Medical Director - Psychiatry
Listed compensation
$375k-$541k
The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed
Ask the employer about weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.
Job Description
Benefits
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Position: Medical Director – Psychiatry (MD/DO)
- Location: Orange, CA or Long Beach, CA (hybrid: up to 2 days remote)
- Schedule: Full-time; 5 days per week (W2 Only)
About the Role
The Medical Director – Psychiatry (MD/DO) will provides clinical leadership, physician oversight, and strategic direction for the organization’s psychiatric services and medical staff.
Administratively, the role is responsible for advancing clinical quality, patient safety, evidence-based practice, clinician performance, and integration of psychiatric care across levels of care and clinical programs.
The Medical Director partners closely with executive leadership, medical staff, operations, quality, clinical research, and other clinical disciplines to establish and maintain a high-reliability model of psychiatric care. The role will also oversee physician recruitment and retention as a key metric of success.
The position combines clinical practice with meaningful administrative, physician-leadership, quality-improvement, and program-development responsibilities.
The ideal candidate is an accomplished psychiatrist with strong clinical judgment, demonstrated physician leadership experience, and the ability to translate evidence and clinical strategy into scalable operational practice.
Clinically, the role will have a small direct clinical care component for outpatient mental health and clinical supervision of their clinical staff. There will be potential opportunities to participate in clinical research or value-based care services depending on the candidate’s interests and experience.
Key Responsibilities
Establish clinical standards, protocols, pathways, and evidence-based practices for psychiatric assessment and treatment.
- Provide physician oversight of complex and high-acuity clinical cases for quality improvement and assurance.
- Develop physician recruitment pipelines and improve clinician retention.
- Establish and monitor psychiatric quality and patient-safety standards.
- Develop and oversee clinical quality metrics and physician-performance measures.
- Collaborate with the organization's research leadership to develop clinical outcomes and real-world evidence initiatives.
- Conduct psychiatric evaluations (in-person and via telehealth).
- Develop individualized, integrated treatment plans with the care team.
Supervise and collaborate with interdisciplinary providers (e. g. MDs, NPs, PAs, SWs).
- Opportunities to participate in interventional psychiatry service and clinical research pipelines.
- Participate in crisis intervention and emergency care as needed.
- Maintain accurate documentation and comply with all regulatory standards.
Qualifications
- Current, valid, and unrestricted California medical license, NPI, and DEA registration
- Board Certification
- Minimum 3 years of independent psychiatric experience
- Prior experience with management of other physicians preferred; Experience with clinical quality, patient safety, and performance improvement.
- No disciplinary actions or restrictions on licensure
Why Join PNS?
Be part of a mission-driven organization committed to providing exceptional quality-focused and patient-centered care.
- Work in a supportive interdisciplinary and academically driven team environment.
- Enjoy a balanced hybrid outpatient practice with opportunities for both in-person and telehealth care.
- Competitive compensation and benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and paid time-off.
- Pacific Neuropsychiatric Specialists (PNS)
We are a patient-centered, quality-focused, outpatient mental health group serving patients across 3 counties, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire.
We take pride in providing accessible, high-quality, and innovative mental health care to the community where teamwork and patient-centered care are at the core of everything we do.
Our interdisciplinary team includes Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Therapists-- all committed to helping patients achieve meaningful and lasting improvement in their lives.
In addition, we have evidence-based interventional psychiatry modalities and conduct extensive clinical and pharmaceutical research.
Flexible work from home options available.
Qualifications
- Education
- Professional certificate or licensure
- Experience
- 5+ years of experience
Certifications
Key Skills
Psychiatry — Physician Career Context
Of the 50 active Psychiatry listings this role was benchmarked against, 54% are remote, 78% have no call, 62% require no weekends — this position is remote.
The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$458k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $414k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).
| Measure | This job | Market |
|---|---|---|
| Work-life score | 6.7 / 10 · above average in psychiatry | ranked against 1,866 Psychiatry listingslisting-based score, 0–10 |
| Listed pay | $375k–$541k | Psychiatry median $303k (middle half $264k–$350k)317 comparable listings, Nov 2026 |
| Cost-of-living adjusted pay | ~$414k in purchasing power | California index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024) |
| Psychiatry listings in California | 204 active | 1,890 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026 |
| Work setting | remote | peers: 54% remote · 78% no call · 62% no weekends50 benchmarked listings |
| Sign-on & loan repayment | not stated | California Physician listings: 29% state a sign-on bonus (median $100k) · 28% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Nov 2026 |
| Psychiatry hiring demand | #27 of 28 specialties | postings stay open a median 34 days · 28% state a sign-on bonusWeekdayDoc Hiring Index, October 2026 · 728 postings, 654 closed |
| New Psychiatry listings | 1,297 in the last 30 days | 1,043 the 30 days before (+24%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026 |
| Psychiatry pay trend | −3.7% vs prior quarter | —through Oct 2026 |
| Pacific Neuropsychiatric Specialists | silver tier, 78/100 | Top Employers work-life index11 active listings |
Work-Life Balance Analysis
WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Medical Director - Psychiatry at Pacific Neuropsychiatric Specialists a 6.7 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Psychiatry — ranked against 1,866 active Psychiatry listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no on-call duties, remote work flexibility.
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