Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) | Diversity Employer

As a nonprofit research organization and philanthropy, HHMI’s mission is to advance the discovery and sharing of scientific knowledge to benefit us all. We employ scientists, provide research and education grants, offer free classroom resources, and share stories of science with audiences worldwide. Across all our work, we encourage talented scientists, educators, and students to stay curious, pursue tough scientific questions, and contribute to making science more inclusive.

HHMI places big bets on excellent scientists – giving them generous resources and letting them decide what to study. We believe this unusual “people, not projects” approach is the surest path to new knowledge. Our scientists open doors to research fields, treatments, and a better future for all of us.

Your place, your space

• Invest in people, not projects: People, not projects, are at our core. We make a lasting investment in our people, empowering them with the tools, training, and development to flourish and do meaningful work.
• Learn continuously: Take a scientist’s approach to your work. Get curious and brave when solving problems – test, tweak, and iterate to find the best solution, even if that means a fail along the way.
• Be your authentic self: When you come to work, bring your uniqueness with you. Diversity can add to our creativity. We want to foster environments in which we all feel we belong.
• Be mission-driven: We are led by scientists, not a CEO. We care about the long-term impact HHMI has on the world, not short-term problems or profits.
• Personalize your benefit options: We’re all about choice. Our options for medical insurance, retirement plans, and wellness programs set you up to make the best decisions for you and your family’s individual needs.
• Work in beautiful spaces: At headquarters and Janelia, we provide space for collaboration and interaction beyond your office – sunlit rooms, artwork, beautiful grounds, gyms with classes, snacks, and, of course, smart people and innovative work all around.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We work to increase racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in academic science and to create environments in which everyone can thrive.

For more than 30 years, HHMI has supported talented students from underrepresented backgrounds through our science education programs. More recently, we’ve expanded our support to postdoctoral researchers and early career, independent faculty. This work continues. Today, we’re placing increased emphasis on the experience of science – the equity and inclusion that enables students and scientists from all backgrounds to thrive. We’re doing this by taking concrete steps toward more consistent and effective mentorship, community, and professional development. We are expanding our efforts to influence an entire career span in academic science. And we are deepening our commitment to equity and inclusion for our administrative employees.

Careers

HHMI is a nonprofit research organization and philanthropy. Our mission is to advance the discovery and sharing of scientific knowledge to benefit us all. We do this by supporting talented scientists, educators, and students – encouraging them to stay curious, pursue tough scientific questions, and contribute to making science more inclusive. Everyone in our community advances our science and education mission. When you work for HHMI, you make a difference. 

In 2021, HHMI expanded our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, pledging $2 billion to promote diversity and to foster environments in which we all can thrive. HHMI is committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining individuals from all backgrounds. We have new equity and inclusion work under way, beginning with research and learning. We’re excited about what we can do together.

Every day, we are looking for candidates at all career stages who want to join our community and help us build the future of science.