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Latigo Bio
San Francisco, California

Director, Field Medical Director/ MSL Field Director- Pain

Medical AffairsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$245k-$260k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

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Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Position Summary

Latigo Biotherapeutics is seeking an experienced Director, Field Medical Affairs / MSL Field Director to build and lead our Medical Science Liaison (MSL) function as we advance a novel portfolio of non-opioid therapies for acute and chronic pain.

This individual will be a highly visible, hands-on Field Medical leader responsible for establishing the infrastructure, strategy, and capabilities of the MSL organization while also serving as a working MSL during the build-out of the field team.

The Director will maintain a significant field presence, directly engaging key opinion leaders (KOLs), developing scientific relationships, gathering insights, and representing Latigo at scientific meetings during the initial phase and leading and coaching the MSL team during pre-launch and launch.

As the MSL organization grows, the role will progressively expand to include broader leadership, coaching, and management responsibilities while maintaining meaningful external engagement.

The ideal candidate will have experience in pain management, analgesics, CNS disorders, or a closely related therapeutic area, along with demonstrated success in Field Medical within a biotechnology or pharmaceutical environment.

The Director will partner closely with Medical Affairs leadership and cross-functional colleagues to translate the medical strategy into an effective field engagement plan, develop relationships with KOLs, generate actionable medical insights, support scientific exchange, and prepare the organization for future product launch.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and execute the Field Medical strategy aligned with the overall Medical Affairs and product strategy.

Build and scale the MSL organization, including field structure, geographic territories, targeting strategy, external engagement objectives, processes, and performance metrics.

Identify, map, segment, and prioritize opinion leaders across key specialties relevant to acute and chronic pain.

Serve as a working MSL during the initial build-out of the Field Medical organization, maintaining direct responsibility for engagement with priority KOLs and institutions.

  • Recruit, onboard, train, coach, and develop MSLs as the organization expands.
  • Partner with Medical Affairs leadership on MSL resource planning, organizational design, and future expansion of the field team.
  • Support launch readiness, including development and delivery of MSL scientific training

Establish and maintain standards for high-quality scientific exchange, insight collection, documentation, and communication of field activities.

Identify emerging clinical trends, unmet needs, evidence gaps, competitive developments, and barriers to adoption.

Translate field insights into actionable recommendations for Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, HEOR, Market Access, and other cross-functional teams.

Partner with colleagues on congress strategy, advisory boards, publications, medical education, and evidence-generation activities.

Represent Medical Affairs at national and regional scientific congresses and other external scientific meetings.

Support identification of investigators and sites for clinical research and evidence-generation initiatives, as appropriate.

Ensure all Field Medical activities are conducted in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, company policies, and industry standards.

Qualifications

Advanced scientific or clinical degree such as MD, DO, PharmD, PhD or equivalent relevant advanced degree.

8+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, including significant experience within Medical Affairs or Field Medical.

Scientific expertise and relevant industry experience in pain, analgesics, CNS conditions, or a closely related therapeutic area is strongly preferred

Prior experience as an MSL Lead, with demonstrated leadership experience and experience building, leading, or significantly expanding an MSL organization.

Demonstrated ability and willingness to operate as a hands-on, field-facing leader and working MSL during the early growth of the organization.

  • Experience supporting late-stage clinical development, pre-launch activities, and product launch readiness.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing field medical professionals.
  • Strong strategic thinking, communication, collaboration, and leadership skills with a strong focus on execution.
  • Comfortable working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial biotech environment.
  • Ability to travel approximately 50–70%, including attendance at national and regional scientific meetings.

Qualifications

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

Key Skills

KOL EngagementTeam LeadershipStrategic PlanningInsight GenerationCross-functional Collaboration

Medical Affairs — Physician Career Context

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$253k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $228k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Medical Affairs pay on WeekdayDoc is down 2.7% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

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Work-life snapshot

median 4.2this job 1.5
Below most Medical Affairs listings for work-life

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 270 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in San Francisco

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$1.74M≈ 7.1× annual pay
Typical market rent
$4,682/mo≈ 23% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
30 min
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

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

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

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About Latigo Bio

Biotechnology Research
Thousand Oaks, CA
51-200 employees