Clinical Research Nurse

MPF Federal is seeking an experienced, mission-driven Clinical Research Nurse to support clinical research, medical device and equipment testing, biosurveillance, and research and development activities at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, CA.

Compensation: $95,000 - $105,000 annually. Final determination will be made weighing several factors.

Work Environment

This is an on-site position at Naval Base Point Loma. The Clinical Research Nurse will work alongside military personnel, federal civilian employees, contractors, investigators, clinical staff, laboratory personnel, and research scientists.

The role may involve work in clinical, laboratory, field, administrative, and operational environments. All work must be performed in accordance with applicable infection prevention, occupational health, biosafety, privacy, security, and military installation requirements.

This role is well-suited for a clinical research professional who can work effectively in a structured military environment, communicate clearly with military and civilian stakeholders, lead research personnel, and manage multiple studies and competing priorities while maintaining regulatory and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate is an experienced registered nurse with a strong background in clinical research and protocol management. This individual will manage studies from initiation through closeout, ensure compliance with Institutional Review Board requirements, ICH guidelines, Good Clinical Practice, sponsor requirements, and applicable federal and military regulations, and maintain high standards for participant safety, data integrity, and study quality.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Research Study Design & Implementation

• Lead and coordinate the implementation of clinical research studies involving military personnel and other authorized research participants.
• Manage assigned clinical research protocols from study initiation through closeout, including start-up, enrollment, study conduct, monitoring, data review, and final study closure.
• Support clinical studies, new medical device and equipment testing, biosurveillance activities, and research and development programs.
• Coordinate study start-up activities, including site preparation, feasibility assessments, regulatory submissions, staff training, study logistics, and implementation planning.
• Interpret and operationalize complex study protocols, manuals of procedures, informed consent documents, and sponsor requirements.
• Oversee participant screening, recruitment, informed consent, enrollment, study visits, clinical assessments, specimen collection, device evaluations, and follow-up activities, as applicable to the protocol.
• Develop and maintain study workflows, tracking tools, staffing plans, and operational processes to ensure research activities are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Coordinate effectively with research staff, study sponsors, investigators, military personnel, government stakeholders, command leadership, and external partners.
• Manage competing priorities and time-sensitive tasks in a dynamic, high-pressure environment while maintaining participant safety, protocol compliance, and data integrity.

Regulatory, IRB & Good Clinical Practice Compliance

• Prepare, coordinate, and track Institutional Review Board submissions, including initial applications, amendments, continuing reviews, renewals, safety reports, protocol deviations, informed consent revisions, and study closure submissions.
• Ensure research activities comply with approved protocols, IRB requirements, ICH guidelines, Good Clinical Practice, sponsor procedures, and applicable federal and military regulations.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and current regulatory files and essential study documents.
• Maintain delegation of authority logs, training records, investigator documentation, equipment records, participant logs, screening logs, enrollment records, and study-specific documentation.
• Ensure informed consent is conducted and documented in accordance with approved procedures and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Monitor protocol adherence and identify, document, investigate, and escalate protocol deviations, adverse events, safety concerns, and noncompliance.
• Support the development and implementation of corrective and preventive action plans when required.
• Prepare study teams for sponsor monitoring visits, audits, inspections, quality assurance reviews, and regulatory assessments.
• Ensure appropriate handling and documentation of confidential participant information, protected health information, research data, biological specimens, medical devices, and government information.

Team Leadership & Staff Development

• Lead and provide daily operational directions to a team of clinical research coordinators and assigned research personnel.
• Assign study responsibilities and monitor workload, productivity, timelines, documentation quality, and protocol performance.
• Train, mentor, and support the professional development of clinical research coordinators and other study staff.
• Ensure staff are appropriately trained on protocols, informed consent procedures, research systems, safety requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.
• Review study documentation and data completed by coordinators for accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and compliance.
• Establish consistent research workflows and standard operating practices across assigned studies.
• Communicate staffing needs, resource requirements, performance concerns, and operational risks to the Program Manager.
• Promote a culture of teamwork, accountability, participant safety, confidentiality, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Data Collection, Documentation & Quality Assurance
• Collect, manage, and oversee clinical research data from participant encounters, clinical assessments, biosurveillance activities, device testing, laboratory activities, and field-based research.
• Ensure the quality, accuracy, completeness, and timely submission of source documentation, case report forms, electronic data capture records, and study databases.
• Review research records and data for discrepancies, missing information, protocol compliance, and data quality issues.
• Support data query resolution, reconciliation activities, and timely response to sponsor requests.
• Maintain accurate records of participant screening, enrollment, visits, specimens, devices, equipment, investigation materials, and study outcomes.
• Monitor study progress against approved timelines, recruitment goals, data collection requirements, and sponsor deliverables.
• Identify operational and data-quality risks and recommend corrective actions to the Program Manager and study sponsors.
• Support the development of study reports, dashboards, tracking tools, quality metrics, and performance summaries.
• Communication, Reporting & Sponsor Coordination
• Provide regular updates to the Deputy Director and or PI regarding study operations, staffing, timelines, performance, risks, deliverables, and resource requirements.
• Provide regular and timely status updates to study sponsors and the PI

Communication and Collaboration

Work closely with the Infectious Disease Physician, Principal Investigators, physicians, clinical research coordinators, epidemiologists, clinical research coordinators, laboratory personnel, and other members of the research team.

Communicate effectively with military personnel, study participants, investigators, sponsors, federal employees, and civilian research staff.

Provide timely updates regarding recruitment, study activities, participant concerns, protocol issues, safety events, and operational barriers.

Participate in study meetings, training sessions, investigator meetings, monitoring visits, and research briefings.

Contribute to study reports, presentations, technical documents, standard operating procedures, and research summaries.

Maintain professional and effective working relationships in a structured military and government environment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited nursing program.
• Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse license.
• Minimum of four years of experience working as a Clinical Research Nurse.

Experience working with military populations, military treatment facilities, federal agencies, or government-sponsored research programs or experience with Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, federal government, or military-sponsored clinical research.

Experience supporting infectious disease research, clinical trials, biosurveillance, or a related research program.

Experience with participant screening, informed consent, clinical assessments, data collection, and research documentation.

Ability to work collaboratively with military personnel, federal employees, investigators, sponsors, and multidisciplinary research teams.

• Ability to work on site at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required installation access, background approval, training, and other contract-specific requirements.
• Current Basic Life Support certification or ability to obtain certification as required.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working with infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, or biosurveillance.

Experience working with military populations, military treatment facilities, federal agencies, or government-sponsored research programs.

Experience with respiratory disease, enteric disease, emerging pathogens, vector-borne disease, vaccine studies, diagnostic studies, or occupational health research.

• Experience collecting, processing, labeling, storing, and shipping clinical or research specimens.
• Experience working in a laboratory, field research, clinical, or operational research environment.
• Clinical research certification, such as ACRP, SOCRA, CCRC, or equivalent.
• Certification as a Clinical Research Nurse or compar