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Ark Vets
Phoenix, Arizona

Medical Director / Veterinarian (DVM) | ArkVets North Phoenix

Veterinary MedicineIncludes weekendsNo callFull-Time

Listed compensation

$200k-$220k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 1mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

At a Glance

  • Medical Director role at our largest, newest, and most fully equipped hospital
  • $190,000 base + $10,000 medical director stipend, ProSal, no negative accrual, vacation doesn't count against production
  • Signing bonus based on experience
  • No mandatory on-call. Shift coverage is voluntary.
  • 3 techs per DVM — more with experience
  • Two of our highest wellness plans, free, for your own pets — plus 20% off other care and medications
  • 8,600 sq ft, purpose-built two years ago; endoscopy on-site
  • Join a peer group of medical directors across all three hospitals — you're not carrying medical leadership alone

Why ArkVets Exists

We started ArkVets because we believed veterinary medicine could be practiced differently — in hospitals where doctors are trusted, techs are developed, and clients are told the truth about their pets' care without being pressured into it. We're locally and family owned, three hospitals across Metro Phoenix, and we intend to stay that way.

We're not a chain. We're not a rollup. There's no regional VP flying in with a new script. When something's broken, you can tell the owner directly — she'll answer. When something works, it becomes part of how we practice everywhere.

That independence is the point. It's what lets us do fear-free-inspired medicine as the default, keep estimates transparent, protect our doctors from burnout, and invest in the equipment and the people who make good medicine possible.

About ArkVets North Phoenix

North Phoenix is our newest hospital — purpose-built two years ago as our largest and most fully equipped location. We sit at the intersection of the 51 and 101, easily accessible from Desert Ridge, Moon Valley, Deer Valley, and Paradise Valley.

Our clients here are upscale, engaged, and expect excellent medicine — and they invest in it. That combination matters: it means the medicine you want to practice is the medicine your clients want you to practice.

The building is 8,600 square feet with two large surgery suites, a separate contagious-disease area, a special-purpose room, endoscopy on-site, digital radiography, ultrasound, Ligasure, and a Class IV therapy laser. If you've been waiting for a well-designed hospital with the room and the equipment to grow the medicine — this is it.

About the Medical Director Role

You'll be both a practicing DVM and the clinical leader of the hospital.

On the practice side: around 18 appointments per day on your clinical days, with 1–2 surgery days per week based on your preference. General practice mixed with dedicated urgent care.

On the leadership side: you set the standard of medicine for the hospital, mentor junior doctors and techs, contribute to protocols across all three ArkVets locations, and partner directly with ownership on how the practice grows. The other two ArkVets hospitals have medical directors already — you're joining a peer group, not carrying the whole medical-leadership load alone.

Our default is low-stress, fear-free-inspired care — but we run urgent care too, and we won't pretend a scared, actively bleeding patient at 4:45 always gets the slow, cookies-first workup. Honesty about the work is part of the culture.

No mandatory on-call. If a shift needs coverage, we ask — we don't require. Doctors choose whether to say yes.

Who fits here

Three things matter to us as a team, and they're the honest filter for whether you'll thrive here:

  • We Do the Right Thing. We serve with integrity, exceed expectations, and intend to leave our profession better than we found it.
  • We Make Magic Happen. We take care of each other. Our energy changes lives — humans and pets both.
  • We Have Contagious Curiosity. We seek to grow. We value professional development. We take an active role in making the workplace better.

A medical director here isn't a title bolted onto a clinical schedule. It's a partnership with ownership on the future of the practice.

Compensation

  • Base salary: $190,000, guaranteed floor against production — classic ProSal, no negative accrual
  • $10,000 medical director stipend on top of base and production
  • Vacation does not count against production
  • Competitive ProSal percentage based on experience
  • Signing bonus based on experience

Benefits

  • Two of our highest wellness plans, free, for your own pets, plus 20% off all other treatment and medications
  • Medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage for you and eligible dependents
  • 4 weeks combined paid time off (120 hours vacation + 40 hours sick), plus paid holidays
  • 2 additional paid CE days per year for ArkVets-required continuing education
  • Continuing education allowance
  • Paid Arizona state veterinary license fees and paid DEA registration
  • $500 annual professional membership stipend — use it toward VIN, AZVMA, AVMA, or any group you want to join
  • 401(k)
  • Full liability and license defense coverage
  • Quarterly doctor training programs
  • Individual mentorship in your chosen growth areas
  • Ownership-level involvement in the direction of the practice

To apply

Please Answer Three Short Questions with Your Resume

1. How long have you been practicing as a DVM?

2. What's your surgery experience — routine soft tissue, dentistry, more advanced?

3. Where would you like to grow — and what does medical leadership mean to you?

Applications go directly to Kimberly (owner) and Kandi (Director of Operations). You'll hear back from a real person.

Want to talk before you apply, or come tour the hospital? Email us at careers@arkvets.co — we'd love to meet you.

Requirements

  • Arizona veterinary license in good standing prior to start date
  • 3+ years of practice experience preferred
  • Prior leadership, mentorship, or medical-director experience is a plus
  • Availability between 8 a. m. and 8 p. m., with some weekends and holidays
  • Genuine communication skills and a good attitude

Key Responsibilities

The Medical Director will serve as both a practicing veterinarian and the clinical leader responsible for setting medical standards and mentoring staff. They will manage daily appointments and surgeries while partnering with ownership to drive the practice's growth and clinical protocols.

Qualifications

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

Certifications

DEA License

Key Skills

Clinical leadershipFear-free medicineProtocol developmentTeam managementClient relations

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Medical Director / Veterinarian (DVM) | ArkVets North Phoenix at Ark Vets a 6.1 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Veterinary Medicine — ranked against 101 active Veterinary Medicine listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no on-call duties.

Veterinary Medicine — Physician Career Context

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

The cost-of-living index for Arizona is 100.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$210k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $209k in an average-cost state. 60.3% of Arizona clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Work-life snapshot

median 2.8this job 6.1
Better work-life than 70% of Veterinary Medicine listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 101 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No call
  • Includes weekends

Living in Phoenix

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$406k≈ 2.0× annual pay
Typical market rent
$1,574/mo≈ 9% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
26 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
103.3
State income tax
Up to 2.5%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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

Ark Vets logo

About Ark Vets

Veterinary Services
Avondale, Arizona
11-50 employees

Benefits & Perks

Medical, dental, vision
Prescription drug coverage
4 weeks combined PTO
Paid holidays
2 paid CE days
Continuing education allowance
Paid state license and DEA fees
$500 annual professional membership stipend