Executive Director, Clinical Operations

Immatics • Houston, TX

13d • Remote

About The Position

The Executive Director, Clinical Operations serves as the operational deputy and strategic partner to the VP, Clinical Operations. This high-impact executive role provides integrated leadership across the entire clinical operations ecosystem. You will translate high-level clinical strategy into seamless portfolio delivery, scalable organizational capability, and robust global execution. As a systems-builder and visionary leader, you will run today’s global clinical portfolio with operational excellence while simultaneously building the capabilities required for tomorrow's late-stage development and commercialization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific, nursing, or business discipline required
• 15+ years of clinical research experience within a biotech, pharmaceutical, or major CRO environment
• 7+ years in a senior, multi-functional leadership capacity
• Deep experience navigating clinical operations in Oncology is required.
• Proven experience driving Phase III registrational trials, global regulatory filings (BLA/NDA/MAA submissions), and preparing operations for commercialization.
• Demonstrated experience leading Clinical Operations within a biopharmaceutical organization with strong understanding of internal clinical operations, trial execution and regulatory requirements.
• Sophisticated experience managing large-scale CRO partnerships and vendor governance committees.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the clear capability

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (MD, PhD, PharmD, MS, or MBA) preferred.
• Direct operational experience managing Cell Therapy, Immuno-Oncology, or advanced therapeutic modality trials is a strong plus.
• Directly manage and inspire a geographically dispersed, multicultural clinical operations teams, with specific focus on harmonizing workflows between US and European (Germany) team members.
• A natural "systems builder" who thrives on creating infrastructure, optimizing workflows, and designing scalable processes.
• Demonstrated track record of leading multiple dimensions of clinical operations (e.g., trial management, data/systems, sample logistics, site monitoring).
• Extensive experience leading complex, global clinical trials across North America and Europe (experience with US/Germany structures is highly desirable).

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations of the global Clinical Operations organization on behalf of the VP; serve as primary delegate and decision-maker within established authority matrices.
• Align functional teams to ensure Trial/Asset Operations, Site Operations, Biosample Operations, and Clinical Systems function as one unified, high-performing ecosystem.
• Bridge the gap between corporate development milestones and operational realities, aligning all sub-functions toward shared portfolio timelines.
• Maintain an aggregated, holistic view across the entire clinical portfolio to proactively manage cross-program dependencies, critical paths, and resource constraints.
• Establish early-warning frameworks to identify, escalate, and mitigate execution issues, protocol deviations, and trial bottlenecks.
• Influence and mentor clinical operations leads and asset directors on delivery strategy while ensuring accountability.
• Directly lead, mentor, and elevate the senior clinical operations leadership team; design robust succession plans and career pathways.
• Cultivate a unified, high-performing culture across the geographically dispersed US and Germany organizational footprints.
• Drive rigorous performance calibration, talent acquisition, strategic workforce planning, and organizational capability mapping.
• Own the infrastructure supporting portfolio capacity planning, headcount forecasting, and strategic resource deployment.
• Oversee budget planning, accrual tracking, and financial forecasting; present highly accurate, data-driven operational intelligence to support the VP’s strategic investment decisions.
• Partner with the Clinical Outsourcing group to manage CRO/vendor selection, performance metrics (SLA/KPI tracking), and governance frameworks.
• Drive rigorous analysis and provide actionable recommendations on insourcing vs. outsourcing strategies (FSP vs. full-service models).
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives, business process optimization, and structural scalability across all clinical workflows.
• Ensure strict adherence to ICH-GCP, FDA/EMA regulations, and global Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Lead proactive inspection readiness frameworks, internal quality audits, and harmonized global data standards.
• Implement and monitor predictive operational metrics, KPIs, and executive dashboards to measure organizational efficiency.
• Co-architect and execute the future-state operating model as the pipeline transitions from early-stage to late-stage global development and commercialization.
• Lead enterprise-wide change management, capability integration, and digital/systems evolution (e.g., CTMS, eTMF, decentralized trial technologies).
• Design and deploy structural, repeatable organizational systems that eliminate recurring operational friction points.

Benefits

• Competitive rates for Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• PTO Accrued bi-weekly, with up to 80 hours available to borrow and a maximum accrued balance of 240 hours.
• 12 company paid holidays
• 10 days of sick time
• 100% employer-paid life insurance up to 1x annual salary, up to one hundred thousand dollars
• 100% employer-paid short- and long-Term disability coverage
• 401(k) with immediate eligibility and company match
• Partially paid parental leave for eligible employees.
• Additional voluntary employee-paid benefits and services, including accident, hospital indemnity, and critical illness insurance, as well as identity theft protection and pet insurance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive