Senior Director, Clinical Pharmacology

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals • Boston, MA

5d • $210,000 - $300,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Senior Director, Clinical Pharmacology with demonstrable experience and expertise in early and late-phase clinical development of small molecule and peptide mono- and combination-therapy strategies to join our development team. The successful candidate will report to the CMO and play a critical leadership role in shaping and executing the clinical pharmacology strategy for programs targeting rare neuroendocrine diseases. This individual will serve as the company’s clinical pharmacology subject matter expert, partnering closely with senior leadership to influence portfolio decisions, development strategy, and regulatory planning across the pipeline. The successful candidate will combine strategic leadership with hands-on scientific and operational execution and will help shape how the clinical pharmacology function grows at Rhythm. Responsibilities will include the design, implementation, and interpretation of clinical pharmacology studies to support dose selection, exposure-response characterization, and combination regimen development. This individual will work cross-functionally with clinical development, regulatory affairs, biostatistics, translational sciences, and non-clinical teams to ensure integrated development plans. The role will also lead the preparation of regulatory submissions, oversee specialty vendors/CROs, and represent the company in interactions with global health authorities.

Requirements

• Ph.D., Pharm.D., or equivalent doctoral degree in Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related discipline.
• 12+ years of industry experience in clinical pharmacology, with a strong track record in early-phase and clinical development.
• In-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements, ICH guidelines, and global health authority expectations for clinical pharmacology including formal meeting preparation and dossier authorship.
• Demonstrated experience supporting global regulatory submissions and participating in formal health authority interactions (FDA, EMA, PMDA, and/or other regulatory agencies).
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and represent the function in strategic discussions and regulatory meetings.
• Proven ability to learn new information rapidly and effectively while working in a highly dynamic and fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication with the ability to influence across the organization.
• Creative, innovative, strategic, problem-solving approach.
• Independent self-starter, but with an ability to be a strong team player in a highly collaborative environment.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with rare disease and/or orphan drug development programs, combination therapy development, obesity, metabolic, endocrinology, or neuroendocrine therapeutic areas, and pediatric development and extrapolation strategies preferred.
• Familiarity with population PK/PD modeling and simulation tools desirable (e.g. NONMEM, Phoenix WinNonlin, R, Simcyp).
• Experience partnering with nonclinical DMPK/ADME functions and applying translational principles to support clinical development strategy preferred.
• Experience in obesity/metabolic/neuroendocrine therapeutic areas preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and define the clinical pharmacology strategy for early and late-phase development programs, including mono- and combination-therapy approaches.
• Support and interface with DMPK workstreams to inform nonclinical study designs, translational PK/PD predictions, and interpretation.
• Design, execute, and interpret clinical pharmacology studies across the development lifecycle, including but not limited to: Ph 1: first-in-human, SAD/MAD, and drug-drug interaction studies, food effect; Ph 2: PK/PD and dose selection and optimization strategy; Ph 3 and beyond: Exposure response analyses supporting Ph 3 and registration, pediatric extrapolation, and dosing justification.
• Develop and oversee model-informed drug development (MIDD) strategies to optimize dose selection and regimen design.
• Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders across clinical operations, regulatory, biostatistics, and non-clinical functions to ensure alignment of pharmacology plans with overall development objectives.
• Author and review clinical pharmacology components of global regulatory documents (e.g., INDs, CTAs, IBs, briefing packages, NDAs/MAAs) and represent clinical pharmacology in regulatory agency interactions (FDA, EMA, PMDA etc.).
• Lead clinical pharmacology strategy supporting global registration, label optimization, lifecycle management activities, and post-marketing regulatory commitments.
• Provide scientific leadership in evaluating pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data to inform clinical decision-making.
• Represent Rhythm at scientific congresses, advisory boards, investigator meetings, and interactions with external experts and key opinion leaders.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CMO and Clinical Leadership Team on clinical pharmacology, translational medicine, dose optimization, regulatory strategy, and portfolio decision making.
• Direct and oversee specialty CROs, external pharmacometrics consultants, and bioanalytical vendors to ensure high quality and compliance.
• Help establish functional infrastructure, external partnerships, standard operating procedures, and best practices to support the continued growth and evolution of clinical pharmacology capabilities at Rhythm.

Benefits

• A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and company performance.
• This role may be eligible for benefits and other compensation such as restricted stock units.

What This Job Offers

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