) submissions and CE-IVD compliance in Europe is not interchangeable with a counterpart who has built their career in pharmaceutical NDA submissions. An assay development scientist with deep expertise in immunoassays, nucleic acid amplification, or point-of-care platforms is working in a fundamentally different scientific domain than a cell therapy or gene editing researcher.

This specificity creates two compounding hiring challenges:

  1. The talent pool is narrower than it appears. The number of professionals with deep diagnostics expertise — particularly in IVD, clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, or pathology informatics — is genuinely limited.

  2. Generalist recruiters often cannot recognize it. A recruiter without domain knowledge in diagnostics will screen based on surface-level criteria (job title, company pedigree) and miss the specific experience that actually predicts success.

Key Trends Driving IVD and Diagnostics Hiring in 2026


1. Post-Pandemic Infrastructure Investment

COVID-19 accelerated both public and private investment in diagnostics infrastructure. PCR capacity, rapid antigen platforms, and laboratory information systems all received sustained attention — and that investment did not stop with the pandemic. Governments and health systems are now building more resilient diagnostics networks, and companies supplying instruments, reagents, consumables, and software are scaling accordingly.

2. Point-of-Care Expansion

The shift from central laboratory testing to point-of-care (POC) diagnostics is one of the most significant structural trends in the sector. CLIA-waived POC platforms are expanding across physician offices, pharmacies, urgent care centers, and emergency departments. Companies developing and commercializing POC platforms are hiring aggressively across assay development, regulatory, manufacturing, and field applications roles.

3. Digital Pathology and AI Integration

Computational pathology, AI-assisted image analysis, and digital slide platforms are moving from research settings into clinical practice. This is creating demand for a new category of hybrid candidates: professionals with both laboratory science backgrounds and data science or software engineering fluency. These candidates are rare and highly sought-after.

4. Companion Diagnostics Growth

As precision medicine matures in oncology and rare disease, the companion diagnostics market is expanding. CDx development requires close collaboration with pharma partners, unique regulatory pathways (PMA and Breakthrough Device Designation), and commercial teams who understand both the diagnostics and pharmaceutical sides of the business. The talent requirements are specialized, and the market for this expertise is tight.

5. Laboratory Automation and Robotics

Laboratory automation — from pre-analytical sample handling to high-throughput analyzers to total lab automation (TLA) systems — is a sustained growth area. Instrument development, applications, and field service engineering roles are in consistent demand at Siemens Healthineers, Roche Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, and the growing ecosystem of smaller automation companies.

Roles in Highest Demand


Across our work with diagnostics and IVD clients, these are the positions generating the most competitive hiring activity in 2026:


Assay Development Scientists and Managers

Expertise in immunochemistry, nucleic acid testing, clinical chemistry, and hematology is consistently in demand. Senior scientists with platform-agnostic development experience and some regulatory background are particularly valuable.


Regulatory Affairs — IVD and In Vitro Diagnostics

IVD regulatory specialists with 510(k), PMA, and CE-IVD experience are among the most sought-after professionals in the sector. The supply of qualified candidates has not kept pace with the number of products in development.


Clinical and Medical Affairs

As diagnostics companies build out clinical evidence packages and engage key opinion leaders, Medical Science Liaisons and Clinical Affairs directors with diagnostics-specific backgrounds are in growing demand.


Field Applications Specialists and Clinical Specialists

The commercial side of diagnostics requires technically credible field-facing roles. Applications specialists who can train laboratory personnel, troubleshoot instrument performance, and support new account onboarding are essential to commercial execution.


Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance

ISO 13485, 21 CFR Part 820 (and the incoming Part 820 QMS alignment with ISO 13485), and EU IVDR compliance are creating sustained demand for QA and regulatory professionals at all levels.


VP and C-Suite Commercial Leadership

As diagnostics companies mature from development-stage to commercial-stage, senior commercial leaders with diagnostics go-to-market experience become critical hires. The talent pool here is especially concentrated — there are relatively few executives who have successfully commercialized IVD platforms in the US and European markets.

Why Most Recruiting Firms Struggle With Diagnostics


The life sciences recruiting market has expanded significantly over the past decade. Most major life sciences staffing and recruiting firms have built out capabilities in pharma, biotech, and clinical research. Diagnostics and IVD have received far less dedicated attention.


