Senior Director, Clinical Development

Join Kite as a Senior Medical Director and provide strategic and scientific leadership for one or more oncology development programs from early development through registration. In this role, you will shape clinical development strategies, oversee execution across multiple studies, and partner with cross-functional teams to advance innovative personalized CAR T-cell therapies. You will work within an environment dedicated to transforming cancer treatment and helping shape the future of medical science. Kite values collaborative leadership and offers an impactful opportunity to drive clinical programs while mentoring physicians and scientific professionals.

Practice Info

• Kite is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies

• Focuses on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered cell therapies

• Based in Santa Monica, CA

Shift & Schedule

• Willingness to travel up to 25%

Responsibilities

• Lead the clinical development strategy for one or more oncology programs, providing scientific and medical leadership from IND-enabling activities through proof-of-concept and early development milestones

• Provide clinical oversight and medical monitoring across one or more clinical studies, ensuring participant safety, data integrity, and high-quality execution

• Lead cross-functional teams in the design, implementation, and execution of clinical development plans and clinical studies

• Author and review protocols, investigator brochures, clinical study reports, regulatory documents, and other key clinical development deliverables

• Provide strategic leadership for regulatory interactions and submissions, including INDs, health authority meetings, regulatory responses, as applicable

• Collaborate with Research, Translational Sciences, Clinical Operations, Safety, Regulatory Affairs, and CMC teams to advance development programs and achieve key milestones

• Build and maintain relationships with investigators, key opinion leaders, scientific advisors, and other external stakeholders

• Present clinical data and development strategies to governance committees, health authorities, scientific conferences, and investigator meetings; lead or contribute to scientific publications and presentations

Compensation

• Bay Area salary range: $302,005 - $390,830

• Other US Locations salary range: $274,550 - $355,300

• Discretionary annual bonus

• Discretionary stock-based long-term incentives

Benefits

• Paid time off

• Company-sponsored medical plans

• Company-sponsored dental plans

• Company-sponsored vision plans

• Company-sponsored life insurance plans

Qualifications

• MD/DO with 6+ years of clinical, scientific and/or drug development experience, including substantial experience in biopharmaceutical clinical development

• Board certification in Hematology/Oncology or a related specialty (preferred)

• Significant experience leading oncology drug development programs with responsibility for clinical strategy and execution (preferred)

• Demonstrated experience leading first-in-human, proof-of-concept, and registrational development programs (preferred)

• Cell therapy experience preferred, including autologous, allogeneic, and/or in vivo cellular therapy platforms

• Experience leading interactions with global health authorities and supporting major regulatory submissions (preferred)

• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive decision-making in a matrix environment (preferred)

• Proven track record of scientific leadership through publications, presentations, advisory boards, and engagement with external experts and key opinion leaders (preferred)

• Experience mentoring and developing physicians, scientists, and cross-functional team members (preferred)

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to balance scientific rigor, operational feasibility, regulatory requirements, and business objectives (preferred)