Director of Ophthalmology Translational Pharmacology

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 188,000 - 264,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Onsite gym

Pool, snacks, drinks

Hybrid work environment

Remote work considered

Stock equity

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

The Director, Pharmacology at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will be a scientific and strategic thought partner responsible for building the pipeline by bridging biology and translational science from discovery to early clinical development. The role reports to the VP, Translational Science and offers the opportunity to lead a translational team in Irvine.

Key responsibilities include serving as SME in pharmacology and drug target biology, managing CROs and external collaborations, and guiding MOA and

Qualifications

• PhD or MD/PhD in Biology, Pharmacology, Molecular or Cell biology or related life sciences field with 10 years experience in a pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry setting.
• Knowledge and solid understanding of emerging research, mechanisms of action and disease models preclinically and clinically.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing strategies — including assay selection, qualification, and CRO-based execution — to support proof of concept, MOA, route and dose selection.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including writing, reviewing, and editing scientific documents.
• Strong interpersonal skills, diplomacy, and positive-influencing abilities.
• Proven influencing and partnering skills to drive decision‑making within multidisciplinary, matrixed teams.
• Effective project management skills.
• Strong presentation skills; must be able to provide succinct, strategic, and actionable insights.
• Scientifically independent, proactive self‑starter who can lead work independently, anticipate issues, and identify the next step without direction.
• Enterprise and entrepreneurial mindset.

Responsibilities

• Subject Matter Expert in Pharmacology, Pathophysiology and drug target biology.
• Establish and maintain strong external partnerships with key opinionleaders, academic institutions and other external partners.
• Partner with key internal experts across the company — including Clinical Development, Innovation Lab, and Business Development (BD).
• Drive stage-appropriate project translational strategy for a differentiated asset to address unmet patient need with key “Go/No Go” decision points.
• Execute non-clinical experiments to support mechanism-of-action (MOA) related translational questions as well as overall understanding of disease biology, treatment approaches, routes of administration, and target engagement.
• Develop deep internal expertise in disease areas within ophthalmology, which are prioritized by the company.
• Elucidate mechanisms of action, evaluate disease models and preclinical proof-of-concept approaches, and partner with Pharmacokinetics to identify first-in-human dosing requirements.
• Generate clear, testable translational hypotheses addressing mechanism of action and pharmacodynamics, and supporting patient selection.
• Assess relevant models, select and manage CRO partners, and interact with academic experts to evaluate potential assets.
• Partner with BD and bring scientific expertise to evaluate and triage external assets and opportunities, identify key risks and mitigation plans, and build additional evidence to enable Go/No Go decisions.
• Partner with Innovation Lab team to prioritize competing hypotheses, identify possible assets, and enable advancement into clinical development.
• Build open relationships with peers and external partners to ensure best decision making.

Skills

Decision Making

Collaboration

Outcome Driven

Empowering Others

Emotional Intelligence

Education

PhD or MD/PhD in Biology/Pharmacology/Molecular or Cell Biology

Job description

The Director, Pharmacology at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will be a scientific and strategic thought partner responsible for building the pipeline by bridging biology and translational science from discovery to early clinical development. The role reports to the VP, Translational Science and offers the opportunity to lead a translational team in Irvine.

Key responsibilities include serving as SME in pharmacology and drug target biology, managing CROs and external collaborations, and guiding MOA and