The result is a fragmented market: large generalist firms with thin diagnostics expertise, occasional specialists in narrow niches (e.g., laboratory staffing, pathology), and a gap in the middle for the senior technical and commercial roles where diagnostics companies need the most help.


This is the gap that a diagnostics-focused recruiting partner should fill. The criteria are the same as evaluating any specialized search firm: depth of existing candidate relationships in the specific diagnostic verticals that matter to your business, domain knowledge sufficient to evaluate candidates on scientific and regulatory merit, and a track record of placements in comparable roles.


Our diagnostics recruiting practice is built specifically for IVD, clinical diagnostics, molecular diagnostics, and point-of-care companies. We have existing relationships across assay development, regulatory affairs, clinical affairs, and commercial functions at companies ranging from early-stage diagnostics startups to established in vitro diagnostics platforms.

Hiring Strategies for Diagnostics Companies


Build Your Employer Brand in the Diagnostics Community

The diagnostics talent community is relatively small and well-connected. Word travels. Companies with a reputation for good science, strong leadership, and professional development attract candidates more efficiently than those that rely purely on reactive job postings.

Publishing thought leadership in diagnostics-specific channels, such as AACC (now ADLM) publications, IVD industry conferences, and LinkedIn content targeted to diagnostics professionals, can build awareness among the candidate community before you have an active role.


Invest in Your Employer Value Proposition for Passive Candidates

The strongest candidates in diagnostics are rarely looking. They are employed, productive, and field-specific. Reaching them requires a compelling reason to engage: a meaningful scientific problem, a commercial opportunity with real market potential, and a leadership team with a track record.

Before launching a search for a senior diagnostics hire, clarify what makes your company a compelling next step for a VP who is already successful. Generic messaging about innovation and company culture will not move this audience.


Use Specialists for Senior and Technical Roles

For roles where diagnostics domain knowledge is non-negotiable — regulatory affairs, assay development leadership, senior commercial — a specialist recruiting firm will consistently outperform a generalist. This is not a cost-savings situation: the cost of a mishire or an extended vacancy in a key diagnostics role exceeds the difference in recruiting fees.


Consider Retained Search for VP and Above

Diagnostics VP and C-suite hires typically require a retained executive search engagement. The passive candidate universe for these roles is small, the market is opaque, and confidentiality is often a concern. Contingency approaches for senior diagnostics hires tend to produce lower-quality shortlists and longer time-to-fill.

Learn more about [executive search for life sciences and diagnostics companies](/life-science-recruiters/executive-search-firm).


Do Not Underestimate the Technical Interview

For scientific and regulatory roles in diagnostics, the interview process should include technical depth. A regulatory director candidate should be asked to walk through a specific 510(k) submission they managed — what claims they made, how they structured the performance testing, what questions the FDA raised, and how they responded.

Generalist hiring processes that focus primarily on behavioral competencies often miss critical technical gaps that only become apparent after the hire.

Frequently Asked Questions


What makes IVD recruiting different from biotech or pharma recruiting?

IVD and diagnostics roles require highly specific technical domain knowledge — assay platforms, diagnostic regulatory pathways (510(k), PMA, CE-IVD, EU IVDR), and laboratory quality systems (ISO 13485) that differ substantially from pharmaceutical development and regulatory frameworks. Recruiters who do not know the difference will struggle to qualify candidates accurately.

Is there a talent shortage in diagnostics?

Yes, particularly in regulatory affairs, assay development, and senior commercial functions. The supply of candidates with deep, platform-specific diagnostics expertise has not kept pace with the expansion of the IVD market. This is most acute for roles requiring combined scientific and regulatory expertise, and for POC and companion diagnostics specializations.

How long does it take to fill a diagnostics VP or Director role?

For well-qualified VP and Director candidates in diagnostics, expect a retained search process to produce a hire in 90 to 120 days. Niche specializations — companion diagnostics regulatory leadership, for instance — can take longer. Compressed timelines often mean accepting a less-qualified hire or leaving the role open.

What is the typical fee for a diagnostics executive search?

Retained search fees for VP and C-suite diagnostics roles typically range from 25% to 33% of first-year total cash compensation, billed in installments. The total cost is usually recoverable within weeks of a strong hire taking hold.

Cerca Talent is a specialist recruiting firm serving the areas of diagnostics, IVD, biotech, clinical services, and life sciences sectors. We focus on executive search, retained search, and RPO for companies where domain expertise in recruiting is non-negotiable.

Comments

bottom of page