Undergrad--,
Sorry to pour cold water on your concept of AStar: they don't pay that much for researchers... unless you r a foreign talent...
I was from there...
Getting a PhD could help somewhat, but you still need to be savvy & in-the-know & hoped like HELL your PhD thesis is the latest & hottest (like for eg. quantum computing or nanotechnology or experimental brain surgery or something like that)... I have interviewed a few PhD graduate which we reject because they are too focused on doing research & did not conduct implementation... it's... well, tough... so summarize in ONE word... I think even Einstein will get rejected by AStar if he just talk his Relativity...