Associate Director, Scientific Publications

Xenon Pharmaceuticals • Needham, MA

8d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking an Associate Director, Scientific Publications to take a hands-on role in shaping, driving, and executing publications for Xenon’s clinical stage programs. This role combines strategic thinking with operational excellence to ensure timely, high-quality, and compliant publications across congresses and journals. The incumbent will support publication planning, govern relationships with external agencies, provide day-to- day oversight of records within our publication management system, collaborate closely with authors and reviewers, and provide additional contributions to the Scientific Communications team as necessary.
This position reports to the Director of Scientific Publications and involves forging close relationships with colleagues within Medical Affairs, Regulatory, Legal/Compliance, Value and Access, and Corporate Communications.
This role will be based out of Boston, MA, USA in our Needham office. We will consider remote locations for exceptional candidates. Hybrid positions require a minimum of two onsite days per week. On-site positions require up to five on-site days per week.

Requirements

• PhD, PharmD, MD, or other doctoral degree (or equivalent) in a scientific or healthcare-related field
• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in scientific publications and/or medical communications within biotech/pharma and/or a medical communications agency (publication planning/strategy experience strongly valued)
• Strong scientific acumen; neurology experience strongly preferred, ideally in epilepsy and/or neuropsychiatric disorders
• Demonstrated experience executing publication plans across multiple data types and study phases
• Solid understanding of clinical research methodology, statistics, data integrity, and scientific interpretation
• Proven ability to manage vendor partners, budgets, and lean project structures
• Strong understanding of GPP, ICMJE, and scientific communication compliance requirements
• Proficiency with publication management platforms and collaborative review systems
• Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills; able to translate complex scientific information clearly and accurately
• High attention to detail, organizational excellence, and comfort operating with urgency in a fastmoving, resource conscious environment

Nice To Haves

• Certified Medical Publications Professional (CMPP) preferred

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design, refinement, and execution of integrated publication plans that align with Xenon’s development milestones, evidence needs, and competitive landscape
• Apply program knowledge, core scientific messages, and lexicon foundations to ensure consistency across manuscripts, abstracts, posters, presentations, and publication extenders
• Maintain a strong command of therapeutic landscapes, study designs, emerging data, and evolving evidence needs to ensure publication plans stay relevant and responsive
• Integrate cross functional insights and help shape scientific publication priorities in alignment with small biopharmaceutical agility and resource considerations
• Drive the execution of abstracts, posters, oral presentations, manuscripts, reviews, and plain language summaries from concept through submission and publication
• Ensure all content adheres to GPP/ICMJE guidelines, company SOPs, and industry expectations for scientific integrity, authorship, transparency, and documentation
• Guide relationships with vendors and freelance partners by providing clear scientific direction, timely feedback, and close oversight of timelines, budgets, and quality
• Use publication management systems to track activities, manage documentation and archives, coordinate reviews and reconcile feedback, and monitor progress against the publication plan
• Partner with Clinical Development and Biostatistics to ensure alignment on data accuracy and analytical outputs
• Maintain efficient, lean workflows prioritizing clarity, documentation quality control, and responsiveness across internal and external stakeholders
• Support scientific congress activities, including abstracts, posters, and oral presentations; ensure cross‑functional readiness for data discussions and compliant amplification across multiple channels
• Review and contribute to adjacent scientific communication materials (scientific slide decks, internal training materials, FAQs, medical narratives) to ensure scientific alignment with published data
• Provide flexible support across programs as emerging data needs require
• Promote a culture of rigorous, clear, and unbiased scientific communication; ensure transparent authorship and acknowledgment of writing/editorial or technology‑assisted contributions
• Support continuous improvement of publication processes, templates, and SOPs; help train cross‑functional partners on publication standards, authorship expectations, COI, and embargo management
• Ensure accurate and compliant publication record management; assist with publications metrics reporting
• Build productive relationships with external authors, investigators, scientific experts, journal editors, and congress organizers to enable efficient development and timely delivery of publications
• Monitor peer‑reviewed literature, emerging scientific trends, and competitor disclosures; translate insights into publication opportunities, risks, and recommendations
• Support integration of publication learnings into broader scientific communication efforts and evidence-generation activities
• Remain adaptable and responsive as program needs evolve
• Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any
• Ability to travel up to 20%, both domestically and internationally
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Our Total Rewards program includes base salary, target bonus, and stock options, as well as a full range of benefits including medical, dental, vision, short-& long-term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, and life insurance programs, Employee Assistance Program, travel insurance, and retirement savings programs with company matching contributions.
• Xenon encourages time to rest and re-charge through vacation, personal days, sick days, and an end-of-year company shutdown.
• Xenon highly values employee development and has an expanding Training, Learning & Development program, including a Tuition Assistance program for advanced degrees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree