Veterinary Medical Director - Mt. Scott Animal Clinic

VeterinarianFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 53m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Medical Director – Mt. Scott Animal Clinic

Mt. Scott Animal Clinic in Portland, Oregon is seeking a Veterinary Medical Director to lead our doctors and guide the clinical direction of a respected, AAHA-accredited Fear Free practice. Our current Medical Director, Dr. Mariah Kimball, has been promoted into our Oregon Regional Medical Director so you will be supported by a DVM that has called Mt. Scott her home for the past 8 years.

About Mt. Scott Animal Clinic

Mt. Scott Animal Clinic has been proudly serving the Portland community for over 50 years. We're known for delivering exceptional care with compassion, respect, and integrity. We also don't take ourselves too seriously. A good sense of humor isn't just welcome here; it's practically a job requirement!

Laughter, teamwork, and looking out for each other are part of our daily routine, and it shows: doctors help each other with cases, technicians and our cross-trained receptionists pitch in wherever needed, and no one is on an island.

Learn more about us on our video here: Welcome to Mt. Scott Animal Clinic

What Makes Us Different

Real Work-Life Balance: Our doctors leave on time, every day. We build scheduled blocks into the day for catching up on records and cases, so work doesn't follow you home.

A Genuinely Fun Culture: From staff parties to our twice-yearly Veterinary Olympics, we make time to celebrate and compete together, not just clock in and out.

Giving Back Together: We're active volunteers with organizations like the Street Dog Coalition, and we're proud to support World Vets globally, because caring for animals doesn't stop at our doors.

Fear Free Certified Team: Our entire staff is Fear Free Certified, so low-stress, compassionate handling is how we approach every appointment.

A Team That Has Your Back: Everyone pitches in. It's a “we figure it out together” kind of place, not a “that's not my job” one.

The Role

As Veterinary Medical Director, you will be the clinical leader of the hospital. You will set and uphold our standards of medicine, mentor our doctors, and partner with hospital management and regional leadership to deliver exceptional care and the keep our team thriving. We are looking for someone who enjoys practicing high-quality, Fear Free medicine in a collaborative team environment and who builds a culture where doctors and staff want to stay and grow.

What You Will Do

  • Provide hands-on clinical care, including surgery, dentistry, and diagnostics, alongside the veterinary team
  • Set medical standards and protocols, and keep the hospital current with AAHA accreditation requirements
  • Mentor and support associate veterinarians through case review, coaching, and continuing education
  • Take part in doctor recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and retention
  • Champion Fear Free practices and low-stress handling across the whole team
  • Partner with the hospital manager on scheduling, workflow, and efficient use of support staff

Help the team make the most of our equipment, including digital radiography, dental x-ray, laser, and ultrasound

Serve as a clinical point of contact for clients, referral specialists, and Lakefield Veterinary Group leadership

Model our values and a positive, respectful culture every day

What You Bring

  • Several years of small animal general practice experience, with strong surgical and dental skills
  • Prior leadership, mentoring, or team lead experience, or a clear desire to step into it
  • A commitment to Fear Free, low-stress medicine
  • Clear, compassionate communication with clients, doctors, and support staff
  • A collaborative style and a genuine interest in building people up

Compensation and Benefits

  • Competitive base salary with production bonus opportunity with no negative accrual
  • Sign-on bonus
  • Relocation bonus
  • Paid time off
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • CE allowance
  • Dental and vision insurance
  • AVMA membership
  • AVMA PLIT policy
  • Performance-based bonus eligibility

How to Apply

To learn more about the hospital and the position, contact Joe Rusk at joe.rusk@lakefieldvet.com, or apply at careers.lakefieldvet.com.

Key Responsibilities

The Veterinary Medical Director will lead the clinical direction of the hospital, set medical standards, and mentor associate veterinarians. They will also partner with management to oversee daily operations, staff recruitment, and the delivery of high-quality, Fear Free patient care.

Requirements

Candidates must have several years of small animal general practice experience with strong surgical and dental skills. Prior leadership or mentoring experience is required, along with a commitment to Fear Free, low-stress veterinary medicine.

Qualifications

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

Key Skills

Team leadershipFear Free certificationClinical protocolsClient communicationLaser therapy

Veterinary Medicine Career Context

The cost-of-living index for Oregon is 103.4 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 62.0% of Oregon clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Of the 50 active Veterinary Medicine listings this role was benchmarked against, 92% have no call, 94% require no weekends.

What does the Veterinary Medicine market look like in Oregon?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed paynot listedVeterinary Medicine median $170k (middle half $158k–$180k)26 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost of livingOregon index 103.4US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Veterinary Medicine listings in Oregon65 active3,170 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 92% no call · 94% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentsign-on bonusUS healthcare professional listings: 43% state a sign-on bonus (median $50k) · 9% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Nov 2026
New Veterinary Medicine listings936 in the last 30 days552 the 30 days before (+70%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Veterinary Medicine pay trend+7.4% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Veterinarian Jobs

9 matches · ranked by pay

Work-Life Balance Distribution

9 jobs · 5 employers
0
1-2
0
3-4
0
5-6
3
7-8
6
9-10

Higher = better work-life balance

#1

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$150k-$175k
#2

Veterinarian-Camarillo CA

Pleasant Valley Animal Hospital · Camarillo, California

$80k-$125k
#3

Associate Veterinarian

From $120k
#4

Part-Time Mobile Veterinarian

$45k · part-time
+ 7 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.1this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Veterinary Medicine listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 3,144 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Lakefield Veterinary Group logo

About Lakefield Veterinary Group

Veterinary Services
Kent, Washington
201-500 employees

Benefits & Perks

Competitive base salary with production bonus (no negative accrual)
Sign-on bonus
Relocation bonus
Paid time off
Paid Parental Leave
CE allowance
Dental and vision insurance
AVMA membership

Living in Portland

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$523k
Typical market rent
$1,719/mo
Residents’ average commute
24 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
105.4
State income tax
Up to 9.9%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.