Head of Research Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Head of Research roles qualify as specialty occupations under H-1B visa, requiring a directly related advanced degree in a field like economics, public policy, or life sciences. Employers file a Labor Condition Application before sponsorship begins, and many research-intensive organizations have established PERM pipelines for permanent residence.
Find Head of Research JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 55+ Head of Research jobs
See all 55+ Head of Research Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Head of Research roles.
Get Access To All JobsWhat we offer
At Evonik, you’re part of a global chemical company working in many sectors that go beyond chemistry. From lipids for tomorrow’s medicines, biosurfactants for green detergents, additives for plastics recycling or membranes to help drive forward the energy transition, you’ll play an essential part in helping the world’s most essential industries succeed.
Our success hinges on a diversity of ideas powered by people, not egos. Whether you’re a scientist or engineer, new to the team or established, in business, production, or anything in between – we cheer each other on. Because we believe we can do anything. Explore everything. And Be Part of Something Special!
Find out more about the many benefits we offer:
https://www.evonik.com/en/careers/why.html
Meet the team and get to know the people behind Evonik:
https://www.evonik.com/en/news/meet-the-team.html
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Head of Applied Research & Technology for Decorative Coatings - Americas leads market-oriented innovation and application technology activities for the Decorative Coatings market segment across the region.
This role is responsible for the regional ART team, innovation portfolio, technical customer support, and coordination of ART resources across the Americas. The position works closely with commercial and technical teams to identify customer opportunities, translate market needs into projects, and support execution of the Decorative Coatings and Business Line Coating Additives strategy.
- Lead market-oriented innovation and Applied Research & Technology activities for Decorative Coatings across the Americas.
- Lead and develop the regional ART team, including career development, succession planning, technical capability building, and resource coordination.
- Manage the regional ART budget and support effective allocation of resources across technical managers, team members, and regional laboratories.
- Oversee efficient networking and operation of regional laboratories, including collaboration across market segments.
- Develop and manage the regional Decorative Coatings innovation portfolio while advancing product knowledge, technical competence, and application expertise.
- Provide high-level technical support to key accounts, coordinated accounts, regional champions, essential local accounts, and distribution partners.
- Identify and realize customer projects, Technical Service Requests, and new opportunities in close partnership with commercial teams.
- Support execution of the Business Line Coating Additives and Decorative Coatings strategy across the Americas.
- Maintain responsibility for applicable laboratory safety and compliance requirements for Decorative Coatings ART activities in the region.
- Represent Decorative Coatings at conferences, exhibitions, seminars, trainings, and other key technical or customer events, while promoting regional and international knowledge sharing.
REQUIREMENTS
- Master's degree or PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the coatings industry highly preferred.
- Strong technical knowledge of coatings applications and application technology.
- Experience working directly with customers, including customer visits, technical discussions, and identifying technical or business needs.
- Experience translating customer and market needs into innovation projects, technical priorities, or development opportunities.
- Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple technical, customer, and innovation activities.
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, develop, and provide direction to a technical team.
- Sufficient technical experience and credibility to serve as a resource for experienced technical colleagues and team members.
- Strong communication and presentation skills for both internal and external technical audiences.
- Ability to work effectively across functions, regions, market segments, and multicultural teams.
- Willingness to travel a minimum of approximately 25%, with additional travel possible based on customer and business needs.
The Evonik Group adopts an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) approach. Candidates are assessed based on their educational qualifications, experience, job competencies and potential and shall not be discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, nationality, disability or sexual orientation or other classifications protected by local, state, or provincial regulations.
Your Application
To ensure that your application is proceeded as quickly as possible and to protect the environment, please apply online via our careers portal. Further information about Evonik as Employer can be found at www.evonik.com/en/careers.html.
Please address your application to the Talent Acquisition Manager, stating your earliest possible starting date and your salary expectations.
Your Talent Acquisition Manager:
Kelvin Seals
Company is
Evonik Corporation
What we offer
At Evonik, you’re part of a global chemical company working in many sectors that go beyond chemistry. From lipids for tomorrow’s medicines, biosurfactants for green detergents, additives for plastics recycling or membranes to help drive forward the energy transition, you’ll play an essential part in helping the world’s most essential industries succeed.
Our success hinges on a diversity of ideas powered by people, not egos. Whether you’re a scientist or engineer, new to the team or established, in business, production, or anything in between – we cheer each other on. Because we believe we can do anything. Explore everything. And Be Part of Something Special!
Find out more about the many benefits we offer:
https://www.evonik.com/en/careers/why.html
Meet the team and get to know the people behind Evonik:
https://www.evonik.com/en/news/meet-the-team.html
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Head of Applied Research & Technology for Decorative Coatings - Americas leads market-oriented innovation and application technology activities for the Decorative Coatings market segment across the region.
This role is responsible for the regional ART team, innovation portfolio, technical customer support, and coordination of ART resources across the Americas. The position works closely with commercial and technical teams to identify customer opportunities, translate market needs into projects, and support execution of the Decorative Coatings and Business Line Coating Additives strategy.
- Lead market-oriented innovation and Applied Research & Technology activities for Decorative Coatings across the Americas.
- Lead and develop the regional ART team, including career development, succession planning, technical capability building, and resource coordination.
- Manage the regional ART budget and support effective allocation of resources across technical managers, team members, and regional laboratories.
