Principal Scientist, Clinical Sciences

Compass Pathways • New York City, NY

4d • $160,000 - $230,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal Scientist, Clinical Sciences is accountable for the scientific leadership and operational excellence of studies across assigned assets, ensuring robust clinical rationale, endpoint strategy, and patient-centred design aligned with regulatory and launch objectives. The role partners closely with Clinical Operations, Statistics & Data Management, Clinical Safety, Regulatory Sciences, and HEOR to deliver high-quality studies, enabling timely, compliant, and insight-driven decision making.

Requirements

• PhD in neuroscience, pharmacology, or related life sciences field, or MD/PharmD with equivalent clinical development experience
• Required industry experience in biopharma/biotech clinical development with demonstrated leadership in protocol authorship and late-stage study design; CNS experience strongly preferred
• Proven capability to translate biology and patient insights into clear study objectives, endpoints, and operationally feasible designs
• Strong cross-functional collaboration; skilled at guiding teams through complex scientific choices and change
• Excellent scientific writing, data interpretation, and communication skills, with a track record of high-quality clinical documents and timely milestone delivery
• Mission-aligned, inclusive contributor who reflects Compass values and a wellbeing-first, stigma free culture

Responsibilities

• Maintain scientific oversight during study execution, supporting medical monitoring, protocol deviations/clarifications, Clinical Study Report quality, and interpretation of clinical signals across programs
• Accountable for compliance with ethical and scientific standards, regulatory requirements, and the Compass Quality Management System, ensuring participant safety, data integrity, and accuracy throughout the trial process
• Lead SOPs, templates, and scalable processes that implement quality and velocity across the development portfolio
• Contribute to cross-functional readiness for key milestones (database lock, regulatory interactions), establishing operating rhythms and documentation standards consistent with Compass values and governance
• Lead authorship and scientific integrity of clinical protocols, synopses, amendments, and key trial documents, integrating disease biology, patient journey insights, and regulatory feedback for psychiatric indications
• Define study objectives, endpoints, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and statistical considerations in partnership with Statistics, aligning with target product profile and pivotal-readiness standards
• Drive cross-functional protocol development forums, ensuring timely input from all relevant functions, and resolving scientific and operational trade-offs with clear decision logs
• Ensure evidence plans anticipate payer and access needs by partnering with HEOR/RWE to harmonize endpoints, PROs, and real-world relevance from protocol inception
• Champion patient-centric design, incorporating feasibility data, KOL feedback, and ethical considerations into procedures, visit schedules, and burden-reduction strategies

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees