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Pfizer
San Diego, California

Clinical Development Medical Director, (MD Required)

Medical AffairsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$240k-$400k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about call expectations, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

The Clinical Development Medical Director (Director) is responsible for medical and scientific oversight, data integrity, and quality of clinical trials in Internal Medicine, with direct responsibility for clinical deliverables for one or more studies. They may also manage, supervise, and mentor others.

Job Responsibilities

  • Provides medical monitoring on one or more clinical trials:
  • Provides timely, study-related medical information and guidance, e. g., on:
  • Medical questions from investigator sites
  • Medical issues in clinical trial data
  • Medical findings in audits or inspections
  • Contributes to medical assessments of Quality Events
  • Conducts and documents periodic safety data review and ongoing clinical/medical data review

Reviews Required Safety Text for the Informed Consent Document and significant medical changes in the Informed Consent Document

May independently lead clinical execution of one or more studies; may be accountable for program level clinical deliverables

May provide input to the protocol design document; leads development of the protocol, including protocol amendments, Protocol Administrative Change Letters, and Dear Investigator Letters

Represents the study team in internal protocol review governance submissions and interactions; partners with/supports the Global Development Lead in study and disease area strategy; may participate in protocol-related KOL and Health Authority interactions

Ensures development of Study Informed Consent Documents and responses to external stakeholder (e. g., Health Authority and Independent Ethics Committee) requests

Provides clinical guidance to the development of the Statistical Analysis Plan and Tables, Listings, and Figures

Provides clinical guidance to the development of the clinical data collection strategy, instruments, and data review plan, ensuring alignment with the protocol and SAP, optimized data collection principles, and clinical data review best practice; sets the clinical data review strategy and leads the team in the review of emerging clinical data and trends; reviews and queries data; presents data to internal and external stakeholders; partners with site-facing colleagues in support of data issue resolution; ensures all clinical queries are appropriately addressed in support of database lock

Provides clinical guidance to the development of the Safety Review Plan and Safety Narrative Plan; reviews safety data and ensures clinical documents are updated in response to emerging safety profile; tracks and reconciles Serious Adverse Events; leads clinical safety data discussion during Safety Review Team meetings in collaboration with Medically Qualified Individual(s); reviews safety narratives

Provides clinical guidance to the development of the Risk Management Plan; ensures clinical activities are consistent with the approved Plan and partners with key stakeholders to develop and implement risk mitigations

Establishes and manages External Data Monitoring Committees and Adjudication Committees, including chartering, contracting, provision and presentation of data, and documentation and dissemination of Committee recommendations

Develops site selection criteria, provides clinical input to selection of sites, and ensures protocol training is delivered to site-facing colleagues

Participates in investigator meeting planning and develops and delivers protocol training; develops and delivers ongoing protocol training in response to e. g., protocol amendments, emerging data issues, and quality events

Serves as the primary clinical point of contact with investigators and study team for questions relating to clinical aspects of the protocol; manages clinical response development, delivery, documentation, and curation (e. g., in FAQ)

Ensures protocol deviation sub-categories are established; ensures protocol deviations identified during clinical data review are reported; ensures all reported protocol deviations are appropriately managed and reconciled; leads protocol deviation trends review

  • Ensures TMF compliance for clinical documents
  • Provides clinical input and review of the Clinical Study Report
  • Ensures disclosure of safety and efficacy data and trial conclusions; may contribute to publications

Provides clinical support to audits and inspections, including responding to and addressing audit and inspection findings

May contribute to clinical sections of regulatory filings (e. g., Briefing Documents, Pediatric Investigational Plan, Investigator Brochure, IND/NDA Annual Reports, Periodic Safety Update Reports, responses to Health Authority requests)

Contributes to continuous improvement / process enhancement activities and innovative approaches to maximize effectiveness of clinical trial execution

May have managerial responsibility for other clinical colleagues or contingent workers; may supervise, mentor, or develop others

Basic Qualifications

As medically qualified individual, the successful candidate must have the following qualifications:

Obtained a primary medical degree (e. g., MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB) from a recognized medical school/university and has 4+ years of experience in biopharmaceutical industry in clinical research and development.

Been licensed by a licensing body/health authority to prescribe medicines independent of Supervision for at least 2 years post their intern/house officer/foundation period.

Preferred Qualifications

Cardiometabolic disease experience, e. g., obesity, diabetes, endocrinology, etc.

Have maintained registration/Medical License to practice and always have been in good standing with their Medical Licensing Authority.

