Demo

Medical Director, Early Clinical Development (Cell Therapy)

Orca Bio
Menlo Park, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 6/2/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 6/28/2026
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:

Unique opportunity! We are seeking a Medical Director to serve as medical lead for our next-generation cell therapy program (Orca-Q), in non-malignant diseases, including planned trials in autoimmune indications. This role is critical in conceptualizing multiple Phase 1 studies, developing the associated protocols, analyzing data, and conducting the clinical trial. The candidate must work collaboratively within Orca Bio and also with primary investigators (PIs) nationwide to progress the program towards product registration.

Location : Menlo Park, CA preferred, but open to remote candidates. Estimated travel required: :10-20%.

Responsibilities

  • Support strategic planning and execution of clinical strategy.
  • Develop clinical trial protocols, statistical analysis plans, investigator brochures, and other documentation for early stage trials.
  • Develop and present CRO/CRA/site training materials and present at Investigator Meetings/site initiation visits as required.
  • Provide leadership to a Clinical Trial Manager (CTM) and Clinical Research Associate (CRA) dedicated to early stage programs.
  • Medical monitoring, review, and analysis.
  • Interpret early stage clinical data and provide an ongoing assessment of pre-clinical, clinical, scientific literature to inform clinical strategy and ensure positive benefit-risk profile for assigned programs in collaboration with key stakeholders.
  • Collaborate with Regulatory, Operations, Safety, Medical team to provide oversight, prepare reports, and ensure all milestones are met.
  • Work collaboratively with all internal and external stakeholders.


Qualifications

  • MD, PhD or PharmD required; preferably a trained hematologist and/or oncologist.
  • 3 years of industry experienceand expertise in cell therapy, bone marrow transplantation (BMT), or immune disorders preferred, including with early-stage trials.
  • Self starter with an entrepreneurial mindset.
  • Strong project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple priorities and timelines, work independently and drive initiatives.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage and motivate clinical site teams.
  • Willingness to travel as needed to meet with clinical sites and stakeholders.


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. Full-time employment positions will also be eligible to receive pre-IPO equity and annual bonus, 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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Salary.com Estimation for Medical Director, Early Clinical Development (Cell Therapy) in Menlo Park, CA
$390,103 to $493,149
If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Medical Director, Early Clinical Development (Cell Therapy)?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Medical Director, Early Clinical Development (Cell Therapy) career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$344,185 - $446,259
Income Estimation: 
$464,486 - $686,839
Employees: Get a Salary Increase
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Orca Bio

  • Orca Bio Sacramento, CA
  • 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 ho... more
  • 1 Day Ago

  • Orca Bio Menlo Park, CA
  • 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 ho... more
  • 1 Day Ago

  • Orca Bio Sacramento, CA
  • 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 ho... more
  • 2 Days Ago

  • Orca Bio Sacramento, CA
  • 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 ho... more
  • 2 Days Ago


Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Medical Director, Early Clinical Development (Cell Therapy) jobs in the Menlo Park, CA area that may be a better fit.

  • Fortvita Biologics Palo Alto, CA
  • Medical Director, Clinical Development Oncology Hybrid (Palo Alto Office) Travel up to 25% required ABOUT THE COMPANY Fortvita Biologics is a San Francisco... more
  • 20 Days Ago

  • oruka Menlo Park, CA
  • About Us: Oruka Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ORKA) is developing novel biologics designed to set a new standard for the treatment of chronic skin diseases. Oruka’... more
  • 1 Month Ago

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!