Research

Capabilities & Insights Analyst - Life Sciences, Research & Development

Job ID: 106976

Join McKinsey’s Life Sciences Intelligence team in Boston to drive impact in clinical development, leveraging analytics, AI, and research expertise.

  • Boston
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Do you want to work on complex and pressing challenges—the kind that bring together curious, ambitious, and determined leaders who strive to become better every day? If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place.

Your Impact

You will work with McKinsey colleagues and clients on Life Sciences R&D topics, with a specific focus on Clinical Development. Projects may involve topics such as protocol design benchmarking, trial site selection, study startup orchestration, enrollment support, submission excellence, along with other topics in Development.
You may also work on projects involving pre-clinical or early development topics, or on broader R&D and portfolio strategy for pharmaceutical companies. Most projects will be with pharmaceutical companies, but with potential for additional projects with biotech or CRO clients.
You will be working with McKinsey colleagues and clients - a multitude of diverse individuals - to scope business questions and understand, disaggregate, and prioritize their information needs in client engagements. You will problem-solve across various international, cross-functional knowledge & intelligence teams to determine the most appropriate solutions to key issues, effectively balancing quality, availability, timelines, and cost factors. You will also gain experience working with Generative AI models, and build the skills to craft clear, effective, and relevant prompts for Generative AI models.
Your day-to-day work will include generating insights through a range of analytical approaches and tools (e.g., Excel, R, Generative AI tools) from licensed third-party data, proprietary McKinsey data sets, and external data sets (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov), bringing perspectives based on primary and secondary research as well as your prior expertise in R&D, and leveraging external and McKinsey-developed Generative AI tools to automate processes and derive insights to help shape the approach to answering key questions. You will then communicate insights and deliver end products to clients and McKinsey consulting teams in a variety of formats, including memos, PowerPoint presentations and tables.
You will join McKinsey’s Boston office as part of our Life Sciences Intelligence (LSi) team in North America. This is a hybrid role, with 2-3 days per week working in-person from McKinsey’s Boston office and potential travel to additional McKinsey or client offices based on project needs.
The LSi team is part of McKinsey’s global Client Capabilities Network (CCN) with more than 3,500 colleagues delivering distinctive client impact and fueled by a culture of innovation. The CCN is our platform for innovating our service to Life Sciences clients, building intellectual property, digital assets, and consistent approaches for delivering high-quality client service.
Within the CCN, our Life Sciences team is the second largest industry group in the firm, with 100+ professionals across major hubs in Boston, Lisbon, Poland, India, Japan, and China. You will have opportunities for high levels of interaction with Life Sciences consultants and the rest of the LSi team.
We believe the Life Sciences R&D practice has exciting years ahead, as we expand our portfolio of offerings in clinical development and change the way we work to incorporate new tech-enabled capabilities in our work across R&D. You will be core to this work and will help to meaningfully develop and advance our portfolio of proprietary analytical and knowledge assets.
In addition to working with consulting teams and clients, you will continuously develop your knowledge and skills in Life Sciences R&D. Together with LSi colleagues and Life Sciences R&D leadership, you will analyze new topics and trends and integrate them into our existing capabilities infrastructure or potentially develop new offerings.

Your Growth

Driving lasting impact and building long-term capabilities with our clients is not easy work. You are the kind of person who thrives in a high performance/high reward culture - doing hard things, picking yourself up when you stumble, and having the resilience to try another way forward.
In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we'll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities you need to become a stronger leader faster than you ever thought possible. Your colleagues—at all levels—will invest deeply in your development, just as much as they invest in delivering exceptional results for clients. Every day, you'll receive apprenticeship, coaching, and exposure that will accelerate your growth in ways you won’t find anywhere else.
When you join us, you will have:
  • Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
  • A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
  • Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions for our clients. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
  • World-class benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family.

Your qualifications and skills

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., biology, public health, biochemistry) with a consistent outstanding academic record is required; master’s degree is a plus and preferred
  • 1+ years of experience and strong interest in pharmaceutical R&D topics from a sponsor, CRO, or site perspective such as clinical science, clinical operations, clinical trial execution, pharmacovigilance, regulatory, medical writing, or other development topics
  • High level of proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and data manipulation
  • Ability to accomplish work in a fast paced and dynamic work environment, including balancing multiple priorities or projects at the same time
  • Excellent problem-solving skills including the ability to structure a problem, disaggregate issues, identify root causes and recommend solutions
  • Possesses high quality standards, a commitment to completing tasks within deadlines, and the ability to work under pressure
  • Professional attitude, work standards and service orientation, and strong team orientation
  • Some experience with crafting clear, effective, and relevant prompts for Generative AI models is a plus, but not required
  • Solid understanding of financial, economic and general business concepts and terminology
  • Demonstrated business research experience in an academic or business setting is preferred
  • Excellent written and verbal communications skills
  • No immigration sponsorship offered. Must be authorized to work in the U.S. indefinitely
Please review the additional requirements regarding essential job functions of McKinsey colleagues.
Our unwavering commitment to integrity drives everything we do, guiding us to always act in the best interests of our clients, our people, and the communities we serve.
Industries
  • Life Sciences
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FOR U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Certain US jurisdictions require McKinsey & Company to include a reasonable estimate of the salary for this role. For new joiners for this role in the United States, including all office locations where the job may be performed, a reasonable estimated range is $92,000 - $95,000 USD —to help you understand what you can expect. This reflects our best estimate of the lowest to highest [salary/hourly wages] for this role at the time of this posting, ensuring you have a clear picture right from the start, though it's important to remember that actual salaries may vary. Factors like your office location, your unique blend of experience and skills, start date and our current organizational needs all play a part in determining the final figure. Certain roles are also eligible for bonuses, subject to McKinsey's discretion and based on factors such as individual and/or organizational performance.

Additionally, we provide a comprehensive benefits package that reflects our commitment to the wellness of our colleagues and their families. This includes medical, mental health, dental and vision coverage, telemedicine services, life, accident and disability insurance, parental leave and family planning benefits, caregiving resources, a generous retirement contributions program, financial guidance, and paid time off.

FOR NON-U.S. APPLICANTS: McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. For additional details regarding our global EEO policy and diversity initiatives, please visit our McKinsey Careers and Diversity & Inclusion sites.

Job Skill Group - N/A
Job Skill Code - CIAN - Capabilities and Insights Analyst
Function -
Industry - Life Sciences
Post to LinkedIn - Yes
Posted to LinkedIn Date - Thu Mar 12 00:00:00 GMT 2026
LinkedIn Posting City - Boston
LinkedIn Posting State/Province - Massachusetts 
LinkedIn Posting Country - United States
LinkedIn Job Title - Capabilities & Insights Analyst - Life Sciences, Research & Development
LinkedIn Function - Consulting;Research
LinkedIn Industry - Hospital & Health Care;Medical Devices;Pharmaceuticals
LinkedIn Seniority Level - Entry level