Scientific Director

Novo Nordisk A/S; Lexington (MA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Novo Nordisk A/S is seeking a Scientific Director to lead diabetes research in the US, shaping strategic direction and advancing disease biology insights across programs. The role demands strong industry experience in small-molecule discovery, collaboration with TA leadership, and translation of biology into development value.

This senior leader will influence portfolio decisions, drive translational science, and build external partnerships, reporting to the Senior Director of Diabetes Research

Qualifications

• PhD from an accredited university and 7+ years of experience required.
• A diabetes drug discovery SME with a high level of creativity & curiosity.
• Expert level understanding of challenges related to drug development in diabetes.
• Proven track record coordinating and obtaining buy-in from internal & external stakeholders.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and align cross-functional teams.
• High level of communication skills and ability to communicate scientific results clearly.
• Role models the NNway and fosters an open, collaborative culture.

Responsibilities

• Progress novel targets and emerging mechanisms of action for diabetes and comorbidities.
• Align external innovation outreach with Diabetes strategic priorities.
• Contribute to the TA research agenda with leadership.
• Integrate human cohorts, clinical datasets, biomarkers into disease understanding.
• Define and advance scientific strategy in diabetes biology.
• Deliver high-quality scientific insights to enable program progression.
• Build external scientific networks and represent the organization publicly.
• Communicate with stakeholders across global sites and functions.
• Promote scalable, inclusive approaches and global collaboration.

Skills

Diabetes drug discovery

Scientific leadership

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

English fluency

Communication skills

Education

PhD (required)

MD/DO alternative

Job description

Our Research & Development organization brings together the best minds in life science innovation. The teams located in facilities in Lexington, Watertown, Cambridge and Plainsboro reflect the full R&D continuum, from early research through late-stage clinical development. Here, we are building for the future, creating a distinct R&D community based on collaboration, partnerships, and cutting‑edge research across multiple modalities and therapeutic areas. We recognize that improving human health starts here and that patients rely on us. Our R&D hub merges biotech speed and agility with large pharmaceutical company quality, resources, and stability, uniting the best of both worlds to develop new medicines for patients.

The Position

The Scientific Director serves as a senior scientific leader and subject matter expert, shaping strategic direction and advancing disease biology insights across the Diabetes Therapeutic Area. This role provides biological leadership to impact the portfolio strategy, ensuring programs are grounded in robust human biology, translational relevance and a clear path to differentiated clinical value. We are seeking a leader with strong diabetes disease understanding and drug discovery expertise in small molecules; experience with siRNA or other nucleic acid‑based modalities is a plus. The position plays a central role in connecting early research, translational science and development strategy to advance a competitive and innovative diabetes pipeline.

Working in close partnership with TA Leadership, Medical Directors, Clinical Trial Strategy Teams and cross‑functional research partners, the Scientific Director influences key portfolio decisions and aligns biological rationale with therapeutic and development priorities. The role supports translational and clinical interpretation, contributes to selected diabetes‑related priorities where appropriate and serves as a trusted scientific advisor in internal and external innovation activities. Success in this position requires scientific depth, strategic judgment, collaborative leadership and the ability to translate complex biology into clear, actionable direction across a global matrix organization.

Relationships

Reports to Senior Director, Diabetes Research US. Internal relationships include close collaboration with the scientific leadership team, technical staff, project managers and scientific colleagues across all global R&D sites. The Scientific Director will serve as a key member of the Diabetes Research US Leadership Team and will partner closely with Business Development and critical stakeholders across the development organisation. External engagement includes building and maintaining strong relationships with key opinion leaders in diabetes, cardiometabolic and pancreas biology, as well as with the broader medical and research community, including academic and industry collaborators. The role also requires cross‑functional collaboration with R&D, External Innovation, Medical & Science, Translational Science, Computational Drug Discovery (CDD), Global Research Technologies (GRT) and R&D Strategy, as well as active participation in European and US‑based consortia and academic partnerships. Individual contributor. No direct or dotted‑line reports.

