Abel Zeta logo
Abel Zeta
Rockville, Maryland

(Senior) Medical Director (MD Required)

Medical AffairsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$207k-$380k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 18m ago · Verified live

Job Description

AbelZeta is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel immunotherapy products. We are on a rapid growth trajectory and have a highly energized and accomplished team driving to new frontiers of care for cancer and autoimmune disease patients.

We are seeking a physician clinical developer to join the Inflammation & Immunology Clinical Development organization. The role may be appointed at the Medical Director, or Senior Medical Director level depending on the candidate’s depth of clinical development experience, therapeutic-area expertise, and demonstrated leadership scope.

The successful candidate will initially provide study-level clinical leadership and medical monitoring for one or more autoimmune and/or neuroimmunology trials, with meaningful responsibility for protocol design, study execution, investigator engagement, safety oversight, data interpretation, and regulatory support.

This role offers the opportunity to join a rapidly evolving clinical-stage cell-therapy organization at a point when programs are transitioning from early clinical evidence into global and potentially registrational development. The successful candidate can build deep expertise in autoimmune cell therapy while progressively expanding from hands-on study leadership to broader clinical development ownership.

Responsibilities and Duties

  • Study Medical Leadership & Medical Monitoring
  • Serve as Study Medical Lead for one or more clinical trials and provide day-to-day clinical oversight from study start-up through database lock and clinical study reporting.
  • Perform or oversee medical monitoring activities, including eligibility review, AEs, SAE, concomitant medications, rescue therapy review, protocol deviation, data queries.
  • Review subject-level clinical data in EDC and related data-review platforms
  • Provide medical guidance to investigators and sites regarding protocol interpretation, eligibility, disease management, safety events, and study-specific clinical questions.
  • Protocol Design, Data Interpretation & Scientific Strategy
  • Lead or contribute to development of protocols, amendments, investigator brochures, informed consent forms, medical monitoring plans, clinical sections of statistical analysis plans, clinical study reports, and other core study documents.
  • Integrate disease biology, clinical phenotype, standard of care, translational findings, PK/PD, biomarker data, and emerging safety/efficacy data into study-level decisions and future development strategy.
  • Identify study risks, propose mitigation strategies, and help ensure high-quality, timely, and inspection-ready trial execution
  • Participate in and, with increasing experience, help lead regulatory interactions related to expedited programs, protocol alignment, pivotal development, and registrational strategy.
  • Build productive relationships with investigators, key opinion leaders, advisory boards, patient advocacy organizations, and external experts.
  • Cell Therapy & Cross-Functional Development
  • Develop expertise in the clinical and operational considerations unique to autologous CAR-T and other advanced therapies, including leukapheresis, manufacturing/vein-to-vein coordination, lymphodepletion, infusion, acute toxicity management, cytopenias, infection risk, immune reconstitution, and long-term follow-up.
  • Partner with Safety and clinical experts on assessment and management frameworks for CRS, ICANS/neurotoxicity, infections, cytopenias, and disease-specific complications.
  • Partner closely with Clinical Operations, Data Management, Pharmacovigilance/Safety, Biostatistics, Translational Medicine, Regulatory Affairs, Medical Writing, CMC/Technical Operations, and CRO partners

Qualifications and Requirements

  • Required MD, DO, or equivalent medical degree.
  • Board certification/board eligibility in Rheumatology, Neurology, Neuroimmunology/Multiple Sclerosis, Clinical Immunology, or another specialty with substantial autoimmune-disease expertise.
  • Meaningful clinical experience caring for patients with autoimmune, rheumatologic, or neuroimmunology disease.
  • Demonstrated understanding of clinical-trial methodology, GCP, patient safety, and clinical data interpretation.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to operate effectively in a highly matrixed, fast-moving environment.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Industry clinical-development experience as a study physician, medical monitor, or clinical development experience; or academic clinical trial investigator
  • Hands-on medical monitoring and EDC/data-review experience, including eligibility, AEs/SAEs, concomitant medications, protocol deviations, rescue therapy, and medical queries.
  • Experience designing or executing Phase 1, Phase 1b/2, Phase 2, pivotal, or registrational clinical trials.
  • Experience with CAR-T, cell therapy, gene therapy, hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, immune effector-cell therapy, or other advanced therapeutic modalities.
  • Experience with biomarkers, translational medicine, precision medicine, pharmacodynamic endpoints, or mechanistically driven patient-selection strategies.
  • Experience supporting regulatory submissions or direct health-authority interactions.
  • Clinically credible: can engage investigators and KOLs as a physician peer while maintaining sponsor accountability.
  • Collaborative: effective across Clinical Operations, Safety, Regulatory, Biometrics, Translational Medicine, CMC, Research, and external partners.
  • Comfortable with ambiguity and urgency: able to prioritize, make decisions with incomplete information, and operate effectively in a growing biotechnology company

Why You Should Join AbelZeta

  • Join a high-growth and fast-paced organization.
  • Defined career path and annual performance review and feedback process.
  • Comprehensive Benefits Plan, including 100% company paid medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance, and more!
  • Competitive company 401k match.
  • Paid holidays, sick leave, and annual leave.

AbelZeta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

AbelZeta validates right to work using E-Verify. Salary at AbelZeta is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability and organizational requirements.

The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is just one component of AbelZeta’s total compensation package for employees.

Key Responsibilities

The Medical Director will provide clinical leadership and medical monitoring for autoimmune and neuroimmunology trials, overseeing protocol design and study execution. They will also collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate scientific strategy and ensure high-quality, inspection-ready trial data.

Requirements

Candidates must hold an MD, DO, or equivalent medical degree with board certification in a relevant specialty such as Rheumatology or Neurology. Significant experience in clinical development, patient safety, and clinical trial methodology is required.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
10+ years of experience

Medical Affairs — Physician Career Context

The cost-of-living index for Maryland is 105.0 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$294k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $280k in an average-cost state. 62.9% of Maryland clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Medical Affairs pay on WeekdayDoc is up 1.7% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

What does the Medical Affairs market look like in Maryland?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$207k–$380kMedical Affairs median $298k (middle half $264k–$324k)58 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$280k in purchasing powerMaryland index 105.0 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Medical Affairs listings in Maryland10 active294 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedMaryland Physician listings: 20% state a sign-on bonus (median $50k) · 10% offer loan repayment391 active listings, Oct 2026
Medical Affairs pay trend+1.7% vs prior quarter—through Sep 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Medical Affairs Jobs

2 matches · ranked by pay
#1

Medical Monitor (US Board-Certified Psychiatrist)

PSI CRO · Remote - Nationwide

#2

Sr. Medical Director (Neurologist)

Allucent · Remote - Nationwide

Work-life snapshot

median 3.0this job 3.0
Better work-life than 50% of Medical Affairs listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 293 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Abel Zeta logo

About Abel Zeta

Biotechnology Research
Rockville, Maryland
51-200 employees

Benefits & Perks

100% company paid medical, dental, vision, life insurance
Short-term and long-term disability insurance
401k match
Paid holidays, sick leave, and annual leave
Annual performance review and career path

Living in Rockville

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$616k≈ 3.0× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,372/mo≈ 14% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
31 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.9
State income tax
Up to 5.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.