Abb Vie logo
Abb Vie
Waltham, Massachusetts

Executive Medical Director, Obesity Clinical Development

Medical AffairsIncludes callFull-Time

Listed compensation

USD 234000–USD 444000– /yr

The week · per this posting

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

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

Company Description

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow.

We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

Purpose

Leads the direction, planning, execution, and interpretation of clinical trials or research activities of one or more clinical development programs. Participates in and may lead cross-functional teams to generate, deliver, and disseminate high-quality clinical data supporting overall product scientific and business strategy.

Responsibilities

Leads and demonstrates ownership of the design and implementation of multiple clinical development programs (or one large, complex program) in support of the overall product development plan, based on strong medical and scientific principles, knowledge of compliance and regulatory requirements, AbbVie’s customers, markets, business operations, and emerging issues. Oversees project-related education of investigators, study site personnel, and AbbVie study staff.

Has overall responsibility for leading clinical study teams, monitoring overall study integrity, and review, interpretation, and communication of accumulating data pertaining to safety and efficacy of the molecule.

Along with Clinical Operations, is responsible for ensuring agreed-upon study enrollment and overall timelines for key deliverables. Responsible for assessment and reporting of serious adverse events per corporate policy and regulations for those protocols on which assigned.

Primary responsibility for and ownership of design, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of scientific content of protocols, Investigator Brochures, Clinical Study reports, regulatory submissions and responses, and other program documents.

May oversee the work of Medical and/or Scientific Directors and of Clinical Scientists working on the same or related programs.

May serve on or chair Clinical Strategy Team(s), with responsibility for development of a rigorous, cross-functionally-aligned, vetted Clinical Development Plan with full consideration of contingencies and alternative approaches. In the role of CST Chair, responsibilities may include supervision of matrix team members and serving as Clinical Research representative to lend clinical development and medical expertise to Asset Development Teams (ADTs) and ADT Leadership Boards (ALBs).

Serves as an in-house clinical expert for one or more molecules and diseases in the therapeutic area, coordinating and leading appropriate scientific and medical activities with internal stakeholders as they relate to ongoing projects.

May participate in or lead clinical development contributions to due diligence or other business development activity. As required by program needs, contributes in partnership with Discovery colleagues to design and implementation of translational strategies.

Acts as clinical lead and actively solicits opinion leader interactions related to the disease area(s); partners with Medical Affairs, Commercial and other functions in these activities as required, consistent with corporate policies, to ensure that broad cross-functional perspectives are incorporated into Clinical Development Plans and protocols as appropriate.

Stays abreast of professional information and technology through conferences, medical literature, and other available training, to augment expertise in the therapeutic area. May represent AbbVie at key external meetings.

Responsible for understanding the regulatory requirements related to the clinical studies and global drug development and accountable for complying with those requirements. Serves as a clinical representative for key regulatory discussions.

Ensures adherence to Good Clinical Practices, pharmacovigilance standards, standard operating procedures and to all other quality standards in conducting research.

Qualifications

Qualifications

Medical Doctor (M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), or non-US equivalent of M.D. degree with relevant therapeutic specialty in an academic or hospital environment. Completion of a residency program strongly preferred. Completion of a subspecialty fellowship is desirable.

At least 5 years (7 years preferred) of clinical trial experience in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, or equivalent.

Ability to run a complex clinical research program independently.

Proven leadership skills and ability to bring out the best in others on a cross-functional global team. Must be able to lead through influence.

  • Ability to interact externally and internally to support a global scientific and business strategy.
  • Extensive knowledge of clinical trial methodology, regulatory and compliance requirements governing clinical trials, and experience in development of clinical strategy and the design of study protocols.
  • Must possess excellent oral and written English communication skills.
  • Ability to exercise judgment and address complex problems and create solutions for one or more projects.

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. ​

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.​

This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs. ​

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more: https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html

  • Salary Min: 234000
  • Therapy Area: Other Specialties
  • Salary Max: 444000
  • Workday Global Grade: 23
  • Travel: Yes, 20% of the Time
  • Compensation: USD 234000 - USD 444000 - yearly

Qualifications

Experience
5+ years of experience

Key Skills

Clinical trial designRegulatory complianceCross-functional team managementData interpretationProtocol developmentStrategic planningScientific writingTranslational researchStakeholder managementProject management

Medical Affairs — Physician Career Context

In Massachusetts, the Physician weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$290k (60 salary observations; 113 listings), vs ~$293k nationally (1,554 salary observations; 5,436 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2025-11-01 through 2026-09-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

Physician pay on WeekdayDoc is up 4.8% vs. the prior quarter (through Aug 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Massachusetts is 105.8 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$339k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $320k in an average-cost state. 63.2% of Massachusetts clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

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1 matches · ranked by pay
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Work-life snapshot

median 4.3this job 3.0
Better work-life than 30% of Medical Affairs listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 212 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes call

Living in Waltham

Rent affordability

15% of gross pay

Market rent compared with this listing’s advertised pay.

Purchasing power

$216,134–$410,101/yr

At national-average prices · Before taxes

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$846k≈ 3.6× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,939/mo
Residents’ average commute
25 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.3
State income tax
Up to 5%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use the advertised annual pay range’s lower bound, before taxes. Regional prices are not a personal budget.

Peer group: physician · medical affairs · Full-time · hours not stated · Pay composition not stated. National listings with usable annual USD pay and local data, posted within 180 days of the 2026-09-22 snapshot. Rankings use lower pay bounds; higher percentiles mean more favorable comparisons. Only the same rent observation month is compared.

Ratings need at least 30 other listings, five employers and three locations; no employer may contribute over 35%. Strong: top quarter; Typical: middle half; Weaker: bottom quarter. Missing ratings mean insufficient comparable data, not a poor offer. These are offer comparisons, not city grades.

Abb Vie logo

About Abb Vie

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Dublin, Coolock
5,001-10,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Paid Time Off
Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k)
Long-term Incentive Programs