Research Titles and Staffing
Research Career Ladder
In an effort to provide various levels of expertise to support the research efforts at Texas A&M, numerous research related career ladders have been developed and are listed below. To help answer researcher personnel questions, contact your local HR Hub teams.
Delegation of Authority / Approval Process
As shown below, the Vice President for Research has delegated a level of hiring compensation authority to the Dean/VP. This authority may be further delegated within the College/School/Division with the Vice President for Research’s written approval. This approval will be on file with the appropriate HR-HUB personnel.
Research Titles Are Moving to TAMU Market
With the adoption of a minimum pay rate for each research title, the previous use of band approvals is no longer needed. Instead, The Dean/VP (or designee) has authority to approve hiring salaries up to a specific dollar amount, as listed below. For example, for a Research Assistant, the Dean/VP (or designee) has authority to approve a hiring salary from $45,000 to $60,517.20, no further approvals are required. However, if a starting salary amount is requested above the $60,517.20, additional approval by the VPR (or designee) is required. To reiterate the Dean/VP may further delegate approval authority, as desired, in order to facilitate the expeditious approval of hiring salaries as early as possible in the position creation/recruiting process.
Note: Hiring salary requests at $180K or greater will be routed to the Vice President for Research for review and approval. This level is not being delegated.
Other Personnel Actions
For other personnel actions related to the positions listed on the research career ladder (promotions, salary increases outside of the budget cycle, etc.), for research positions that are not assigned to a Division of Research supervisory organization (SUPORG), the Vice President for Research has delegated the approval of these actions to Tom Owen. For positions assigned to a Division of Research SUPORG, the Vice President for Research or designee will approve all requests.
Approval Routing
In an effort to streamline the approval process for several actions, HROE has released various forms to obtain the appropriate information and signatures related to a request. Memos should no longer be used. Your HR Hub professional will route these forms to the appropriate person/delegate within the VPR’s Office based on the location of the PIN and the dollar amount associated with the request.
Contact Information
Chantale Deuel
Director, Human Resources Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness Texas A&M University- c-deuel@tamu.edu
- (979) 458-6740
PI Eligibility
As you consider which title is appropriate for your needs, you may wish to review University SAP 15.01.01.M5.01 regarding PI Eligibility.
Hiring Process
This document identifies aspects of the hiring process that are specific to research staff hires. Research hires are often initiated by faculty who may not be familiar with the hiring process and the information provided here highlights the process for these hire types.
** Please note: Due to the time‑sensitive nature of grant funding, HROE has established a protocol under which research hires are processed on a high priority basis.
Job Posting Template
Hiring manager should work with HROE when developing job posting details. The TAMU template provides a strong starting point; please customize it to reflect the specific duties of the position, as well as relevant research, projects, and/or lab activities.
Interview Questions
Hiring supervisors may ask as many interview questions as they deem appropriate. This is a list of example interview questions that are permissible for use when hiring research staff; this list is not exhaustive. If you wish to ask a question that is not included, you are encouraged to consult your HR representative to confirm legal compliance prior to use.
Interview Questions Template
This form is used by hiring supervisors / hiring committees to develop interview questions. Feel free to use template questions or replace with your own questions.
Reference Check Form
Hiring Managers/Faculty who choose to conduct their own reference checks for a research staff hire may do so using this form. The completed form should be submitted to Human Resources as part of the required hiring documentation and retained with the official search records.
Screening Matrix Template
Candidates in this stage have been determined to meet the minimum qualifications of the position for which they applied. All candidates must be evaluated against a common set of criteria to determine their suitability for the next step in the interview process.
Research Technical Support Track
Research Specialist Track
Research Scientist Track
*May allow for equivalency
**If the salary request exceeds the VPR’s authority, both the VPR and the VP-HROE must approve.