Senior Director, Field Medical

Achieve Life Sciences

10d•$285,000 - $300,000•Remote

About The Position

Achieve Life Sciences is seeking a Senior Director, Field Medical to build, lead, and scale its Medical Science Liaison (MSL) team as the company prepares for the potential commercial launch of cytisinicline for smoking cessation and continues development in e-cigarette (vaping) cessation. Reporting to the Head of Medical Affairs, this strategic leadership role will own field medical strategy, team development, scientific engagement standards, and field insights to support launch and future indications. The position focuses on building and managing the team rather than carrying an individual territory, and combines strategic planning, hands-on execution, and cross-functional collaboration. The role will develop the field medical organization, recruit and onboard MSLs, establish national strategy and territory design, and set standards for scientific engagement, coaching, performance management, and development. It will establish processes for capturing and translating field insights, build compliant launch-ready infrastructure, guide KOL engagement, and ensure MSLs are equipped to conduct high-quality, fair-balanced, non-promotional scientific exchange. The Senior Director will collaborate with Medical Affairs, Clinical, Regulatory, and Commercial teams while maintaining appropriate boundaries between scientific exchange and promotional activity. This is a remote position. Candidates may reside anywhere in the continental United States, with approximately 50–60% travel required. The anticipated base salary is $285,000–$300,000 USD annually. The position is eligible for an annual target bonus and equity compensation.

Requirements

PharmD, MD, or PhD in a relevant scientific discipline.
12+ years of Medical Affairs experience within pharmaceutical or biotechnology organizations, including meaningful field medical leadership experience.
Demonstrated success recruiting, building, developing, and leading MSL teams.
Strong scientific credibility and ability to engage effectively with KOLs, academic clinicians, specialists, and community-based practitioners.
Experience establishing field medical strategy, MSL excellence standards, compliant scientific exchange practices, and field insights processes.
Strong people leadership, coaching, and performance management skills.
Ability to translate field insights into actionable recommendations and communicate field medical priorities across functions.
Collaborative, proactive leadership style and ability to build structure and processes in a fast-moving, pre-launch environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in smoking cessation, nicotine dependence, addiction medicine, or a related therapeutic area.
Experience engaging both specialist and primary care audiences across health systems and community settings.
Experience building a field medical organization ahead of a commercial launch.

Responsibilities

Build the field medical organization, recruit and onboard MSLs, and establish team structure and capabilities for launch and future growth.
Establish national field strategy, territory design, deployment models, account prioritization, and scientific engagement plans aligned with Medical Affairs priorities.
Set expectations for scientific engagement, coaching, mentoring, performance management, and professional development across the MSL team.
Ensure MSLs deliver high-quality, fair-balanced, non-promotional scientific exchange with specialists and primary care clinicians across relevant care settings.
Lead identification, mapping, and prioritization of key opinion leaders, academic clinicians, and influential community-based practitioners in smoking cessation and nicotine dependence.
Establish a systematic process for capturing and synthesizing field intelligence and translating insights into recommendations for Medical Affairs strategy, evidence generation, publications, and launch planning.
Develop the processes, tools, training, and infrastructure needed for a compliant, effective field medical organization ahead of launch.
Collaborate with Medical Affairs, Clinical, Regulatory, and Commercial teams to integrate field medical insights and priorities into broader business planning while maintaining boundaries between scientific exchange and promotional activity.
Own field medical compliance expectations and ensure the team follows applicable regulatory requirements and industry standards governing scientific exchange.
Ensure MSLs have the scientific knowledge, approved resources, and communication skills needed to engage credibly with healthcare professionals.
Define and monitor field medical performance indicators aligned with medical strategy, scientific engagement, insight generation, and team development.