Senior Director, Field Medical Affairs & US Launch Lead

Bicara Therapeutics

7d•$279,000 - $319,000•Remote

About The Position

Bicara is seeking a strategic and execution-driven Field Medical Affairs Lead to build, lead, and spearhead our field medical organization for medical launch readiness and through our commercial launch. This is a highly visible, cross-functional role that sits at the intersection of science, strategy, and stakeholder engagement. This is a rare opportunity to architect the field medical function from the ground up — defining the MSL model, establishing engagement standards, and leading a high-performing team of Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) at a pivotal moment in the company's history. The ideal candidate combines strategic vision with hands-on field leadership, bringing deep experience in MSL team management, KOL engagement, and launch execution within biotech or specialty pharma. This role is field based and requires the ability to travel up to 60-70% within assigned territory.

Requirements

Advanced degree required: PharmD, MD, PhD, or equivalent in a relevant life sciences discipline.
10+ years of experience in Medical Affairs, with at least 3–5 years in direct MSL leadership or field medical management.
Demonstrated experience building or scaling a field medical team, ideally in a launch or pre-launch setting.
Proven track record of KOL relationship development and management at a national level.
Deep knowledge of MSL best practices, field medical compliance standards, and OPDP/regulatory guidelines governing scientific exchange.
Exceptional scientific communication skills — able to translate complex data into compelling, compliant conversations.
Experience in Therapeutic Area, e.g., oncology, rare disease, immunology.
Experience at a biotech company navigating first or second product launch.
Familiarity with field force effectiveness tools (e.g., Veeva CRM, Salesforce Health Cloud).
Exposure to HEOR, RWE, or registry evidence generation in a field setting.
Prior experience in clinical practice or direct patient care is a plus.

Responsibilities

Recruit, onboard, train, and lead a national team of Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), building a field medical function calibrated for launch readiness.
Define and implement the field medical operating model, including territory design, call planning frameworks, engagement metrics, and performance standards.
Serve as a player-coach, maintaining a personal portfolio of national/academic KOL relationships while guiding the team's strategic engagement plans.
Foster a high-performance, learning-oriented team culture rooted in scientific integrity, compliance, and patient-centricity.
Co-development and execution of the Medical Affairs Launch Plan with VP Medical affairs, ensuring alignment with commercial, clinical, and regulatory timelines.
Lead the operationalization of the Medical Launch Readiness Framework in the field, including KPIs, milestones, and cross-functional accountability structures.
Define pre-launch KOL identification and mapping strategy, ensuring MSLs are engaged with key academic centers, community practices, and emerging thought leaders ahead of approval.
Participate as Launch team member coordinating medical input across all launch workstreams.
Drive field medical readiness milestones including MSL training curricula, scientific platform deployment, and reactive/proactive engagement protocols.
Establish field feedback loops to ensure insights from HCP interactions are systematically captured, synthesized, and shared cross-functionally.
Oversee strategic KOL engagement across the full spectrum — from academic opinion leaders to community-based key practitioners.
Lead and oversee medical advisory boards, scientific symposia, and congress engagement strategies.
Serve as a scientific resource to external stakeholders, building trust and credibility in the pre-launch and launch periods.
Guide MSLs in conducting high-quality, compliant scientific exchange on disease state, clinical data, and emerging evidence.
Support the identification and development of emerging voices and scientific collaborators for advisory boards, publications, and congresses.
Represent Field Medical at national and regional scientific congresses, coordinating team presence and engagement strategies.
Collaborate with Medical Affairs leadership to design and execute MSL onboarding and continuous training programs, including therapeutic area expertise, product data, and engagement skills.
Maintain team scientific fluency through ongoing education sessions, journal clubs, and clinical update training.
Ensure all field communications and materials meet MLR (Medical, Legal, Regulatory) review standards and company compliance policies.
Serve as the primary Field Medical representative on the Launch Core Team, integrating field medical strategy with commercial, market access, and medical education workstreams.
Partner with HEOR and Market Access teams to support evidence needs and formulary discussions where medically appropriate.
Collaborate with Clinical Operations on site identification, investigator engagement, and ongoing study support.
Contribute to evidence generation planning, including IIS strategy, RWE initiatives, and registry opportunities.
Define and oversee field medical metrics and dashboards, tracking engagement quality, KOL coverage, scientific exchange activity, and insight generation.
Deliver regular field medical reporting to Medical Affairs leadership and relevant stakeholders.
Use field insights to inform medical strategy, evidence gaps, and unmet need identification.