AstraZeneca Posted July 30, 2026

Associate Regulatory Affairs Director

Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America Full time
Regulatory Affairs Director

AstraZeneca is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

The Associate Regulatory Affairs Director (ARAD) is an experienced regulatory specialist with strong project management experience and a track record of advancing innovative therapies through key clinical development milestones. As a key member of the global regulatory strategy team (GRST), you are responsible for partnering with senior regulatory experts to support the end-to-end regulatory strategy planning, coordination, and execution of assigned cell therapy projects. The ARAD is solutions-oriented and a key contributor to regulatory strategy development, the identification of submission risks and opportunities, and drives high quality global regulatory authority engagements and submissions. The ARAD provides regulatory expertise and guidance on the clinical development requirements, including procedural and documentation requirements to regulatory and cross-functional teams, working flexibly within and across regions to achieve business objectives.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities

Partner closely with members of the global regulatory team, to define stage appropriate regulatory strategy in alignment with global regulatory requirements and expectations, to bring innovative cell-based gene therapies to patients.

Closely monitor evolving global and regional regulatory guidelines, policies, and procedures to support efficient, scientifically rigorous, and patient-centric development plans.

Lead and contribute to the planning, preparation, review, and submission of regulatory submissions (e.g., IND, CTA, GMO, BLA, IVDR) s for cell-based gene therapies across all regions, ensuring proper documentation and compliance with internal and external standards.

Advise the regulatory and cross-functional teams of available opportunities to accelerate development by evaluating risks and identifying potential solutions to address regulatory hurdles.

Participate in meetings with Health Authorities to gain direct exposure to regulatory feedback and enable: Contribution to submission delivery strategies for all dossiers and application types that are responsive to health authority advice

Analysis of regulatory procedures and special designations used during development, authorizations and extension of the product. ​

Use and share best practices, when handling various applications and procedures during interactions with health authorities and in day-to-day work, while operating in a highly dynamic environment.

Develop, execute and maintain submission delivery plans, submission content plans, and proactively provide status updates to designated stakeholders.

Support some operational and compliance activities for assigned projects.

May assume assigned responsibilities for routine and non-routine contact with health authorities and marketing companies.

Provide coaching, mentoring and knowledge sharing within the Regulatory Affairs Management skill group.

Contribute to governance meetings and process improvement.

Minimum Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline, Regulatory Sciences, Pharmacy, or a related field

5+ years of Regulatory experience within the biopharmaceutical industry, or at a health authority, or other relevant experience

Thorough Knowledge of drug development

Strong project management skills

Leadership skills, including experience leading multi-disciplinary project teams

Preferred Experience

Master’s, PharmD, or PhD degree in Science, Regulatory Sciences, Pharmacy, or another related discipline

7+ years of Regulatory experience within the biopharmaceutical industry, or at a health authority, or other relevant experience

Managed complex regulatory deliverables and submissions across projects/products

Managed CTA or first wave Marketing Applications and/or LCM submissions with application of IVDR/GMO

Knowledge of AZ Business and processes

Experience and expertise using Artificial intelligence tools

Skills and Capabilities

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Cultural awareness

Scientific knowledge sufficient to understand regulatory issues and facilitate scientific discussions

Proficiency with common project management (e.g., MS Project) and document management tools

Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Influencing and stakeholder management skills

Ability to analyze problems and recommend actions

Continuous Improvement and knowledge sharing focused

Internal and External Contacts/Customers

Global Regulatory Leads (GRLs)

Regional Leads (eg, US, EU international RADs)

Lead RPM

Regulatory skill group in CGT

Marketing Companies

Health Authorities

External Collaboration partners

Why AstraZeneca?

At AstraZeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration, and always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development. We’re on an exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare.

So, what’s next? 

Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you!

The annual base pay for this position ranges from $ 135,624.80 - $203,437.20 USD Annual. Hourly and salaried non-exempt employees will also be paid overtime pay when working qualifying overtime hours. Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition, our positions offer a short-term incentive bonus opportunity; eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (salaried roles), to receive a retirement contribution (hourly roles), and commission payment eligibility (sales roles). Benefits offered included a qualified retirement program [401(k) plan]; paid vacation and holidays; paid leaves; and, health benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans. Additional details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base pay (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Date Posted

30-Jul-2026

Closing Date

14-Aug-2026 Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
Regulatory Affairs
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Regulatory Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 74 comparable Director Regulatory Affairs roles across 22 biopharma companies.

74Comparable roles tracked
60Currently active
22Companies hiring similar roles
9Countries represented

Salary context

34 of 74 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Peer group range $174,000 – $295,900 (median $244,150)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 74 comparable roles

United States48
Ireland8
United Kingdom7
Poland4
China's Mainland2
Spain2

+ 3 more countries

Seniority mix

74 of 74 peers have a known seniority level

Director60
Senior Director12
Principal2

Therapeutic area mix

9 of 74 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology3
Cardiovascular / CVRM2
Respiratory2
Rare Disease1
Neuroscience1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
AbbVie Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

Open in 5 locations

North Chicago, United StatesFlorham Park, United StatesCambridge, United StatesIrvine, United StatesWaltham, United States
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Director, RA Global Regulatory Strategy
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, RA Global Regulatory Strategy
AbbVie · Cambridge, MA · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, RA Global Regulatory Strategy
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Regulatory Affairs Data Standards and Governance
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.