- Oversee efficient networking and operation of regional laboratories, including collaboration across market segments.
- Develop and manage the regional Decorative Coatings innovation portfolio while advancing product knowledge, technical competence, and application expertise.
- Provide high-level technical support to key accounts, coordinated accounts, regional champions, essential local accounts, and distribution partners.
- Identify and realize customer projects, Technical Service Requests, and new opportunities in close partnership with commercial teams.
- Support execution of the Business Line Coating Additives and Decorative Coatings strategy across the Americas.
- Maintain responsibility for applicable laboratory safety and compliance requirements for Decorative Coatings ART activities in the region.
- Represent Decorative Coatings at conferences, exhibitions, seminars, trainings, and other key technical or customer events, while promoting regional and international knowledge sharing.
REQUIREMENTS
- Master's degree or PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field.
- Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the coatings industry highly preferred.
- Strong technical knowledge of coatings applications and application technology.
- Experience working directly with customers, including customer visits, technical discussions, and identifying technical or business needs.
- Experience translating customer and market needs into innovation projects, technical priorities, or development opportunities.
- Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple technical, customer, and innovation activities.
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, develop, and provide direction to a technical team.
- Sufficient technical experience and credibility to serve as a resource for experienced technical colleagues and team members.
- Strong communication and presentation skills for both internal and external technical audiences.
- Ability to work effectively across functions, regions, market segments, and multicultural teams.
- Willingness to travel a minimum of approximately 25%, with additional travel possible based on customer and business needs.
The Evonik Group adopts an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) approach. Candidates are assessed based on their educational qualifications, experience, job competencies and potential and shall not be discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, nationality, disability or sexual orientation or other classifications protected by local, state, or provincial regulations.
Your Application
To ensure that your application is proceeded as quickly as possible and to protect the environment, please apply online via our careers portal. Further information about Evonik as Employer can be found at www.evonik.com/en/careers.html.
Please address your application to the Talent Acquisition Manager, stating your earliest possible starting date and your salary expectations.
Your Talent Acquisition Manager:
Kelvin Seals
Company is
Evonik Corporation
See all 55+ Head of Research Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Head of Research roles.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Head of Research Jobs
Frame your research leadership as specialty occupation
USCIS scrutinizes whether a Head of Research role genuinely requires a specific advanced degree, not just any bachelor's. Document that your position demands domain-specific expertise, such as epidemiology or behavioral economics, not general management skills.
Target employers with active LCA filing history
Use Migrate Mate to identify organizations that have filed Labor Condition Applications for research director-level roles. This confirms the employer has an established sponsorship process rather than navigating it for the first time on your behalf.
Verify your prevailing wage tier before negotiations
Head of Research positions typically fall at Level III or IV on the OFLC Wage Search. Know your tier before receiving an offer so you can confirm the employer's proposed salary meets DOL's certified prevailing wage requirement for your location.
Distinguish your doctorate from a general PhD on your CV
Research leadership roles at universities, think tanks, and biotech firms often require a PhD in a narrowly defined discipline. Your CV should explicitly connect your doctoral specialization to the organization's research agenda, not just list degree credentials generically.
Anticipate PERM timeline conflicts with contract renewals
If your employer initiates a PERM labor certification for permanent residence, the process typically takes one to two years before an I-140 petition is filed. Align your H-1B extension timeline with this process so your status doesn't lapse during PERM adjudication.
Prepare a research portfolio that maps to O*NET task definitions
O*NET defines core tasks for research director occupations. Structuring your portfolio around those defined competencies, such as designing studies, overseeing publications, and managing research staff, strengthens the specialty occupation case in your I-129 petition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Head of Research role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
Yes, provided the employer can demonstrate the role normally requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific field directly related to the work. A Head of Research position in clinical trials, for example, typically requires a degree in life sciences or medicine. USCIS will look at the job duties, not just the title, to confirm the specialty occupation standard is met.
Which visa types are realistic for a Head of Research candidate without an advanced degree?
H-1B remains viable if you hold a relevant bachelor's degree, though USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence for senior research roles that appear to demand graduate-level credentials. TN visa status is available to Canadian and Mexican nationals if the role fits a listed USMCA profession such as scientific technician or economist. O-1A is worth exploring if you have documented recognition in your research field, since it bypasses the H-1B lottery entirely.
How do I find employers who actively sponsor Head of Research positions?
Migrate Mate lists employers with verified LCA sponsorship history, searchable by role and location, so you can focus on organizations that have already sponsored research leadership positions rather than approaching employers who have no established immigration process.
Does a foreign research credential count toward the specialty occupation requirement?
USCIS accepts foreign degrees if they are evaluated as equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree or higher in the relevant field. You'll need a credential evaluation from a recognized service. A three-year Australian or Canadian bachelor's degree in a directly related discipline is generally accepted as equivalent to a four-year U.S. degree for H-1B purposes.
Can a nonprofit research institute or university sponsor a Head of Research on H-1B without entering the lottery?
Yes. Institutions of higher education and affiliated nonprofit research organizations are cap-exempt, meaning they can file H-1B petitions at any time of year without entering the annual lottery. This makes academic medical centers, university-affiliated research institutes, and government research entities particularly attractive employers for research leadership candidates who want to avoid lottery uncertainty.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Head of Research jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.