Associate Scientific Director Jobs
Associate Scientific Director jobs are open across biopharma, medical devices, diagnostics, and academic research institutions, from mid-career scientist to pre-VP leadership, with specializations in translational research, clinical development, and regulatory affairs. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 83+ Associate Scientific Director jobs
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
Job Description
The Medical Affairs (MA) organization provides patients, healthcare providers and payers everywhere with the practical and clinically relevant information and solutions they need to use AbbVie products safely and effectively, throughout the product lifecycle and the patient’s journey.
The Scientific Director / Medical Director provides medical and scientific input into strategic and operational medical affairs activities for AbbVie’s Ovarian Cancer portfolio such as: health-care professional and provider interactions (Payers, Patients, Prescribers, and Providers); generation of clinical and scientific data (enhancing therapeutic benefit and value); educational initiatives (medical education, data, guidelines, and value proposition); safeguarding patient safety (risk minimization activities and safety surveillance activities).
Works closely with commercial teams to provide strategic medical input into core brand (product) strategies and may support medical and marketing activities (promotional material generation and product launches) and market access. Collaborates with clinical development on Medical Affairs support of priority trials.
This position can be based at the following locations and will follow a hybrid model of 3 days/week onsite: Mettawa, IL; Florham Park, NJ; Irvine, CA; San Francisco, CA.
Responsibilities
- Initiates medical affairs activities, generation and dissemination of data supporting the Ovarian Cancer scientific strategy
- Provides scientific/medical education to all relevant internal stakeholders related to our Ovarian Cancer portfolio
- Develops and executes Medical Affairs support of priority clinical development trials.
- Contributes to the development of and leads the execution of the Medical Education / Advisory Board & EE Engagement Plan generation in line with TA plan. Lead the individual (Global) Conference planning and execution.
- Generates clinical and scientific data per evidence gap assessment.
- Acts as a clinical interface and actively solicits opinion through leader interactions related to the molecule and disease area; partners with international Medical Affairs, Commercial and other functions in these activities as required, consistent with corporate policies, to ensure that broad cross-functional perspectives are incorporated into Clinical Development Plans and protocols as appropriate.
- May be responsible for performing the accurate and detailed medical review of complex advertising and promotional materials for assigned therapeutic area(s) within Medical Affairs. Provides timely and accurate reviews of promotional materials in accordance with established policies and practice standards, including regulatory guidelines to meet customer needs.
- May interact with and coordinates appropriate scientific and medical activities with internal stakeholders (i.e. commercial, clinical operations, discovery, statistics, regulatory, etc.) as they relate to on-going medical affairs projects.
- May assist as consultant and liaison with other corporations when working under licensing agreements and/or in the evaluation of new business development opportunities.
- Represents AbbVie at external meetings including investigator meetings, scientific association meetings, etc.
- Ensures budgets, timelines, compliance requirements are factored into programs' scientific activities.
Qualifications
-
Scientific Director:
- Bachelor’s Degree in the sciences. Advanced Degree PhD, PharmD, PA or NP preferred. Residency or additional post doctorate experience preferred.
- 5-7+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry or equivalent; substantial understanding of relevant therapeutic area required.
-
Medical Director:
- Medical Doctorate (M.D.) degree or equivalent (D.O. or non-US equivalent of M.D.). Relevant therapeutic specialty in an academic or hospital environment preferred. Completion of residency and/or fellowship preferred.
- 0-2+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry or equivalent.
- Knowledge of clinical trial methodology, regulatory requirements governing clinical trials and experience in the design of protocols preferred.
- May have performed protocol design in the academic environment and/or acted as an assistant PI.
- Interactions normally require the ability to gain cooperation of others, conduct presentations of technical information concerning specific projects and schedules, etc.
- Ability to interact externally and internally to support global business strategy. Must possess excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Works with some supervision and guidance. Exercises judgment within well-defined practices and policies.
Additional Information
Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:
- The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
- We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
- This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.
Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.
AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.
US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html
US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:
https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html
About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
Job Description
The Medical Affairs (MA) organization provides patients, healthcare providers and payers everywhere with the practical and clinically relevant information and solutions they need to use AbbVie products safely and effectively, throughout the product lifecycle and the patient’s journey.
The Scientific Director / Medical Director provides medical and scientific input into strategic and operational medical affairs activities for AbbVie’s Ovarian Cancer portfolio such as: health-care professional and provider interactions (Payers, Patients, Prescribers, and Providers); generation of clinical and scientific data (enhancing therapeutic benefit and value); educational initiatives (medical education, data, guidelines, and value proposition); safeguarding patient safety (risk minimization activities and safety surveillance activities).
Works closely with commercial teams to provide strategic medical input into core brand (product) strategies and may support medical and marketing activities (promotional material generation and product launches) and market access. Collaborates with clinical development on Medical Affairs support of priority trials.
This position can be based at the following locations and will follow a hybrid model of 3 days/week onsite: Mettawa, IL; Florham Park, NJ; Irvine, CA; San Francisco, CA.
Responsibilities
- Initiates medical affairs activities, generation and dissemination of data supporting the Ovarian Cancer scientific strategy
- Provides scientific/medical education to all relevant internal stakeholders related to our Ovarian Cancer portfolio
- Develops and executes Medical Affairs support of priority clinical development trials.
- Contributes to the development of and leads the execution of the Medical Education / Advisory Board & EE Engagement Plan generation in line with TA plan. Lead the individual (Global) Conference planning and execution.
- Generates clinical and scientific data per evidence gap assessment.
