Full Job Description
Senior Medical Medical Director, Translational Medicine & Early Clinical Development is a senior physician-scientist responsible for leading early development and mechanistic clinical studies and shaping the translational strategy across Madrigal's metabolic liver and cardiometabolic portfolio.
This role will act as medical lead for first-in-human and early proof-of-concept studies (including mechanistic and indication-expansion trials), integrating clinical, biomarker, and mechanistic data to inform go/no-go decisions, label-enabling strategy, and lifecycle management. The role will be a key member and often chair of early asset / program teams and a close partner to Research, Clinical Development, Clinical Pharmacology, and Biostatistics.
Key Responsibilities
Clinical study leadership
• Serve as global medical lead / medical monitor for early phase studies (e.g., FIH, PoC, mechanistic, and indication-expansion trials in MASH and related cardiometabolic/liver conditions).
• Lead design of study concepts and protocols, including selection of patient populations, endpoints (clinical and biomarker), and mechanistic sub-studies.
• Provide ongoing medical oversight of trials, including eligibility review, safety monitoring, dose decision-making, and interpretation of emerging data.
• Partner with Clinical Operations and CROs to ensure high-quality execution, timely delivery of data, and inspection-readiness.
Translational and biomarker strategy
• Define and own the translational strategy for assigned programs, from preclinical to late-stage development, ensuring alignment between nonclinical and clinical plans.
• Integrate pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, biomarker, imaging, and clinical outcome data to build a coherent mechanistic narrative and inform dose/ regimen selection.
• Oversee clinical biomarker plans for early and mechanistic studies, in close collaboration with Research, Biomarkers, and external labs/CROs.
• Drive systematic banking and downstream analysis of biospecimens to enable future mechanistic and exploratory work.
Cross-functional leadership and governance
• Chair or co-chair early asset teams / translational working groups, defining objectives, deliverables, and decision points.
• Partner with Clinical Development, Clinical Pharmacology, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics, Safety, and Commercial to ensure an integrated development strategy.
• Provide high-quality clinical and mechanistic input into key documents (IB, CSR, TS/TPPs, regulatory briefing materials, publications, and presentations).
• Present program and mechanistic work at internal governance forums and, where appropriate, to the Executive Team and Board.
External Engagement
• Build and maintain relationships with key external experts in MASH, cardiometabolic disease, and imaging/biomarker fields.
• Lead or co-lead scientific collaborations with academic groups and consortia to address mechanistic questions and expand indications.
• Represent the company at scientific and medical conferences, including presenting study and biomarker results.
People and capability building
• Provide day-to-day leadership and mentoring for junior physicians and PhD scientists within Translational Medicine/Early Clinical Development.
• Help refine and evolve the operating model for Translational Medicine, including interfaces with Research and Clinical Development.
Qualifications
• MD with clinical training in a relevant specialty (e.g., hepatology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, cardiology, internal medicine) or equivalent.
• 15+ years relevant and industry experience in clinical development, including demonstrable leadership of early phase interventional trials.
• Strong track record in translational medicine and biomarker-driven development; experience in metabolic liver or cardiometabolic disease strongly preferred.
• Experience interacting with regulatory agencies on early development and biomarker topics is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence without authority, and operate effectively in a growing, evolving organization.
• Excellent communication skills, with ability to articulate complex mechanistic concepts to diverse stakeholders (researchers, clinicians, executives, and board).
Madrigal offers a competitive Total Rewards strategy to attract and retain top talent and is inclusive of base pay, bonus, equity, and a generous benefits package. Full-time employees are eligible for base salary, bonus, equity, and a comprehensive benefits suite. Base salary is determined by several factors including the candidate's qualifications, skills, education, experience, business needs, and market demands.
As of the date of this posting, a good faith estimate of the current pay scale for this position, applicable to all candidates, is $259,000 - $317,000 per year. We comply with all applicable minimum wage laws.
All full-time employees receive equity, which reinforces our ownership culture and offers meaningful opportunity for our employees to share in the success they help create. By aligning individual and company performance, we empower employees to think like owners, giving them a stake in the organization.
Full-time employees are also eligible for comprehensive benefits, including flexible paid time off, medical, dental, vision and life/disability insurance, and 401(k) offerings (i.e., traditional, Roth, and employer match) in accordance with applicable plans. We also offer additional voluntary benefits like supplemental life insurance, legal services, and other offerings. In addition, we offer mental health benefits through our Employee Assistance Program for employees and their family. The company also provides other benefits in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
