Senior Director, Medical Affairs

LeonaBio; Bothell (WA); On-site; USD 260,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) with employer match

Generous PTO: 25 days + holidays

Life & disability coverage

FSA options

Professional development support

Job summary

LeonaBio, Inc. seeks a Senior Director of Medical Affairs to lead the strategic medical plan for a late-stage oncology asset. You will guide evidence generation, shape the scientific narrative, and ensure alignment with Commercial, Regulatory and Clinical teams. Strong KOL engagement and publication leadership are essential.

Entrepreneurial, lean team environment; global medical affairs execution; focus on data-driven decision making and compliant communications across audiences.

Qualifications

• Advanced medical degree required.
• 7+ years of Medical Affairs experience in biopharmaceuticals with oncology focus.
• Hands-on development of medical strategy and communications materials.

Responsibilities

• Lead the medical affairs strategy for the company's late-stage oncology asset.
• Guide evidence generation priorities and lifecycle planning.
• Serve as scientific partner to Commercial, Clinical Development, Regulatory and other teams.
• Build relationships with KOLs, academic investigators and professional societies.
• Lead scientific engagement strategies at major oncology congresses.
• Oversee creation and review of medical content including narratives, slide decks and FAQs.
• Drive publication planning with internal and external authors and agencies.
• Identify trends and unmet needs to inform strategy and evidence generation.

Skills

Oncology expertise

Medical affairs strategy

Publications strategy

KOL engagement

Scientific narrative development

Medical communications

Education

MD/PhD/PharmD

Job description

LeonaBio, Inc., headquartered in the Seattle, Washington area, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for high unmet medical needs, including treatment-resistant metastatic breast cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Our lead programs, lasofoxifene and brelgometon, are novel small-molecule therapies with the potential to address devastating diseases where current treatment options are limited or ineffective. We are committed to scientific excellence and patient-centered innovation as we advance meaningful new therapies for patients.

About this role:

The Senior Director, Medical Affairs serves as the strategic scientific leader for the company’s late-stage oncology asset, driving the development and execution of an integrated global medical affairs strategy. This role provides deep therapeutic expertise, shapes evidence generation priorities, and ensures scientific excellence across all medical activities. A core responsibility is leading medical communication strategy and scientific narrative development, ensuring consistent, high‑quality dissemination of data across internal and external audiences. The Senior Director partners closely with Commercial and cross‑functional teams to ensure medical alignment, scientific readiness, and seamless execution of launch plans that support successful product introduction and sustained market impact.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and execution of the medical affairs strategy for the company’s late-stage oncology asset.
• Provide therapeutic expertise to guide strategic decisions, evidence generation priorities, and lifecycle planning.
• Serve as a scientific and strategic partner to Commercial, Clinical Development, Regulatory, and other teams.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), academic investigators, and professional societies
• Lead scientific engagement strategies at major oncology congresses
• Lead creation and review of high‑quality medical content, including:
  • Scientific narratives and core slide decks
  • Medical information responses and FAQs
  • Advisory board materials
  • Training content for field medical teams
• Drive publication planning in partnership with internal authors, external experts, and publication agencies.
• Identify emerging trends, competitive intelligence, and unmet needs to inform strategy and evidence generation
• Provide oversight for medical review of promotional and non‑promotional materials.
• Provide scientific review and expertise for independent investigator-sponsored studies
• Ensure all medical affairs activities adhere to regulatory, legal, and compliance standards

Requirements:

• Advanced medical or scientific degree (MD, PharmD, PhD or equivalent).
• 7+ years of experience in Medical Affairs within the biopharmaceutical industry, with significant oncology expertise.
• Demonstrated ability to personally develop and execute medical affairs strategy and communications materials (slide decks, publications, scientific narratives) in a hands‑on capacity, rather than primarily directing or overseeing a team's output.
• In‑house Medical Affairs experience within a small or mid-size biopharmaceutical/biotech environment, comfortable operating within a lean team without significant vendor infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of oncology clinical development, competitive landscape, and evolving standards of care.
• Demonstrated leadership in medical communications, publication strategy, and scientific narrative development
• Demonstrated experience leading KOL mapping and gap analysis, and engaging global KOLs, academic institutions, and professional societies.
• Solid understanding of Health Economics and Payer environment is preferred.
• Ability to comprehend and combine complex sets of data.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support our employees and their families, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage: Leona covers 100% of employee premiums and 80% of dependent premiums (Premera Blue Cross PPO, Delta Dental, VSP)
• 401(k) with employer match: immediate eligibility, with Leona matching 100% of employee contributions up to 4% of salary
• Generous PTO: 25 days accrued annually, plus 11 paid holidays and a company-wide closure the last week of December
• Life & disability coverage: Basic Life, AD&D, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability fully paid by Leona, with voluntary options available
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Health and Dependent Care FSA options
• Professional development: up to $6,000 annually reimbursed for job-relevant, manager-approved education

Compensation

The base salary range for this position is $260,000-$300,000. This role may be eligible for an annual bonus and equity, in addition to our full benefits package outlined above. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors including relevant experience, skill set, education, and internal pay equity.

LeonaBio is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of an individual’s race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all terms, conditions and privileges of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, promotion, discipline and termination.