Clinical research experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, in study design, start-up, conduct, and close-out, including regulatory submissions and inspections

  • Scientific productivity via publications, posters, abstracts and/or presentations
  • Extensive knowledge of clinical development, global and regional regulation, and ICH/GCP
  • Clinical, administrative, and project management capabilities; effective verbal and written communication skills
  • Experience launching, managing, and training clinical development teams

Track record of achievement in pharmaceutical development; able to coordinate and execute clinical development during design, start-up, conduct, close-out, and reporting

Understands the complexities and recent developments in the principal disease areas; competent discussing scientific and regulatory aspects of drug development

Able to set priorities and manage cross-functional teams and complex projects to deliver milestones according to budgets and priorities; able to define and manage resource requirements

Effective leader; able to mentor/coach, delegate to, and oversee others; able to develop others’ skills and move them toward autonomy

Able to resolve conflicts equitably; fosters open dialogue; addresses conflicts; reads situations quickly; negotiates agreements; escalates issues when appropriate; takes responsibility for decisions

Shares wins and success; defines success in terms of the whole team; develops strong team morale and spirit; creates a sense of belonging

  • Takes personal responsibility for delivery of results
  • Able to demonstrate perspective and poise in uncertainty and organizational change

NON-Standard Work Schedule, Travel or Environment Requirements

Global Travel May Be Required

Work Location Assignment: This is a hybrid role requiring you to live within commuting distance and work on-site an average of 2.5 days per week.

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $239,900.00 to $399,800.00. In addition, this position is eligible for participation in Pfizer’s Global Performance Plan with a bonus target of 25.0% of the base salary and eligibility to participate in our share based long term incentive program.

We offer comprehensive and generous benefits and programs to help our colleagues lead healthy lives and to support each of life’s moments.

Benefits offered include a 401(k) plan with Pfizer Matching Contributions and an additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution, paid vacation, holiday and personal days, paid caregiver/parental and medical leave, and health benefits to include medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage.

Learn more at Pfizer Candidate Site – U.S. Benefits | (uscandidates.mypfizerbenefits.com). Pfizer compensation structures and benefit packages are aligned based on the location of hire. The United States salary range provided does not apply to Tampa, FL or any location outside of the United States.

This role is posted in multiple locations. If you are applying for the role in an secondary job posting location where pay transparency regulations apply, your Talent Advisor will share the local pay information with you during the first interview.

Relocation assistance may be available based on business needs and/or eligibility.

Candidates must be authorized to be employed in the U.S. by any employer.

U.S. work visa sponsorship (such as TN, O-1, H-1B, etc.) is not available for this role now or in the future.

Sunshine Act

Pfizer reports payments and other transfers of value to health care providers as required by federal and state transparency laws and implementing regulations.

These laws and regulations require Pfizer to provide government agencies with information such as a health care provider’s name, address and the type of payments or other value received, generally for public disclosure.

Subject to further legal review and statutory or regulatory clarification, which Pfizer intends to pursue, reimbursement of recruiting expenses for licensed physicians may constitute a reportable transfer of value under the federal transparency law commonly known as the Sunshine Act.

Therefore, if you are a licensed physician who incurs recruiting expenses as a result of interviewing with Pfizer that we pay or reimburse, your name, address and the amount of payments made currently will be reported to the government. If you have questions regarding this matt

Key Responsibilities

The Medical Director provides medical and scientific oversight for clinical trials, ensuring data integrity and quality while managing study deliverables. They are responsible for medical monitoring, protocol development, safety data review, and leading cross-functional teams to ensure successful clinical trial execution.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a primary medical degree (MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB) and possess at least 4 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. A valid medical license and the ability to work independently in the U.S. are mandatory requirements.

Qualifications

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

Key Skills

Clinical trial oversightTeam leadershipMentoringICH/GCP complianceStatistical analysis plan guidanceInvestigator site managementClinical study report review

Medical Affairs — Physician Career Context

In California, the Medical Affairs weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$311k (61 salary observations; 84 listings), vs ~$297k nationally (247 salary observations; 504 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-03-01 through 2026-11-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$320k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $289k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Medical Affairs market look like in California?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$240k–$400kMedical Affairs median $315k (middle half $285k–$338k)18 comparable listings, Nov 2026
California vs national$311k median in California$297k nationally (+5%)61 state / 247 national salary observations
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$289k in purchasing powerCalifornia index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Medical Affairs listings in California39 active277 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Sign-on & loan repaymentsign-on bonusCalifornia Physician listings: 32% state a sign-on bonus (median $100k) · 30% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Nov 2026
Medical Affairs hiring demand#6 of 28 specialtiespostings stay open a median 69 days · 44% state a sign-on bonusWeekdayDoc Hiring Index, October 2026 · 162 postings, 36 closed
New Medical Affairs listings104 in the last 30 days104 the 30 days before (about the same)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Medical Affairs pay trend+4.6% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024), WeekdayDoc Hiring Index; as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Medical Affairs Jobs

1 matches · ranked by pay
#1

Payer & Health Systems Oncology, Medical Affairs Director (PHSO MAD) (PA, MD, Upstate NY)

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$210k-$331k

Work-life snapshot

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

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 276 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site
Pfizer logo

About Pfizer

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
New York, New York
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

401(k) with Pfizer Matching Contributions
Additional Pfizer Retirement Savings Contribution
Paid vacation, holidays and personal days
Paid caregiver/parental and medical leave
Health benefits (medical, prescription drug, dental, vision)
Annual bonus target 25% of base salary
Share-based long-term incentive program
Relocation assistance may be available

Living in San Diego

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$1.00M≈ 4.2× annual pay
Typical market rent
$3,004/mo≈ 15% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
24 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
111.9
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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