Vice President Clinical Research

Society of Professional Journalists; Hayward (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Society of Professional Journalists seeks a Vice President of Clinical Research to lead its clinical research organization, guiding data collection and the scientific backbone of the company. You will oversee a team of 10+ researchers and collaborate across hardware, sensing, and AI/ML teams.

This hands-on leadership role requires defining statistical criteria, budgeting, and cross-functional stakeholder management, while serving as the public-facing voice through publications, press, and

Qualifications

• PhD in physiology, neuroscience, sleep science, or related field.
• 10+ years of human research experience in startups or consumer health hardware.
• 5+ years of people management including hiring and performance reviews.
• Experience with biosensing devices or consumer health tech.
• Strong publication record and IRB experience.
• Advanced statistical fluency and power calculations.
• Cross-functional program management across hardware, sensing, AI/ML, product, and marketing.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a 10+ member clinical research team across clinical ops, data engineering, and data science.
• Direct all human studies supporting Hardware, Sensing, and AI/ML from protocol through IRB submission and reporting.
• Apply rigorous statistical criteria to evaluate hardware and algorithm performance before launch.
• Translate research into product features by partnering with Product, Growth, Design, and Engineering.
• Provide scientific input on marketing claims, press releases and journalist articles.
• Lead scientific communications—blogs, white papers, peer-reviewed publications, and media appearances.
• Manage hiring, compensation strategy, mentorship, and performance management.
• Drive new research explorations and external collaborations in sleep science.
• Own budget and vendor management for clinical studies.

Skills

Team leadership

Statistical analysis

Clinical research

Data science collaboration

Public speaking

IRB/regulatory

Sleep science

Hardware expertise

Education

PhD in physiology, neuroscience, sleep science, or related field

Job description

We're looking for a Vice President 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