Senior Director of Clinical Science, Lung, Head & Neck (Hybrid)

Job Description

Job Summary

The Senior Director of Clinical Science provides strategic clinical/scientific leadership across multiple programs, and assets within the lung and head and neck portfolio. Serving as a strategic peer to Clinical Directors and Program Leads, and partnering with other senior cross-functional leaders, the Senior Director of Clinical Science shapes development strategy and integrates scientific insights across studies and programs.

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The Senior Director of Clinical Science applies deep clinical, scientific, and therapeutic-area expertise to guide clinical development planning, study and evidence-generation strategies, interpretation of clinical evidence, and complex development decisions. The individual also shapes Clinical Science standards and ways of working and provides scientific leadership, coaching, and mentorship across the organization.

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Your responsibility in this role will include:
• Provide strategic scientific leadership across programs, assets, or disease areas, ensuring quality and consistency of Clinical Science approaches
• Shape the development and evolution of Clinical Development Plans and set strategic direction for study design
• Provide oversight of medical monitoring and medical data review approaches and guide interpretation of complex clinical data across programs
• Integrate clinical evidence, therapeutic-area science, emerging external data, and competitive insights to shape development strategy across programs
• Provide strategic oversight and clinical guidance for key regulatory documents, Health Authority interactions, and other major development activities
• Shape governance strategy and communicate scientific development opportunities to senior leaders
• Shape scientific publication and external engagement strategies and develop strategic relationships with investigators and key opinion leaders
• Provide strategic oversight of clinical/scientific quality, risk management, and audit and inspection readiness across areas of responsibility
• Shape digital and AI-enabled Clinical Science approaches, identify high-value use cases, and drive scalable adoption across programs
• Shape Clinical Science standards, leading practices, and ways of working across programs or disease areas
• Develop Clinical Science talent and organizational capabilities through scientific leadership, coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship
• May lead a large Clinical Science team

Core Skills

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• Ability to leverage deep clinical development expertise and knowledge of the regulatory and competitive landscape to shape clinical development strategy across programs, assets, or disease areas
• Ability to leverage deep therapeutic-area expertise and emerging science to shape scientific direction across programs, assets, or disease areas
• Demonstrated ability to provide clinical/scientific leadership across programs, assets, or disease areas
• Ability to synthesize complex clinical evidence, emerging science, competitive insights, and clinical practice to drive strategic development decisions
• Ability to leverage expertise in clinical development planning, evidence-generation strategy, and clinical data interpretation to establish development priorities
• Ability to set execution direction across programs, assets, or disease areas and align priorities, stakeholders, and cross-functional activities
• Exceptional scientific and strategic judgment in highly complex and ambiguous situations, with the ability to evaluate trade-offs and drive strategic decisions
• Ability to drive alignment across senior stakeholders, functions, and governance bodies to advance priorities across programs, assets, or disease areas
• Strong clinical/scientific communication and ability to shape perspectives and decisions across senior internal and external audiences
• Ability to establish Clinical Science standards, leading practices, and innovative ways of working across programs, assets, or disease areas
• Ability to leverage clinical data and monitoring insights and oversee adoption of digital and AI-enabled approaches to improve decision-making across programs or disease areas
• Demonstrated ability to shape Clinical Science capabilities, develop talent, mentor colleagues, and build organizational capabilities
Education/Experience

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• Advanced healthcare or scientific degree (e.g., PhD, PharmD), or equivalent, with 8+ years of pharmaceutical, clinical drug development, and/or medical field experience preferred
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• Master's degree, preferably in life sciences, with 12+ years of pharmaceutical, clinical drug development, and/or medical field experience
OR-
• Bachelor's degree, preferably in life sciences, with 15+ years pharmaceutical, clinical drug development, and/or medical field experience
clinicalsci2026

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Required Skills:
Clinical Development, Clinical Leadership, Clinical Product Development, Clinical Research, Clinical Research Management, Clinical Sciences, Clinical Trial Development, Clinical Trial Management, Decision Making, Drug Development

Preferred Skills:
Scientific Leadership, Strategic Planning, Team Leadership

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.--As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.- For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The primary location for this posting is:
USA - New Jersey - Rahway

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:
$210,400.00 - $331,100.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs. The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at .

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

San Francisco Residents Only: -We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: -We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully-
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. -No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.-

Employee Status:
Regular

Relocation:
No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:
No

Travel Requirements:
10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid

Shift:
Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
n/a

Job Posting End Date:
11/10/2026
*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE -the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID: R424370