Associate Director of Pharmacology

POSITION SUMMARY:

A well-funded start-up biotech with a vision of becoming the leading bone health company, delivering efficacious, safe, and convenient therapies to millions of patients with osteoporosis and other bone-related disorders is seeking an exceptional Associate Director of Pharmacology. The Associate Director will play a key role in driving and executing preclinical pharmacology studies across our growing pipeline of next-generation bone health biologics. Working across multiple development programs, you will support candidate evaluation and generate critical data for candidate selection and IND-enabling studies. In this individual contributor role, you will bridge strategic oversight with active operational management to ensure studies are designed, executed, tracked, and analyzed seamlessly to advance candidates toward key milestones.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operations, scheduling, sample management, and rigorous tracking of in vivo studies with external contract research organizations (CROs).

• Formulate and execute integrated preclinical pharmacology strategies across multiple development programs, establishing clear drug exposure, target engagement, and efficacy models.

• Author and review high-quality study protocols, study reports, and pharmacology components of regulatory packages (IND/CTA submissions and Investigator’s Brochures).

• Drive the evaluation, validation, and implementation of novel disease models and translational biomarkers to elucidate mechanism-of-action across target candidates.

• Analyze and interpret complex biological and PK/PD datasets to pressure-test scientific hypotheses and deliver actionable "go/no-go" recommendations to leadership.

• Partner closely with Protein Engineering, Translational Medicine, and Toxicology teams to align on biological candidate profiling, dose selection rationale, and clinical translation plans.

• Present comprehensive data packages, program updates, and strategic risk-mitigation plans to internal leadership.

Experience & Qualifications

• PhD in Pharmacology, Bone Biology, Physiology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field with 4+ years of biopharmaceutical industry experience (or MS with 6+ years of experience) focusing on preclinical pharmacology and drug discovery.

• Proven track record of supporting or leading pharmacology strategies across multiple biologic programs simultaneously within a fast-paced biotech environment.

• Deep experience in managing externalized research workflows, operational study tracking, and CRO partnerships without reliance on an internal vivarium.

• Demonstrated proficiency in selecting and executing appropriate statistical tests for in vivo pharmacology, biomarker evaluation, and PK/PD data analysis.

• Demonstrated history of authoring and defending pharmacology sections in regulatory filings (IND/CTA).

• Advanced proficiency with scientific analysis and visualization tools (e.g., GraphPad Prism, Spotfire, Phoenix WinNonLin) and modern ELN/LIMS systems.

• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to summarize complex multi-program data into clear, strategic narratives for cross-functional stakeholders.