Executive Director, Medical Affairs

Artiva Biotherapeutics • San Diego, CA

4d • $200,000 - $300,000

About The Position

The Executive Director of Medical Affairs will provide strategic and hands-on leadership for Artiva’s Medical Affairs function. This role is external facing for the most part and execution-driven, with accountability for scientific communications, medical messaging, key opinion leader (KOL) engagement, advisory activities of external thought leaders, and competitive/market insights. The successful candidate will be comfortable “hitting the pavement,” traveling extensively, and personally engaging key stakeholders.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of Medical Affairs experience, 10 years preferred, in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with direct ownership of:
• Publications and Congress strategy
• KOL engagement
• Advisory boards
• Medical insights and competitive intelligence
• Formal training and hands-on experience in Immunology and/or Inflammation (e.g., MD, PhD, or equivalent scientific background strongly preferred).
• Proven ability to operate in a highly external, travel-intensive role.
• Strong understanding of Medical Affairs compliance and scientific exchange standards.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to engage credibly with leading physicians and researchers.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in early- to mid-stage biotech.
• Prior leadership experience building or scaling Medical Affairs capabilities.
• Experience supporting clinical-stage programs and pre-launch activities.

Responsibilities

• Scientific and Medical Communications
• Develop and execute scientific and medical communications strategies aligned with company development objectives.
• Identify, build and own scientific and medical presentations that communicate our science and development strategy to clinical trial sites, KOLs/health care practitioners (HCPs), and patient groups.
• Partner cross-functionally with Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Translational Science, and Regulatory to ensure accurate, compliant scientific messaging.
• Develop a Conference Strategy Plan for supporting International, National and Regional conferences in Rheumatology and Cell Therapy.
• Develop/Co-develop materials and resources for field Medical Affairs usage including clinical trial brochures, slide decks and conference booth materials.
• Congress & Conference Execution
• Provide operational Medical Affairs support for major congresses, including booth presence, scientific exchange, speaker coordination, and on-site engagement with KOLs and HCPs.
• Ensure Medical Affairs readiness for conferences, including training, preparation of materials, and logistics.
• KOL & External Engagement
• Develop and execute a robust KOL engagement strategy, including identification, prioritization, and relationship building.
• Conduct frequent in-person visits to investigators and key opinion leaders to educate, gather insights, and build advocacy for the AlloNK program.
• Serve as a scientific ambassador for Artiva, representing the company in high-value external scientific discussions.
• Advisory Boards & Steering Committees
• Plan and execute advisory boards and steering committees, including objective setting, faculty selection, content development, and insight capture.
• Ensure high-quality scientific exchange and compliant execution.
• Medical Insights, Market Research & Competitive Intelligence
• Lead medical market research efforts to understand physician perceptions, unmet needs, and treatment paradigms.
• Collect, synthesize, and communicate medical insights from the field to inform clinical strategy, evidence generation, and corporate decision-making.
• Monitor and analyze competitive intelligence, including competitor pipelines, data readouts, publications, and congress activity.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Partner closely with Clinical, Translational, Regulatory, and Corporate teams to align on strategy and execution.
• Support internal education and alignment by translating external insights into actionable recommendations.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision
• Group Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability (LTD)
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Company paid holidays, including the year-end holiday week
• Our recognition program, Bonus.ly, is where you can trade in points earned for things you want.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees