Field Medical Director
About this opportunity
Job Description
General Summary:
The Field Medical Director (Nephrology) is a key member of the Vertex Medical Affairs team providing a real‑world clinical practice perspective to Medical Affairs by delivering high‑quality scientific and clinical engagement with key stakeholders. This role also serves Medical Affairs objectives by leading projects, serving as a cross-functional scientific resource and actively contributing to strategic and tactical planning.
The Field Medical Director supports targeted medical communication and insight generation primarily with thought leaders but will also interact with payers, professional societies and advocacy organizations. Through these activities, the Field Medical Director is integral to achieving Vertex scientific communication objectives and that external clinical perspectives are effectively reflected in strategic priorities including evidence generation priorities and medical education planning.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Serve as a Medical Affairs resource, providing real‑world clinical and practice‑based perspective to support scientific engagement.
Conduct high‑quality, non‑promotional scientific and clinical exchange with national and regional nephrology thought leaders.
Contribute clinical insights to inform strategic planning, including but not limited to Evidence Generation and Medical Education priorities
Collaborate closely with internal Medical Affairs partners to align field activities with scientific priorities and leadership guidance.
Lead Medical Affairs workstreams, advisory boards, and selected projects as appropriate.
Support cross-functional teams through consultative clinical input and participation in joint external engagements as needed.
Maintain compliance with all applicable Medical Affairs policies, standards, and regulations governing scientific exchange.
Knowledge and Skills:
Strong understanding of clinical trial design/interpretation, real‑world evidence, and data interpretation.
Demonstrated ability to conduct high‑quality, non‑promotional scientific exchange with national and regional thought leaders.
Ability to integrate clinical practice experience into meaningful and balanced scientific dialogue.
Effective scientific communication skills with the credibility to engage experienced external clinicians.
Experience capturing and synthesizing medical insights to support Medical Affairs planning.
Solid understanding of Medical Affairs compliance, governance, and SOPs.
Ability to prioritize activities based on scientific need and impact.
Collaborative mindset with the ability to work cross‑functionally within Medical Affairs.
Ability to travel up to approximately 40%, based on business needs, including field engagements and scientific meetings.
Education and Experience:
MD or DO required
US board certification in Nephrology required
Ten or more years of combined clinical and/or industry experience strongly preferred
Pay Range:
$252,000 - $378,000
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
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Medical Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 187 comparable Director Medical Affairs roles across 34 biopharma companies.
Salary context
104 of 187 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.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 187 comparable roles
+ 10 more countries
Seniority mix
187 of 187 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
93 of 187 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
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.
Open in 3 locations
Open in 3 locations
Notify me about similar jobs
Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.
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.
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.