Postdoctoral fellows (postdocs) are an important engine that drives research programmes and discoveries at universities and research institutions worldwide, and they make up a key element of the research workforce’s future. Therefore, postdoctoral career development and outcomes are critical aspects of postdoctoral training, an important topic covered extensively in several reports (eg Singer, 2004; McDowell et al. 2015; Sinche, 2016; Blank et al. 2017; Hitchcock et al. 2017; Pickett & Tilghman, 2018). A National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report in 2000 stated the important principle that ‘the postdoctoral experience is first and foremost an apprenticeship whose purpose is to gain scientific, technical, and professional skills that advance the professional career of the postdoc’(Institute of Medicine et al. 2000). Extending their 2000 analysis, the 2014 NASEM report (National Academy of Sciences et al. 2014) not only highlights some improvements in the postdoc experience, eg improved benefits and creation of postdoc offices in many institutions, but also emphasizes the continued need for better mentoring and career development. Transitioning from a graduate student to an experienced postdoc comes with the benefit of having a higher stipend and moving one major step closer toward an independent professional position. A major fraction of graduate students in the life sciences proceed to a postdoc and yet, paradoxically, postdocs step onto a path that is less clear. For example, unlike doctoral students, most postdocs train without the equivalent of either a thesis committee or a dedicated departmental postdoctoral office that can serve as a second home for the trainee. Also, the postdocs’ experiences rely heavily on their research mentors, and opportunities to change primary mentors are rare. To address these challenges, herein we advocate complementary layers of career development opportunities, discuss their accessibility, and consider the competing interests of the postdocs research training and career development, and the mentor’s expectations. Based on the programmes we have established at our institution, we posit that building career development opportunities at the level of the unit/department of the postdoc, coupled with broader institutional activities, can have a profound positive and rewarding impact for the postdoctoral trainees.