Director, Field Medical Affairs (East Coast)

Zealand Pharma U.S., Inc.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Zealand Pharma U.S., Inc. is seeking a Director, Field Medical Affairs – Obesity to lead and grow the national obesity-focused MSL team in the US. You will partner with Medical, Clinical Development and Commercial to translate scientific strategy into field impact and ensure successful launches of obesity assets.

You will coach MSLs, set KPIs, develop launch plans, and oversee field operations with regulatory and budget accountability, traveling up to 40% domestically.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7+ years leading MSL teams or equivalent in pharma/biotech.
• Proven launch experience and medical affairs leadership.
• Strong ability to influence cross-functionally and develop people.
• Deep understanding of US regulatory and compliance landscape for field medical activities.
• Willingness to travel up to 40% domestically.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale the national obesity-focused MSL team.
• Partner with Medical, Clinical Development, and Commercial to align strategy and field execution.
• Drive KOL engagement and launch readiness for obesity assets.
• Coach, develop, and performance-manage MSLs.
• Oversee field operations, resource allocation, and budget adherence.

Skills

MSL leadership

Launch experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic planning

Regulatory/compliance knowledge

People development

Travel readiness

Education

MD/PhD/PharmD

Job description

Your new position

As Director, Field Medical Affairs – Obesity, you will lead and grow our national obesity-focused MSL team, shaping how we translate scientific strategy into field impact. You'll be a senior voice across US Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, and Commercial, driving KOL engagement and launch readiness for our obesity and metabolic pipeline. This is a role for an experienced people leader ready to build and elevate a high-performing field team.

We offer exciting responsibilities:

• Lead, scale, and evolve the national obesity-focused MSL team, setting, goals, and KPIs and strategic territory plans
• Serve as the senior field medical partner to cross-functional leadership across Medical, Clinical, and Commercial
• Contribute to US thought leader engagement strategy and represent MSL leadership in high-level KOL interactions
• Coach, develop, and performance-manage MSLs, building bench strength and scientific excellence across the team
• Lead field medical launch planning for new obesity assets,
• Ensure field operations meet regulatory, compliance, and budget standards, with full accountability for resource allocation
• Advocate for the needs of your field team, ensuring they are prepared to execute the medical strategy

Your profile

You are a senior Medical Affairs leader who thrives on developing people and driving field strategy at scale. You bring credibility with KOLs, comfort operating at a senior cross-functional table, and a track record of building strong MSL teams through complex launches and have built MSL launch plans.

• Advanced degree (MD, PhD, PharmD) required
• 7+ years given increased seniority
• 3-5 yrs minimum managing/leading MSL teams
• Proven launch experience
• Demonstrated success building, scaling, and developing high-performing field teams
• Deep understanding of the US regulatory and compliance landscape governing field medical activities
• Willingness to travel up to 40% domestically (field rides, national and regional meetings)
• Excellent people-skills, relatable, and fun to work with.
• Values inquiry, transparency, and open communication.

Your new team

The Field Director, East Coast, reports directly to Gabe Smolarz, VP of US Medical Affairs, and is one of two regional Field Director positions (East and West) leading the field-based Medical Affairs presence for Zealand Pharma's obesity/metabolic health franchise. This role sits within a growing US Medical Affairs organization built to support the petrelintide launch, alongside Medical Information, Scientific Communications, and Medical Operations functions, and will oversee a portion of a combined East/West MSL team, split geographically by territory. The Field Director partners closely with US Medical Affairs leadership, Global Medical Affairs, and cross-functional launch teams to ensure consistent scientific engagement and field medical strategy execution across their region.

Company culture

Let's bond and be bold. We have a unique biotech culture, characterized by excellent teamwork and strong engagement across the organization. And we want you to help us strengthen this culture. Making bonds is at the core of everything we do. From discovering and developing the best new peptide drugs for patients, to engaging with our partners or connecting with each other. We bond through curiosity and playfulness as a team, allowing ourselves to challenge common thinking and drive future innovation.

About Zealand Pharma A/S

Zealand Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ZEAL) is a biotechnology company focused on advancing medicines for obesity and metabolic health. Combining more than 25 years of peptide R&D expertise with a proprietary data platform that leverages advanced data-driven and AI/ML approaches, Zealand Pharma aims to lead a new era in obesity and metabolic health. To date, more than ten Zealand Pharma-invented drug candidates have entered clinical development, of which two products have reached the market and three candidates are in late-stage development. The Company has collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for research, development, and commercialization. Founded in 1998, Zealand Pharma is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a U.S. presence in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.zealandpharma.com. Since our founding in 1998, Zealand Pharma has built a core expertise in the discovery, design, and development of therapeutic peptides. This expertise has led to an R&D pipeline of innovative investigational candidates designed to address a broad range of disease areas. We have four therapeutic focus areas: obesity, rare diseases, chronic inflammation, and type 1 diabetes. In obesity, our peptide capabilities place us in a unique position to address a vast global health challenge and positively impact hundreds of millions of lives. Within rare diseases, we have a long-standing commitment to deliver new treatments to patients living with congenital hyperinsulinism and short bowel syndrome. For chronic inflammatory diseases, we are progressing peptide programs focused on high-profile targets shown to be difficult to address with small molecules and antibodies. For type 1 diabetes, we aspire to change the management of this disease. Our strategy is to pursue global co-development and commercialization partnerships that complement and extend our capabilities across the value chain to deliver new peptide therapies to people who need them.