- Acts as a clinical interface and actively solicits opinion through leader interactions related to the molecule and disease area; partners with international Medical Affairs, Commercial and other functions in these activities as required, consistent with corporate policies, to ensure that broad cross-functional perspectives are incorporated into Clinical Development Plans and protocols as appropriate.
- May be responsible for performing the accurate and detailed medical review of complex advertising and promotional materials for assigned therapeutic area(s) within Medical Affairs. Provides timely and accurate reviews of promotional materials in accordance with established policies and practice standards, including regulatory guidelines to meet customer needs.
- May interact with and coordinates appropriate scientific and medical activities with internal stakeholders (i.e. commercial, clinical operations, discovery, statistics, regulatory, etc.) as they relate to on-going medical affairs projects.
- May assist as consultant and liaison with other corporations when working under licensing agreements and/or in the evaluation of new business development opportunities.
- Represents AbbVie at external meetings including investigator meetings, scientific association meetings, etc.
- Ensures budgets, timelines, compliance requirements are factored into programs' scientific activities.
Qualifications
-
Scientific Director:
- Bachelor’s Degree in the sciences. Advanced Degree PhD, PharmD, PA or NP preferred. Residency or additional post doctorate experience preferred.
- 5-7+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry or equivalent; substantial understanding of relevant therapeutic area required.
-
Medical Director:
- Medical Doctorate (M.D.) degree or equivalent (D.O. or non-US equivalent of M.D.). Relevant therapeutic specialty in an academic or hospital environment preferred. Completion of residency and/or fellowship preferred.
- 0-2+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry or equivalent.
- Knowledge of clinical trial methodology, regulatory requirements governing clinical trials and experience in the design of protocols preferred.
- May have performed protocol design in the academic environment and/or acted as an assistant PI.
- Interactions normally require the ability to gain cooperation of others, conduct presentations of technical information concerning specific projects and schedules, etc.
- Ability to interact externally and internally to support global business strategy. Must possess excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Works with some supervision and guidance. Exercises judgment within well-defined practices and policies.
Additional Information
Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:
- The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
- We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
- This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.
Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.
AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.
US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html
US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:
https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html
Associate Scientific Director Jobs by Experience Level
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Find JobsAssociate Scientific Director Job Market
Who's Hiring
- AbbVie17
- Merck5
- BGBx3
- The Lockwood3
- Amgen2
Top Industries Hiring
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
- Healthcare & Medical Services
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in associate scientific director jobs.
- PhD in a life science field such as biology, pharmacology, or biochemistry
- Five or more years of drug discovery or development experience in industry or academia
- Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional project teams in a matrixed organization
- Deep knowledge of IND-enabling studies, GLP requirements, or clinical development processes
- Proficiency with scientific data analysis tools and familiarity with regulatory submission standards
- Strong written and oral communication skills for scientific and executive audiences
Tips for Your Associate Scientific Director Job Search
Align your resume to pipeline stage
Hiring managers for associate scientific director roles scan for the development phase you've owned. Call out whether your experience is discovery, IND-enabling, Phase I, or later-stage, vague 'drug development' summaries get passed over fast.
Lead with cross-functional leadership evidence
These roles almost always require coordinating across biology, clinical, regulatory, and CMC teams. Your resume should name the functions you've partnered with and what decisions you influenced, not just the science you delivered.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists associate scientific director openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target postings that name your therapeutic area
Oncology, rare disease, and CNS teams almost always prefer candidates with direct TA experience. Filter openings by therapeutic area keywords before applying, a generalist pitch to a focused team rarely lands at this level.
Prepare a scientific narrative for interviews
Expect a whiteboard or slide presentation on a program you've led. Know your decision points, how you handled data gaps, and what you'd do differently. Panels at this level probe scientific judgment, not just execution.
Negotiate scope before title or compensation
At associate scientific director level, the program you're assigned and the team size you'll manage define your trajectory. In final-round discussions, ask specifically which programs are yours to lead and what headcount you'll own from day one.
Associate Scientific Director Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most associate scientific directors?
The companies hiring the most associate scientific directors right now include AbbVie, Merck, and BGBx, with the largest share of openings in California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Biopharma companies and large research hospitals consistently account for the majority of postings at this level.
How many associate scientific director jobs are remote?
About 84% of associate scientific director openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, though the share varies sharply by function. Roles focused on data science, translational bioinformatics, and medical affairs tend to offer the most location flexibility, while positions requiring hands-on lab oversight or on-site team leadership are almost always in-person.
How do you become an associate scientific director?
Most associate scientific directors move up after leading a discrete program or scientific workstream as a senior scientist or principal scientist. Building a record of cross-functional collaboration, publishing or presenting externally, and taking ownership of project timelines rather than just experimental execution are the steps that typically accelerate the transition into a director-track role.
Can you get an associate scientific director role without direct industry experience?
It's uncommon but possible, particularly through academic medical centers or institutes that blur the industry-academia line. The strongest candidates coming from academia emphasize translational output, grant leadership as a PI, and any consulting or advisory work with industry partners. Expect a longer interview process and more scrutiny around your understanding of development timelines and regulatory constraints.
What does the associate scientific director interview process look like?
The process typically runs three to five rounds and includes an initial screen with HR or a recruiter, a scientific interview with the hiring manager, a panel with cross-functional partners from clinical or regulatory, and a final presentation to senior leadership. The presentation usually asks you to outline a past program decision or propose a scientific strategy for a hypothetical asset in the company's pipeline.
Where can I find and apply to associate scientific director jobs?
You can find and apply to associate scientific director jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States in one place. Find roles that match your therapeutic area, development stage experience, and location preferences, then apply directly to each listing that fits.
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