Director of Clinical Research

Eight Sleep•Boston, MA

About The Position

Eight Sleep is seeking a Director of Clinical Research to lead their clinical research organization, which serves as the data collection and scientific foundation of the company. This role reports to the VP of R&D and involves leading a team of over 10 research associates, data scientists, and data engineers. The Director will be the company's senior physiological authority for all human research studies supporting hardware, sensing, and AI/ML teams. Responsibilities include program management for hardware studies, AI/ML development studies, and women's sleep studies. Additionally, the role involves acting as Eight Sleep's public-facing science communicator through publications, press, and podcasts. This is a hands-on leadership position requiring comfort with defining statistical criteria, reviewing data, managing people, budgets, and cross-functional stakeholders.

Requirements

A PhD in physiology, neuroscience, sleep science, or a related field
10+ years of human research experience, including at least 5 years at high-growth startups or consumer health / hardware technology companies
5+ years of people management experience, with a track record of managing and developing teams, including hiring, compensation decisions, and formal performance management
Experience with biosensing devices or consumer health technology pursuing clinical validation
A strong record of peer-reviewed publications and experience serving as an author or Principal Investigator on IRB-approved clinical studies
Advanced statistical fluency — you can define statistical criteria, run power calculations, and dig into raw data directly alongside data scientists and biostatisticians
Experience managing cross-functional programs to launch new features and products spanning hardware validation, sensing, AI/ML, product, and marketing teams
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience writing for both scientific (white papers, publications) and consumer (blog posts, social, press) audiences
A hands-on, execution-oriented mindset, comfortable owning studies end-to-end in a fast-moving environment

Nice To Haves

Experience with women’s health initiatives
Media training as a public-facing science spokesperson, with experience in press interviews, podcasts, and conference speaking engagements
Experience supporting medical device regulatory studies

Responsibilities

Own the clinical research & science organization — lead, mentor, and grow a team of 10+ spanning clinical operations, data engineering, and data science
Direct all human research studies supporting our Hardware, Sensing, and AI/ML teams, from protocol development & study ideation, to IRB submission, data collection, analysis, and reporting
Uphold the company's scientific validation standard by applying rigorous statistical and testing criteria (e.g., MAE, TOST equivalence testing, Bland-Altman analysis) to evaluate hardware and algorithm performance before launch
Translate research into product features by partnering with Product, Growth, Design, and Engineering teams to develop science-backed features such as Pregnancy Mode, Rapid Cooling Mode, and Jet Lag Mode
Provide scientific input on marketing claims, press releases, and journalist articles by reviewing web, social, and app content for accuracy and ensuring every public-facing claim and document is backed by data
Lead scientific communications — author and direct blog posts, white papers, and peer-reviewed publications, and represent Eight Sleep in press interviews, podcasts, and conference talks
Manage team growth and performance, including hiring, compensation strategy, mentorship, and formal performance management processes
Drive new research exploration, identifying and pursuing external collaborations and new areas of sleep science relevant to the company's roadmap
Own budget and vendor management for clinical studies