Executive Director, Medical Affairs

Position Summary

The Executive Director, Medical Affairs / Medical Director will provide medical and scientific expertise and act as a strategic partner across core Medical Affairs activities. This includes collaborating across therapeutic areas as part of the broader Medical Affairs leadership team to support evidence generation, medical strategy, and cross-functional initiatives.

The ideal candidate will have proven medical writing skills, extensive experience in psychiatry and neurology, with a preference for direct experience in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Preference will also be given to individuals who have prior experience developing medical affairs plans for psychiatric medicines with new mechanisms. Experience and knowledge of the global treatment landscape is also preferred, including established KOL relationships.

This role will also contribute to the management of HEOR (Health Economics and Outcomes Research) and RWE (Real-World Evidence) projects, supporting evidence generation to inform clinical, regulatory, and commercial strategies. The position will work closely with Clinical Development, Regulatory and Commercial Teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and support medical affairs activities, data generation, and dissemination in alignment with the overall medical and scientific strategy.
• Provide medical leadership and scientific expertise across pre-launch activities, including development of scientific communications platforms, scientific messaging, and launch planning.
• Engage key opinion leaders (KOLs), fostering strong scientific relationships and ensuring insights from external experts inform medical strategies and cross-functional initiatives.
• Oversee or support the design, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of scientific content for:
• Investigator Brochures
• Clinical Study Reports
• Regulatory submissions
• Publications and other scientific communications
• Standard Response Letters
• Field Medical Tools
• Ensure the high-quality development of scientifically accurate and clinically relevant:
• Marketing materials
• Medical education programs, including any symposia
• Advisory board engagements
• Participate in educational grant reviews to ensure scientific rigor and therapeutic relevance.
• Coordinate and lead scientific and medical activities with internal stakeholders (commercial, clinical development and operations, discovery, statistics, regulatory) related to ongoing medical affairs projects.
• Serve as a trusted scientific interface for regulatory discussions and provide medical education to investigators, clinicians, and internal teams.
• Stay abreast of advances in therapeutic areas, medical literature, and innovations in technology and healthcare delivery.
• Ensure budgets, timelines, and compliance requirements are incorporated into program scientific activities.

Qualifications

• MD or PhD required
• Minimum of 10 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, including pre-launch experience.
• Proven medical writing skills, including experience writing standard response letters and demonstrated ability to generate high-quality scientific content with established record of publications.
• Extensive experience in psychiatry and neurology, with preference for schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease experience.
• Experience managing HEOR/RWE projects and contributing to evidence generation.
• Experience with scientific communications platforms, scientific advisory boards, grant review processes, launch planning and phase IV/lifecycle planning.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements, medical strategy development, and scientific communications.
• Proven leadership skills in cross-functional, global team environments.
• Prior experience working with external partners
• Experience growing and managing direct reports preferred
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; mastery of Microsoft Office.

Location: This is a remote US position.

MapLight is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.