Director, Medical Operations

Apnimed; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Apnimed, based in Cambridge, MA, is seeking a Director of Medical Operations to lead operational execution, planning, and continuous improvement across Medical Affairs. You will partner with leadership to ensure integrated plans, governance, and scalable processes, while driving cross-functional alignment with Business Operations and Commercial Operations.

The role oversees strategic planning, vendor management, and technology solutions, including CRM platforms and AI-enabled insights, to enable

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of pharmaceutical/biotech or healthcare operations experience.
• Experience leading Medical Affairs operations and technology platforms.

Responsibilities

• Own the annual Medical Affairs planning cycle and translate strategy into executable plans.
• Provide enterprise view of priorities, milestones, and governance across Medical Affairs functions.
• Design reporting frameworks with KPIs and dashboards for leadership visibility.
• Oversee field systems (e.g., Veeva) and AI-enabled solutions to improve field effectiveness.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Commercial, Clinical, Compliance, and Finance.

Skills

Medical Affairs operations

Technology platforms

Cross-functional leadership

CRM platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA/ MPH/ PharmD/ PhD

Tools

Veeva CRM

Veeva Vault

LMS

Job description

Apnimed is a rapidly growing pharmaceutical company focused on transforming the treatment of sleep apnea through innovative, patient-friendly therapies. Our approach is rooted in a simple idea: patients with obstructive sleep apnea may benefit from a safe, effective oral medication taken once daily at bedtime.

Our lead development program targets the neurologic control of upper airway muscles to help maintain an open airway during sleep. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Apnimed is advancing a portfolio of novel pharmacologic therapies for sleep apnea and related disorders through cutting-edge science and a commitment to innovation.

Recognized by the Boston Business Journal as one of the Best Places to Work in both 2024 and 2025, we are continuing to grow and build the foundational operations that enable our employees, and our mission, to thrive.

Position Summary

The Director, Medical Operations is responsible for leading the operational execution, planning, and continuous improvement of Medical Affairs capabilities and processes. Reporting to the Vice President, Medical Operations, this role serves as a strategic and operational partner to Medical Affairs leadership, ensuring effective planning, governance, resource management, and execution across the organization.

The role is accountable for enabling organizational effectiveness through integrated strategic planning and performance reporting, field excellence, congress and publications operations, vendor and budget management, and technology solutions. The Director provides an enterprise view of Medical Affairs priorities and progress across all medical functions, ensuring plans and execution remain aligned to medical strategy and brand plans, while partnering closely with Business Operations and Commercial Operations to drive cross-functional alignment and scalable capabilities.

Strategic Planning & Operations

• Serve as the operational owner of the annual Medical Affairs planning cycle, translating medical strategy and brand plan priorities into an integrated, executable plan across all medical functions.
• Build and maintain an enterprise view of Medical Affairs strategic priorities, objectives, and milestones spanning Medical Affairs, Field Medical, HEOR/RWE, Scientific Communications, and Professional Medical Associations/Community Health Organizations engagement.
• Design and operate the reporting and performance framework that tracks progress against medical strategic imperatives, including KPIs, milestone tracking, and integrated dashboards that give leadership a single source of truth.
• Ensure alignment between medical plans and brand plans, identifying dependencies, gaps, overlaps, and resourcing risks across functions and escalating trade-offs to Medical Affairs leadership.
• Establish and run the operating cadence for Medical Affairs, including leadership reviews, quarterly business reviews, and cross-functional prioritization forums, with clear inputs, decisions, and follow-through.
• Consolidate and synthesize functional inputs into executive-level reporting and narratives for Medical Affairs leadership, the executive team, and cross-functional partners.
• Drive process standardization, governance, and continuous improvement in how Medical Affairs plans, tracks, and reports work, so that operating rhythms scale with the organization.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidances to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
• Lead operational support for Field Medical, including planning processes, systems, metrics, analytics, and execution.
• Serve as the business owner for Medical Affairs field systems, including the ongoing evolution, optimization, and scaling of Veeva CRM and related capabilities to meet both field and headquarters needs, incorporating AI-enabled solutions and emerging technologies where appropriate.
• Develop and maintain field dashboards, KPIs, and reporting to measure performance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Leverage CRM analytics, AI-enabled insights, and other data sources to generate actionable intelligence and translate insights into recommendations that improve field effectiveness, customer engagement, and organizational performance.
• Lead onboarding, training, and capability-building initiatives for Medical Affairs and oversee the Medical Affairs components of the enterprise Learning Management System (LMS), ensuring scientific content is effectively leveraged to support cross‑functional training and organizational learning needs.

Congress & Publications Operations

• Lead the planning, coordination, and execution of Medical Affairs congress activities and support publications operations as needed.
• Oversee congress timelines, logistics, vendor management, and cross‑functional coordination.
• Establish metrics and reporting to monitor congress and publication execution, identify opportunities for continuous improvement, and support organizational decision‑making.
• Lead oversight of Medical Affairs vendors and external partners, including contracts, preferred vendors, fair market value (FMV) assessment, performance management, and governance.
• Manage annual budget planning, forecasting, accruals, and financial reporting in partnership with Finance.
• Identify opportunities to optimize investments, operational efficiency, and resource allocation.

Technology Solutions

• Lead the strategy, governance, and continuous improvement of Medical Affairs technology platforms, including Veeva CRM, Veeva Vault, LMS, and associated enterprise solutions.
• Evaluate and implement AI‑enabled and digital solutions to enhance operational efficiency, insights generation, content management, and customer engagement capabilities.
• Partner with cross‑functional stakeholders to ensure technology platforms support omnichannel engagement, digital content delivery, and evolving business needs.
• Lead technology implementations, enhancements, integrations, and change management activities to drive scalable and data‑driven Medical Affairs capabilities.

Cross‑Functional Leadership

• Partner with Medical Affairs, Commercial, Clinical, Compliance, and Business Operations stakeholders to drive alignment and execution of organizational priorities.
• Translate operational data and insights into actionable recommendations and support operational solutions and strategic planning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred (MBA, MPH, PharmD, PhD, or equivalent).
• 10+ years of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or healthcare industry experience.
• Significant experience in Medical Affairs operations, technology platforms, and cross‑functional leadership.
• Experience managing CRM platforms, digital engagement capabilities, and enterprise systems preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and operate effectively in complex, matrixed environments.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
• Experience in pre‑commercial and high‑growth environments preferred.

The salary range for this position is $190,000 - $240,000. Final compensation will be determined based on multiple factors and may fall outside of the posted range.