Development Scientific Director, Neurology (Early Development)

Job Title: Development Scientific Director (DSD)

Location: Cambridge, MA,

About the Job

Are you ready to shape the future of medicine? The race is on to speed up drug discovery and development to find answers for patients and their families. Your skills could be critical in helping our teams accelerate progress. 

The Development Scientific Director (DSD) role in the Neurology Clinical Development department provides clinical scientific leadership for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials. The DSD contributes to the protocol development, study feasibility and risk assessment, regulatory submissions, protocol training, scientific review of data, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure scientific integrity and operational excellence. This role requires a scientifically and operationally focused, organized, and emotionally intelligent professional with strong analytical, communication, and leadership skills.

 

At Sanofi we chase the miracles of science. Sanofi believes that the more we understand about disease pathogenesis in the human nervous system, the greater the chance we can produce life-changing therapies. Sanofi has a large internal research team including the Genomic Medicine Unit (GMU), which are committed to building the future pipeline in various neurological and ophthalmological diseases. Over the next five years, the Neurology & Ophthalmology Development (NOD) group plans to regularly test in the clinic potentially disease-modifying treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculopathy (CIDP), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), as well as other CNS diseases, with therapeutic modalities encompassing Small Molecules, Biologics, and Gene Therapy.

We are an innovative global healthcare company with one purpose: to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. We’re also a company where you can flourish and grow your career, with countless opportunities to explore, make connections with people, and stretch the limits of what you thought was possible. Ready to get started?

 

Main Responsibilities:

 

Clinical Study Leadership

• Provide scientific expertise for study protocols, data interpretation, and clinical study reports.

• Ensure scientific relevance and quality of clinical data throughout study execution.

• Support feasibility assessments, risk management, and validation of clinical data.

• Participate in internal governance and regulatory meetings.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the scientific reference for study teams, investigators, and internal stakeholders.

• Collaborate with Global Project Heads, Clinical Research Director, Safety Officer and Pharmacovigilance, Translational Medicine, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics, Clinical Study Units, Medical Affairs, and CROs to optimize study design and execution.

Study Document Development

• Author, review, and validate study-related documents including trial protocols, informed consent forms, case report forms, risk management plans, training materials, clinical study reports, and publications.

• Develop materials for and organize investigator meetings, steering committees, and independent data monitoring committees.

• Contribute to regulatory submissions and respond to health authority queries.

Scientific Expertise & Strategy

• Maintain deep knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology, biomarkers, disease staging, clinical management, and drug development.

• Contribute to biomarker strategy and mechanism-of-action understanding.

• Support clinical development plans and integrated development strategies.

• Provide scientific input for in-licensing evaluations and strategic initiatives as needed.

Operational Oversight

• Define study timelines, budgets, and risk mitigation plans in collaboration with clinical operations and project management.

• Ensure harmonization of study documents and alignment across projects.

• Escalate and resolve study-level issues, sharing lessons learned across teams

QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced degree (PhD, PharmD, or equivalent in Life/Health Sciences); MPH or Master’s with extensive drug development experience may be considered.

• Minimum 5 years of clinical development experience in academic, biopharma, or CRO.

• Strong scientific and clinical development expertise, especially in neurology. Clinical research and drug development expertise in Alzheimer’s disease is highly desired.

• Excellent communication, teaching, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

• Fluent in English (spoken and written).

• Experience working in a matrixed environment with global teams.

Why Choose Us?

• Bring the miracles of science to life alongside a supportive, future-focused team.

• Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally.

• Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact.

• Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention and wellness programs and at least 14 weeks’ gender-neutral parental leave.

Sanofi Inc. and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employers committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; color; creed; religion; national origin; age; ancestry; nationality; marital, domestic partnership or civil union status; sex, gender, gender identity or expression; affectional or sexual orientation; disability; veteran or military status or liability for military status; domestic violence victim status; atypical cellular or blood trait; genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.

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All compensation will be determined commensurate with demonstrated experience. Employees may be eligible to participate in Company employee benefit programs, and additional benefits information can be found here.