Senior Director, Translational Sciences
Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.•South San Francisco, CA
•$245,000 - $306,200•Hybrid
About The Position
The Senior Director, Translational Sciences will lead the design and execution of disease biology and drug mechanism of action (MoA) strategies to advance therapeutics from discovery through clinical development. This role requires deep expertise in translational sciences with hands-on experience in neurology and electrophysiology, along with a strong understanding of the end-to-end drug development process. The ideal candidate brings a proven ability to translate complex biological data into clear, actionable insights and drive cross-functional collaboration to advance programs.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in life sciences or a related field
- 12+ years of experience in translational sciences within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology environment
- Deep expertise in neurology drug discovery and preclinical development
- Experience supporting clinical-stage development programs
- Hands-on experience with regulatory filings including IND, BLA, or NDA
- Proficiency working with complex, multifactorial biological datasets and data analysis platforms
- Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed
Nice To Haves
- Experience across therapeutic platforms including small molecules, ASO, and mRNA preferred
Responsibilities
- Develop and lead translational biology strategies to interrogate disease biology and drug MoA, driving execution across candidate targets and therapeutic programs
- Design and implement preclinical neurology and neurophysiology studies to address key MoA questions across the portfolio
- Partner across research and development teams to develop and test hypotheses supporting target validation and candidate progression
- Define MoA strategies for preclinical evaluation and align with biomarker strategies for clinical translation
- Synthesize and integrate complex biological datasets to inform decision-making across development stages
- Select and manage CROs while building strong collaborations to enhance scientific execution and delivery
- Present data and program strategies to asset teams, governance committees, and senior leadership
- Contribute to key regulatory and scientific documents including INDs, NDAs, study protocols, and publications
- Other duties as assigned
Benefits
- Competitive base, bonus, new hire and ongoing equity packages
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Employer-paid life, disability, business travel and EAP coverage
- 401(k) Plan with a fully vested company match 1:1 up to 5%
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a 2-year purchase price lock-in
- 15+ vacation days
- 13 -15 paid holidays, including office closure between December 24th and January 1st
- 10 days of paid sick time
- Paid parental leave benefit
- Tuition assistance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
