More than one million people in the United States today are fighting blood cancer. While a traditional allogeneic stem cell transplant has been the best hope for many, the transplant itself can prove fatal or lead to serious conditions, such as graft vs. host disease. Orca Bio is a late-stage biotechnology company redefining the transplant process by developing next-generation cell therapies with the goal of providing significantly better survival rates with dramatically fewer risks. With our purified, high-precision investigational cell therapies we hope to not only replace patients' blood and immune systems with healthy ones, but also restore their lives.
Position Summary:
The National (Senior) Director of Field Medical Affairs serves as the strategic and operational leader of Orca Bio’s field-based Medical Science Liaison (MSL) organization. With the national MSL team hired, onboarded, and actively deployed, this role is accountable for optimizing performance, advancing scientific excellence, and scaling the field medical function in alignment with launch readiness and pipeline expansion. This leader will partner closely with Medical Affairs leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure high-impact, compliant scientific engagement across priority institutions. Travel: up to 50–60% domestic and international travel required.
Responsibilities:
Lead, mentor, and develop an established national MSL team, ensuring ongoing scientific excellence, performance management, and professional growth
Evolve and optimize MSL operational frameworks, SOPs, training programs, and CRM utilization to support launch and post-launch needs
Translate Medical Affairs strategy into clear field execution plans with defined objectives, metrics, and accountability
Advise Medical Affairs leadership on MSL coverage models, territory design, and future headcount expansion aligned with indication growth and organizational scale
Oversee strategic KOL identification, engagement planning, and scientific exchange to support launch readiness, data dissemination, and insight generation
Direct compliant collection, synthesis, and internal communication of actionable field insights to inform Medical, Clinical Development, Commercial, and Access strategies
Provide strategic oversight of field medical support for clinical trials, including investigator engagement and site education
Partner cross-functionally on congress strategy, advisory boards, medical education initiatives, and special enterprise priorities
Ensure the highest standards of compliance with FDA, OIG, PhRMA, and Orca Bio policies governing scientific exchange
Represent Orca Bio at scientific congresses, advisory boards, and external medical forums
Maintain deep scientific and clinical expertise in hematologic malignancies and cell therapy through continuous learning
Minimum Qualifications:
Doctorate-level advanced scientific or clinical degree (MD, PharmD, PhD, or MSN required)
8+ years of Medical Affairs experience, including prior MSL experience and ≥3 years leading field-based medical teams
Demonstrated success leading field medical organizations through launch or late-stage development
Strong command of US medical affairs compliance requirements and field governance
Proven ability to lead, coach, and scale high-performing MSL teams
Exceptional strategic thinking, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills
Preferred Qualifications:
Cell and/or gene therapy experience
Experience working in small biotech company or start-up environments
Direct experience supporting first-launch or near-launch assets
The anticipated annual salary range for this job is based on prior experience in the role/industry, education, location, internal equity, and other job-related factors as permitted by law. For remote-based positions, this range may vary based on your local market. You will also be eligible to receive pre-IPO equity, in addition to competitive medical, dental, and vision benefits, PTO, 401(k) plan, life and accidental death and disability coverage, and parental leave benefits. Other perks include subsidized daily lunches and snacks at our on-site locations.
Who we are
We are driven by a passion for science and compassion for patients. We act with urgency to ensure our treatments are one day accessible to all who need them.
We live by our core values of passion, courage, and integrity. Excellence in our work means the chance to unlock a better quality of life for our patients, and with that comes tremendous responsibility.
We innovate on a path that hasn’t been paved. We embrace an entrepreneurial spirit and take calculated risks to achieve our mission. We aren’t afraid to ask “why not” and challenge the status quo.
We maintain a start-up culture of camaraderie and leadership by example, regardless of title.
We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and recognize that celebrating our differences creates stronger, lasting solutions that better serve our team, our patients and their healthcare providers.
Notice to staffing firms
Orca Bio does not accept resumes from staffing agencies with which we do not have a written agreement and specific engagement for a particular opening. Our employment activities, inquiries and offers are managed through our HR/Talent team, and all candidates are presented through this channel only. We do not accept unsolicited resumes, and we rarely outsource recruitment.