Essential Functions

• Scientific leadership:
  • Progress novel targets and emerging mechanisms of action for diabetes and diabetic related comorbidities
  • Work closely to align efforts in the departments leading external innovation outreach and alliance activities to ensure Diabetes strategic priorities are addressed and future‑focused needs and development are being supported
  • Contribute subject matter expertise to the TA research agenda in partnership with TA Leadership, Development and Commercial, linking scientific priorities to long‑term portfolio and business needs
  • Partner with teams leading external innovation and alliance activities to ensure strategic priorities are addressed and future‑focused opportunities are advanced
  • Integrate human cohorts, clinical datasets, biomarkers and omics data into disease understanding, target validation and precision medicine strategies
  • Contribute to defining and advancing scientific strategy in diabetes biology, ensuring a robust, human biology–driven foundation for target identification and validation
  • Responsible for delivering high‑quality scientific insights that enable program progression and support key portfolio decisions
  • Influences portfolio direction and go/no‑go decisions through expert scientific recommendations to TA Leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders
  • Scientific visibility:
  • Build external scientific networks, identify partnership opportunities across academia and industry and represent the organization through presentations, publications, patents and selected external engagements
  • Communicate with clarity and influence stakeholders at all levels while fostering productive collaboration across global sites and functions
  • Promote globally scalable approaches, an inclusive and collaborative culture and a strong external outlook that supports scientific excellence and enterprise impact
• Success Profile:
  • Builds a differentiated diabetes portfolio rooted in human biology
  • Advances programs efficiently through key pipeline milestones
  • Strengthens integration of translational and clinical insights into research strategy
  • Creates external collaborations that enhance innovation and pipeline growth
• Global representation & inclusivity:
  • Ensures global scalability of solutions and understands the importance of involving various global stakeholders
  • Demonstrates a strong global mindset and knowledge about different cultures
  • Communicating state‑of‑the‑art scientific excellence and drive global footprint and outlook for VP area by representation of needs and strategy
  • Role model for NNWay and demonstrate an open minded and collaborative culture and lead in embracing new ideas and concepts

Qualifications

• PhD from an accredited university and 7+ years of experience required. Equivalent experience requirements for advanced degrees would be an MD/DO from an accredited university and 3+ years of experience
• A diabetes drug discovery SME with a high level of creativity & curiosity with a strong innovative mindset
• Expert level understanding of scientific & translational challenges related to drug development in T1D, with previous experience in industry
• Proven track record of coordinating and obtaining buy‑in from internal & external stakeholders
• Ability to influence without direct authority, align cross‑functional teams and drive results globally
• Requires a high level of communication skills, including the development of clear agenda, meeting leadership, drawing groups to good conclusions & communicating scientific results & content across international sites & stakeholders from many parts of a complex multinational organization
• A strong team player that brings people along through a supportive, engaged & creative way of working
• Fluency in spoken & written English is a prerequisite for the role with good communication skills & cross‑cultural understanding to interact in the global organisation
• Role models the NNway, encouraging a culture of engagement & dedication

The base compensation range for this position is $200,000 to $290,000. Base compensation is determined based on a number of factors. This position is also eligible for a company bonus based on individual and company performance. Novo Nordisk offers long‑term incentive compensation and or company vehicles depending on the position's level or other company factors.

Employees are also eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs including medical, dental and vision coverage; life insurance; disability insurance; 401(k) savings plan; flexible spending accounts; employee assistance program; tuition reimbursement program; and voluntary benefits such as group legal, critical illness, identity theft protection, pet insurance and auto/home insurance. The Company also offers time off pursuant to its sick time policy, flex‑able vacation policy and parental leave policy.

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk, we're not chasing quick fixes – we're creating lasting change for long‑term health. For over 100 years, we've been driven by a single purpose: to defeat serious chronic diseases and help millions of people live healthier lives. This dedication fuels our constant curiosity and inspires us to push the boundaries of what's possible in healthcare. We embrace diverse perspectives, seek out bold ideas, and build partnerships rooted in shared purpose. Together, we're making healthcare more accessible, treating and defeating diseases, and pioneering solutions that create change spanning generations. When you join us, you become part of something bigger – a legacy of impact that reaches far beyond today.

Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.

If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.