Director/Senior Director, Clinical Research

BioTalent; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

BioTalent seeks a Director/Senior Director of Clinical Research to own the clinical research organization and the data backbone powering its hardware, sensing, and AI/ML teams.

You'll lead a 10+ person team across clinical operations, data engineering, and data science, directing studies from protocol ideation through IRB submission and reporting. This hands-on leader will shape statistical criteria and coordinate cross-functional programs.

Qualifications

• PhD in physiology, neuroscience, sleep science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of human research experience.
• 5+ years of people management experience.
• Experience with biosensing devices or consumer health technology pursuing clinical validation.
• Strong record of peer-reviewed publications; PI on IRB-approved studies.
• Advanced statistical fluency; define criteria, power calculations, work with raw data.

Responsibilities

• Own the clinical research & science organization — lead, mentor, and grow a team of 10+ spanning clinical operations, data engineering, and data science.
• Direct all human research studies supporting Hardware, Sensing, and AI/ML teams, from protocol development through IRB submission, data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Uphold scientific validation standards with MAE, TOST, Bland-Altman analyses for hardware/algorithm performance.
• Translate research into product features by partnering with Product, Growth, Design, and Engineering.
• Provide scientific input on marketing, press releases, and articles, ensuring data-backed claims.
• Lead scientific communications — blog posts, white papers, publications, and represent company publicly.
• Manage team growth and performance, hiring, compensation, mentorship, and performance management.
• Drive new research exploration and external collaborations in sleep science.
• Own budget and vendor management for clinical studies.

Skills

Leadership

Statistics

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

PhD in physiology/neuroscience/sleep science or related field

Job description

We're looking for a Director/Senior Director of Clinical Research to own our clinical research organization — the data collection and scientific backbone of the company. You'll lead a team of 10+ research associates, data scientists, and data engineers, and serve as the senior physiological authority across every human research study powering our hardware, sensing, and AI/ML teams.

You'll also own program management across the clinical team's full breadth — hardware studies, AI/ML development studies, and women's sleep studies — while acting as our public-facing voice, from peer-reviewed publications to press and podcast appearances.

This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll be as comfortable defining statistical criteria and reviewing raw data as you are managing people, budgets, and cross-functional stakeholders.

What You’ll Do

• Own the clinical research & science organization — lead, mentor, and grow a team of 10+ spanning clinical operations, data engineering, and data science
• Direct all human research studies supporting Hardware, Sensing, and AI/ML teams, from protocol development and study ideation through IRB submission, data collection, analysis, and reporting
• Uphold scientific validation standards by applying rigorous statistical and testing criteria (e.g., MAE, TOST equivalence testing, Bland-Altman analysis) to evaluate hardware and algorithm performance before launch
• Translate research into product features by partnering with Product, Growth, Design, and Engineering teams on science-backed features
• Provide scientific input on marketing claims, press releases, and journalist articles, ensuring every public-facing claim is backed by data
• Lead scientific communications — author and direct blog posts, white papers, and peer-reviewed publications, and represent the company in press interviews, podcasts, and conference talks
• Manage team growth and performance, including hiring, compensation strategy, mentorship, and formal performance management
• Drive new research exploration, identifying and pursuing external collaborations and new areas of sleep science
• Own budget and vendor management for clinical studies

What You Bring

• PhD in physiology, neuroscience, sleep science, or a related field
• 10+ years of human research experience, including at least 5 years at high-growth startups or consumer health/hardware technology companies
• 5+ years of people management experience, including hiring, compensation decisions, and formal performance management
• Experience with biosensing devices or consumer health technology pursuing clinical validation
• Strong record of peer-reviewed publications; experience as author or Principal Investigator on IRB-approved clinical studies
• Advanced statistical fluency — able to define statistical criteria, run power calculations, and work directly with raw data alongside data scientists and biostatisticians
• Experience managing cross-functional programs spanning hardware validation, sensing, AI/ML, product, and marketing
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills across scientific and consumer audiences
• Hands-on, execution-oriented mindset, comfortable owning studies end-to-end in a fast-moving environment