Research and development manager
AI displacement risk
2%
Range 0.15–3.08%
Research and development manager has 35% AI task overlap but 93% human bottleneck protection — lower risk than 93% of occupations in the live market. AI is more likely to enhance this role than replace it.
Managers·SGD 10,896/mo (7,061–17,189)·~9.7K workers in SG·Updated 2026-06-11
Structural pressure, not a prediction of job loss. Displacement tends to arrive through slower hiring, wage compression and role redesign before layoffs.
Why This Score
35% of tasks overlap with current AI
93% human advantage from judgment & presence
65% demand buffer from the local labour market
AI usage 16pp below theoretical exposure
These factors interact with each other — the final score is not a simple sum of these bars.
How much AI overlaps with this job's tasks, offset by human advantages and local demand. How this works
Tasks AI can handle
With 35% AI task overlap (based on Felten AIOE, Anthropic Economic Index, and ILO occupational exposure), the Research and development manager tasks most exposed include: market research summaries, competitive analysis, user feedback synthesis, roadmap documentation, and metrics dashboard generation.
- • Analyze training needs to develop new training programs or modify and improve existing programs.
- • Plan, develop, and provide training and staff development programs, using knowledge of the effectiveness of methods such as classroom training, demonstrations, on-the-job training, meetings, conferences, and workshops.
- • Evaluate instructor performance and the effectiveness of training programs, providing recommendations for improvement.
O*NET tasks for this occupation with the most observed AI usage (Anthropic task data).
What AI can't do here
At 93% human bottleneck protection, the tasks that remain hardest to automate for Research and development manager include: vision-setting, prioritization under ambiguity, stakeholder alignment, go-to-market judgment, and making trade-offs between competing business objectives.
Main insulation channels: Non-routine work + Accountability for others — the work-context dimensions behind this occupation's human bottleneck.
Skills to focus on
Sources: Felten AIOE (2021), Anthropic Economic Index (2026), ILO GenAI (2025), Pizzinelli et al. bottleneck model. Full methodology.
Singapore Now
Current labour market conditions and how they affect this role.
Cooling, but not collapsing. Vacancies and re-entry are softer, yet retrenchment remains low and hiring still exceeds resignations.
Vacancy
3.1%
↓ 3.1% YoY
Hiring
1.5%
vs 0.9% resign
Retrenchment
1.5
per 1,000 · low
Re-entry
67.7%
find work in 12mo· -5.3pp
Professionals, Managers, Executives & Technicians · 2025 Q4
Top Industries
Industry vacancy overlays use the latest published detailed cross-tab, which can lag the main labour monitor.
What You Can Do
Research and development manager has some offset potential, but it depends on task redesign holding up in practice and on workers clearing the main switching frictions.
Published transition support
Related roles you could transition to
Similarity-basedCompare within Managers
See how this compares to similar occupations
Compare with... →Classification
Higher risk than 7% of occupations · V7 structural score
Raw scores
AIOE -0.144 · θ 0.776 · C-AIOE -0.102
Stability
stable · Optimistic 0% · Pessimistic 3%
Score range (best/worst case)
Exposure 18–51% · Net risk 0.15–3.08%
Scoring basis
V7 structural score. Uses task-concentration-weighted exposure, human bottleneck, and demand resilience. V6 baseline fields are retained for release-to-release comparison.-0.2pp versus retained V6 baseline.
Wage range (SGD/mo)
25th 7,061 · Median 10,896 · 75th 17,189
Evidence & sources
Data matching
direct · SSOC 12230
Real-world AI usage: -16% vs estimated
Data quality
80% · Matching 1.00 · Market data 0.70 · Freshness 0.83
100% weighted task match · 34% effective coverage
AI overlap by data source
Weights: aioe 31% · anthropic 34% · ilo 35%
Conflicting data signals
Tools & offset factors
What helps
- A meaningful share of the work can likely be reorganized around AI rather than removed outright.
What could slow it down
- Current demand support is thin, so offsets may take longer to show up.
Worker profile & local context
- Vacancy rate is 3.1% and was essentially flat versus last quarter.
- Hiring read: recruitment is running above resignation (1.5% vs 0.9%).
- Retrenchment was low at 1.5 per 1,000 employees.
- 67.7% of retrenched workers re-entered employment within 12 months.
- Employer pressure is low, based on 1 recent Singapore-relevant company signals.
Worker profile
Gender mix
50% male / 50% femalePublished Singapore worker composition for the detailed occupation family 12 Administrative & Commercial Managers.
Employment structure
More self-employed79% employees, 21% employers or self-employed workers.
Work arrangement
Mostly full-time3% part-time and 97% full-time in 2025.
Age profile
Mid-career heavy2% aged 15 to 29, 58% aged 30 to 49, and 40% aged 50 or older.
Qualification mix
Degree-heavyDegree 73%; Diploma / professional qualification 14%.
Gross wage by sex
Female median 26% lowerPublished June 2024 gross wage medians: male $12,523, female $9,225.
Where this work is concentrated
Top planning areas
Bedok, Sengkang, Hougang20% of workers in this occupation group live in these three planning areas.
Residential concentration
Broadly distributed30% live across the top five planning areas in the 2020 Census.
Commute pattern
Shorter commutesEstimated average commute 32.0 minutes. 21% take 46 minutes or more.
Role profile
How this role's work breaks down across key dimensions. This is a general profile, not an individual measurement.
Workflow dimensions (0 = low, 1 = high)
How this changes by career stage
Senior workers benefit from institutional knowledge and judgment that AI cannot replicate. Entry-level roles have higher task overlap with AI.
Frequently asked questions
Will AI replace Research and development manager?
Research and development manager has 35% AI task overlap but 93% human bottleneck protection — lower risk than 93% of occupations in the live market. AI is more likely to enhance this role than replace it. Net displacement risk: 2% (Very Low). Median wage: SGD 10,896/month.
What is the AI risk score for Research and development manager?
Research and development manager has an AI displacement risk of 2%, rated Very Low. AI task overlap: 35%. Human advantage: 93%. Local demand buffer: 65%.
What career transitions are available for Research and development manager?
Research and development manager has modeled transition pathways to related occupations. The strongest adjacent pathway is Risk management manager, based on skill and wage similarity (model-estimated). Transition scoring accounts for wage preservation, training ease, and destination quality.
How does Research and development manager salary compare in the live market?
Research and development manager earns a median gross wage of SGD 10,896/month in the live market (25th-75th percentile: SGD 7,061-17,189). This is 142% above median across all 562 scored occupations, and 33% above group median within Managers occupations.