As biopharma job openings rose this year, opportunities were greatest in Massachusetts and California and in the science/R&D and clinical disciplines, according to BioSpace data. Several other locations and functions have also been going strong.
Biopharma employment opportunities are increasing as the year progresses, based on BioSpace data. Job postings live on the BioSpace website rose 17% from January to August. That’s likely welcome news to those looking for work, especially the unemployed. Roughly 15,000 biopharma professionals could be affected by this year’s made or projected layoffs, including over 14,000 in the first six months, according to BioSpace tallies.
The most employment opportunities have been in the usual U.S. locations and functions. Through the first eight months of 2026, the top two states for jobs live on BioSpace were Massachusetts and California, and the top two disciplines were science/R&D (research and development) and clinical. Those aren’t the only areas going strong, however.
Top 10 states seeking talent
During the first eight months of 2026, major biopharma hubs Massachusetts and California were the only states to top 5,000 jobs live on BioSpace, with Massachusetts nearly hitting 6,000. Still, New Jersey was only about 100 shy of the 5,000 mark, and Illinois was only a few hundred behind that tally.
As to how the two heavy hitters compare to each other, Massachusetts had about 800 more jobs live than California. That wasn’t the case at this time last year. From January through August 2025, California led by a large margin, at 6,021 versus 4,970 for Massachusetts. The year-over-year place swap is due to jobs live on BioSpace for the first eight months of 2026 jumping 19% in Massachusetts and dipping 14% in California.
Of the top 10 states from January to August 2026, seven had year-over-year jumps. The three largest increases were in Pennsylvania (+105%), Texas (+53%) and New Jersey (+49%). There were decreases in Indiana (-31%), California (-14%) and North Carolina (-9%).
For job opportunities in the top 10 states, those posted now on BioSpace include:
- About 400 in Massachusetts at companies including Dyne Therapeutics, Moderna and Sanofi
- Around 800 in California at biopharmas such as Amgen, Eli Lilly and Syner-G BioPharma Group
- Over 300 in New Jersey at companies including Legend Biotech, Novo and Tris Pharma
- More than 300 in Illinois at biopharmas such as AbbVie, CSL and Lundbeck
- Over 200 in Indiana at companies including Amgen, Eli Lilly and Novo
- About 300 in New York at biopharmas such as Protara Therapeutics, Recursion and Regeneron
- Around 150 in North Carolina at companies including Eli Lilly, GRAIL and Novo
- Over 50 in Texas at biopharmas such as Amgen, Eagle Analytical and Regeneron
- About 100 in Pennsylvania at companies including Legend Biotech, Ocugen and Sanofi
- Around 100 in Maryland at biopharmas such as Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Syngene International and United States Pharmacopeia
Additional states with significant opportunities include Florida and Ohio.
Disciplines with the highest demand
During the first eight months of this year, science/R&D and clinical were the only disciplines to top 10,000 jobs live on BioSpace. Science/R&D grabbed the No. 1 spot, edging out clinical by about 4,500. However, manufacturing and production and information technology were also strong, at 9,282 and 8,073 jobs live, respectively.
Eight of the 10 disciplines grew year over year. The two largest increases were in information technology (+32%) and sales and service (+26). Science/R&D and clinical ranked third (+26% each).
Information technology may be seeing a bump due to the growing need for people who can apply data insights throughout a drug’s life cycle. The sales and service increase may be tied to more companies needing commercial roles to support commercialization efforts. That need isn’t only at pharmas. Graig Suvannavejh, managing director and senior biotech and biopharma analyst at Mizuho Securities, recently told BioSpace there is an explosion in new product launches by biotech companies.
Year-over-year decreases among the 10 disciplines were in quality (-17%) and administration (-4%).
Science/R&D was the most in-demand discipline among the top 10 states for jobs live on BioSpace. It ranked first for almost every location. The only exceptions were North Carolina and Texas.
In North Carolina, manufacturing and production took the top spot, reflecting the state’s strong reputation for biopharma manufacturing. In Texas, where the Texas Economic Development Corporation touts the biotech and life sciences industry as extending across areas including commercialization, sales and service was No. 1.
The clinical discipline ranked second in five states and landed in the top five in all 10 states. Manufacturing and production and information technology were also functions in high demand overall. The former landed in the top five for every state, while the latter was in the top five in nine states.
Layoff numbers exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms. To tally the cuts, BioSpace compiles data for known workforce reductions. The number of employees affected is identified or estimated through confirmation from company officials as well as information in company press releases, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices, SEC filings and other media outlets’ reports.
Not all companies disclose downsizing, and some share only the percentage of staff affected. Some biopharmas provide total numbers retrospectively rather than disclosing individual workforce reductions as they happen.
