Chief Research Officer

Travere Therapeutics • San Diego, CA

1d • $325,000 - $439,000

About The Position

The Chief Research Officer (CRO) reports to the EVP, Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer. The CRO provides enterprise leadership for Research, Clinical Operations and Clinical Supplies, Clinical Pharmacology, and Biometrics, connecting early scientific work with clinical execution and evidence generation across Travere’s rare disease portfolio.

The CRO helps shape the long-term research agenda and pipeline strategy, evaluates external innovation, and recommends scientific opportunities, development feasibility, investment, and risk. The role builds functional leaders and organizational capabilities, works closely with cross-functional partners, and is accountable for the performance and budgets of the functions within its remit and their contribution to enterprise priorities.

The CRO sets strategic direction across research and translational science, global clinical trial delivery, clinical pharmacology, and biometrics. The role also advises senior leadership and the Board, develops R&D materials for Board Science & Technology Committee meetings, and represents Travere with scientific collaborators, academic institutions, key opinion leaders, patient communities, and strategic partners. Travel domestically and internationally and onsite work in San Diego may be required as business needs dictate.

Requirements

• Advanced degree in a relevant scientific, medical, or quantitative discipline, such as a PhD, MD, PharmD, or equivalent experience.
• 17+ years of progressive biotechnology or pharmaceutical leadership experience, including significant rare disease experience.
• Substantial biotechnology or pharmaceutical leadership experience, including oversight of multiple research and development functions and demonstrated enterprise judgment.
• Experience translating scientific opportunity into development programs and integrating research, clinical pharmacology, biometrics, and clinical trial execution in a matrix organization.
• Strong understanding of rare disease drug development, global clinical studies, regulatory evidence requirements, and scientific and operational risks of a growing pipeline.
• Demonstrated ability to lead senior functional leaders, allocate resources, build teams, evaluate external opportunities, and communicate recommendations to executive and Board audiences.
• Scientific curiosity, sound quantitative judgment, and collaborative leadership.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, confidential, matrixed environment with shifting priorities and compressed timelines.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, verbal communication, and written communication skills.
• Excellent decision-making and collaboration skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as business needs require and perform onsite work in San Diego as required.
• Commitment to Travere’s values of Courage, Community Spirit, Patient Focus, and Teamwork.

Nice To Haves

• The ideal candidate will embody Travere’s core values: Courage, Community Spirit, Patient Focus, and Teamwork.
• Driven, intelligent, and passionate about making a difference for patients with rare diseases.

Responsibilities

• Advise the EVP, Head of R&D and CMO, CEO, and Board on research direction, development execution, evidence generation, portfolio choices, and organizational capabilities.
• Integrate scientific, clinical pharmacology, statistical, and operational perspectives into portfolio prioritization, investment decisions, development plans, lifecycle opportunities, and business development assessments.
• Lead scientific and translational due diligence for licensing, acquisitions, research collaborations, targets, and platform opportunities with Business Development, Clinical Development, and Technical Operations.
• Identify emerging science, technology, and academic collaboration opportunities to strengthen the rare kidney and metabolic disease pipeline, and translate selected opportunities into research and development plans.
• Develop leaders, succession plans, capabilities, resource plans, and budgets across assigned functions; establish clear decision rights, timely escalation, and disciplined execution.
• Provide strategic direction for discovery biology, genetics, target selection and validation, translational biology, nonclinical development, biomarkers and assays, and external scientific collaborations.
• Set research priorities and decision criteria connecting disease understanding and preclinical evidence to clinically meaningful hypotheses and future development opportunities.
• Guide transition from research to clinical development, including nonclinical evidence, biomarker strategy, pharmacology, and readiness for first-in-human evaluation, in partnership with Clinical Development and Regulatory.
• Build an external scientific network of investigators, academic institutions, disease experts, and partners, and support scientific assessment of new therapeutic approaches and technologies.
• Oversee global clinical trial planning and delivery through Clinical Operations leadership, from early studies through registrational and post-approval studies.
• Ensure sound trial plans for country and site selection, feasibility, enrollment, study start-up, monitoring, vendor and CRO oversight, clinical supplies, timelines, budgets, and closeout.
• Hold the organization accountable for trial quality, participant experience, data integrity, inspection readiness, and compliance with applicable GCP requirements and company procedures.
• Anticipate execution risks and resolve cross-functional tradeoffs; maintain clear ownership of trial delivery and supply handoffs.
• Lead clinical pharmacology strategy across programs, including PK/PD, exposure-response, dose and regimen selection, pharmacometrics, drug interactions, human ADME, and pediatric extrapolation where relevant.
• Connect nonclinical DMPK and translational findings to clinical study design, quantitative decision-making, and regulatory submissions.
• Ensure robust analysis, interpretation, and communication of pharmacology data for protocols, study reports, health authority interactions, submissions, labeling, and lifecycle development.
• Lead biostatistics, statistical programming, and data management while preserving functional rigor and independent statistical judgment.
• Ensure statistical input into study design, endpoints, estimands, analysis plans, interim analyses, data standards, database lock, reporting, and integrated submission datasets.
• Align Biometrics with relevant functions on data quality, interpretation, decision milestones, and evidence needs across the product lifecycle.
• Lead development of R&D content and discussion plans for Board Science & Technology Committee meetings, integrating program progress, research strategy, scientific opportunities, clinical execution risks, and decisions requiring Board input.
• Present R&D priorities, progress, risks, and recommendations to the Executive Team and Board through clear, balanced, evidence-grounded materials.
• Represent Travere with scientific and academic collaborators, key opinion leaders, patient communities, and strategic partners; support investor or analyst discussions on R&D matters when requested and in coordination with relevant leaders.
• Travel domestically and internationally and perform onsite work in San Diego as business needs require.

Benefits

• Premium health, financial, work-life, and well-being offerings for eligible employees and dependents.
• Wellness and employee support programs.
• Life insurance and disability coverage.
• Retirement plans with employer match.
• Generous paid time off.
• Cash compensation consisting of base pay and short-term incentive.
• Long-term incentive compensation in company stock.

What This Job Offers

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