Director, US New Product Planning, Early Market Development

Job Description

General Summary:

We are seeking a Director, US New Product Planning, Early Market Development to partner closely with the Senior Director Director, US New Product Planning in preparing early pipeline assets for future US success.

This role is ideal for a commercially minded, externally oriented leader who is energized by shaping markets well ahead of launch. The successful candidate will focus on early market development and engagement with emerging thought leaders, including both healthcare professional (HCP) stakeholders and patient advocacy / community leaders. This individual will help build the foundational understanding, relationships, and market readiness required to support future launch success in the US.

This role also offers a unique opportunity to help build out a new Business Unit for the organization. By shaping the external landscape early, identifying key stakeholders, and informing how the organization engages the market over time, this individual will play an important role in establishing the building blocks of a future US business.

Key Responsibilities

Partner with the Senior Director, US New Product Planning to support US planning for early pipeline assets

Help develop and execute early market shaping strategies for assets well in advance of launch

Identify, prioritize, and map key external stakeholders, including: emerging and established HCP thought leaders

treatment center influencers

advocacy leaders

patient community stakeholders

other disease-area opinion leaders relevant to market development

Support the design of thoughtful and compliant approaches to external engagement in partnership with medical, patient advocacy, and cross-functional teams

Synthesize external insights to inform: disease area opportunity assessment

patient journey understanding

barriers to diagnosis and treatment

treatment ecosystem dynamics

unmet need and market readiness considerations

Help define early hypotheses around: market development needs

stakeholder education opportunities

patient finding challenges

advocacy landscape dynamics

future launch risks and enablers

Partner with internal teams to ensure external insights are translated into implications for US asset strategy and launch planning

Support the development of planning materials, strategic recommendations, and leadership updates

Contribute to cross-functional planning with medical, advocacy, market access, analytics, and global commercial colleagues

Help maintain a structured view of stakeholder engagement opportunities, key learnings, and emerging market signals over time

Contribute to the external and market-facing foundations of a new Business Unit

Required Experience

Experience in biotech or pharmaceutical commercial, new product planning, marketing, market development, field strategy, medical-commercial interface, or related roles

Experience supporting pipeline, pre-launch, or early commercial strategy

Demonstrated interest or experience in early market development and external stakeholder engagement

Experience working cross-functionally in a matrixed environment

Strong understanding of how external insights can inform strategy, planning, and launch preparation

Experience in neurology, rare disease, or other complex specialty markets

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize insights into clear recommendations

Preferred Experience

Experience engaging with or supporting strategy involving: HCP thought leaders

advocacy organizations

patient communities

Experience in US commercial planning or new product planning

Experience in specialty or rare disease categories with high unmet need and complex patient journeys

Exposure to global teams or cross-regional collaboration

Experience helping shape stakeholder mapping, insight generation, or early market development plans

Critical Capabilities

Strategic curiosity, asks the right questions and looks around corners

External orientation, strong interest in understanding HCP, advocacy, and patient community perspectives

Insight generation, able to synthesize diverse inputs into actionable implications

Cross-functional collaboration, works effectively across commercial, medical, advocacy, and analytics teams

Market development mindset, understands how markets are shaped well before launch

Execution focus, able to turn ideas into concrete workplans and next steps

Strong judgment and professionalism, especially in navigating stakeholder interactions thoughtfully and compliantly

Why This Role Stands Out

This role offers the chance to work at the front end of pipeline strategy, where markets are still forming, assumptions are still being tested, and external insights can meaningfully influence future success.

You will have the opportunity to:

help shape how the organization prepares the US market for future launches

work closely with senior commercial leadership

build broad exposure across strategy, external engagement, and cross-functional planning

play an important role in understanding the HCP and advocacy landscape early

contribute to the build-out of a new Business Unit by helping establish the external relationships, market understanding, and strategic groundwork needed for long-term success

grow into a larger new product planning or launch strategy leadership role over time or follow the launch into the US BU

Success in This Role Looks Like

The organization has a sharper understanding of the early US market landscape

Key HCP and advocacy stakeholders are identified and appropriately understood early

External insights are translated into practical recommendations for asset strategy and market development

Cross-functional teams are better informed about future launch risks, opportunities, and engagement priorities

Early market shaping efforts are more focused, proactive, and aligned to future US launch needs

The role contributes meaningfully to the early external build-out of a new Business Unit

Pay Range:

$196,000 - $294,000

Disclosure Statement:

The range provided is based on what we believe is a reasonable estimate for the base salary pay range for this job at the time of posting. This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards. Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements. Actual base salary pay will be based on a number of factors, including skills, competencies, experience, and other job-related factors permitted by law.

At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations.  From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.

Flex Designation:

Hybrid-Eligible Or On-Site Eligible

Flex Eligibility Status:

In this Hybrid-Eligible role, you can choose to be designated as:

1.    Hybrid: work remotely up to two days per week; or select

2.    On-Site: work five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility.

Note: The Flex status for this position is subject to Vertex’s Policy on Flex @ Vertex Program and may be changed at any time.

#LI-Hybrid

Company Information

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at ApplicationAssistance@vrtx.com