Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc. Posted August 14, 2026

Senior Director, Quantitative Pharmacology

Princeton, United States Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Senior Director

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc. 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

Job Summary

As a leadership role in Quantitative Pharmacology team at Quantitative Translational Research (QTR) department, this role will oversee clinical Pharmacology activities, assist in department technical growth and contribute to key metrics of success of the Clinical Pharmacology team across all stages of clinical development.  The role will also support the head of Quantitative Pharmacology, in managing/growing function team, mentoring/training junior scientists, and overseeing project-level clinical pharmacology activities, leading development of SOP/WP or cross-functional working process.

Oversee clinical pharmacology deliverables related to pre-IND, IND, phase1-3, Pharmacokinetics (PK), Pharmacokinetics-Pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) reports and regulatory submissions as well as review and approve Clinical Pharmacology reports and analyses.

Oversee clinical pharmacology strategy and provide input into clinical development strategy and activities related all phases of drug development including, but not limited to dose finding, dose optimization, exposure-response and pediatric development.

Serve as a Clinical Pharmacology Lead in Early- and Late-stage development teams and provide concise, data driven actionable plans and efficiently communicate results and Clinical Pharmacology strategy to development teams.

Oversee interactions of clinical pharmacology team with other QTR functions, including non-clinical toxicology, DMPK, bioanalytical, and biomarker teams, for design, execution and reporting of clinical studies, especially first-in-human study and clinical pharmacology studies.

Review business development opportunities and make go/ no-go recommendations on behalf of QTR.

Work with Quantitative Translational Research (QTR) leadership team to set department strategy, growth and cross functional alignment.

Job Description

Serve as clinical pharmacology lead on multiple cross-functional project teams; plan and optimize clinical pharmacology strategies and integrate them into clinical development plans to support drug development and regulatory packages of small or large molecule drugs.

Review, approve and lead development of clinical pharmacology sections for regulatory filings, including annual reports, investigator’s brochure, IND/NDA/BLA applications and pediatrics development plans in compliance with relevant guidelines and standards.

Work closely with pharmacometrics team, support model-based drug development (MIDD) strategies, and provide input to PK and PK/PD modeling analysis to support dose selection, efficacy and safety assessments.

Work closely with Translational and biomarker team, support biomarker development and incorporation into early phase studies.

Responsible for use of innovative methods of data analysis to integrate knowledge of PK, PD, patient characteristics and disease states to optimize doses, dosage regimens and study designs throughout clinical drug development in collaboration with pharmacometrics, biomarker, statistics and clinical development functions (as relevant).

Review and approve clinical study design and protocols of healthy subject trials (including FIH SAD/MAD, DDI, rBA, mass-balance, HI/RI, TQT,...)

Interact cross-functionally with other key disciplines involved in drug development including nonclinical pharmacology/toxicology, ADME, clinical, regulatory, and CMC. Work with formulation, biomarker and bioanalytical team members on activities related to formulation development, assay development, sample management, Pharmacogenomics (PGx) and biomarker strategy development.

Train and manage junior team members in Quantitative Pharmacology team. Mentor and develop clinical pharmacology talent as the pipeline and organization grow

Qualifications

- Travel 20-40%

Education and Related Experience

- PhD in Clinical Pharmacology (or a related area such as pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, pharmaceutics) with a minimum of 12 years of experience in these areas. Experience in early-phase clinical protocol development is a plus

Competencies

Accountability for Results - Stay focused on key strategic objectives, be accountable for high standards of performance, and take an active role in leading change.

Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving - Make decisions considering the long-term impact to customers, patients, employees, and the business.

Patient & Customer Centricity - Maintain an ongoing focus on the needs of our customers and/or key stakeholders.

Impactful Communication -  Communicate with logic, clarity, and respect. Influence at all levels to achieve the best results for Otsuka.

Respectful Collaboration - Seek and value others’ perspectives and strive for diverse partnerships to enhance work toward common goals.

Empowered Development - Play an active role in professional development as a business imperative.

Minimum $230,720.00 - Maximum $345,000.00, plus incentive opportunity: The range shown represents a typical pay range or starting pay for individuals who are hired in the role to perform in the United States. Other elements may be used to determine actual pay such as the candidate’s job experience, specific skills, and comparison to internal incumbents currently in role. Typically, actual pay will be positioned within the established range, rather than at its minimum or maximum. This information is provided to applicants in accordance with states and local laws.

Application Deadline : This will be posted for a minimum of 5 business days.

Company benefits:  Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, company provided basic life, accidental death & dismemberment, short-term and long-term disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, student loan assistance, a generous 401(k) match, flexible time off, paid holidays, and paid leave programs as well as other company provided benefits.

Come discover more about Otsuka and our benefit offerings;  https://ah-prod.com/multi/videoplayer/player.html?v=6385356920112 .

Join Our Talent Community: Stay connected with Otsuka by joining our Talent Community. Tell us about your interests, and we’ll notify you about future opportunities that align with your background. https://community.hireez.com/cielo-otsuka/82cb3591

Disclaimer: 

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the people assigned to this position. It is not intended to include every job duty and responsibility specific to the position. Otsuka reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

Otsuka is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will be given consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, national origin, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation, if you are unable or limited in your ability to apply to this job opening as a result of your disability.  You can request reasonable accommodations by contacting EEAccommodations@otsuka-us.com .

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Please understand, Otsuka will never ask for financial information of any kind or for payment of money during the job application process. We do not require any financial, credit card or bank account information and/or any payment of any kind to be considered for employment. We will also not offer you money to buy equipment, software, or for any other purpose during the job application process. If you are being asked to pay or offered money for equipment fees or some other application processing fee, even if claimed you will be reimbursed, this is not Otsuka. These claims are fraudulent and you are strongly advised to exercise caution when you receive such an offer of employment.

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Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc., and Otsuka Precision Health, Inc. (“Otsuka”) does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities.  All CVs/resumes submitted by search firms to any Otsuka employee directly or through Otsuka’s application portal without a valid written search agreement in place for the position will be considered Otsuka’s sole property.  No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired by Otsuka as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Job details

Seniority
Senior Director
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Princeton, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 51 comparable Senior Director Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 17 biopharma companies.

51Comparable roles tracked
50Currently active
17Companies hiring similar roles
5Countries represented

Salary context

28 of 51 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
Highest disclosed · Executive Director, Biotherapeutics DMPK · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $268,000/yr – $402,000/yr
Peer group range $202,950 – $335,000 (median $250,325)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 51 comparable roles

United States46
India2
Spain1
China1
United Kingdom1

Seniority mix

51 of 51 peers have a known seniority level

Director29
Senior Director12
Executive/VP10

Therapeutic area mix

9 of 51 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology8
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

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
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck South San Francisco, California, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, United States Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Amgen Inc. South San Francisco, United States Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Amgen Inc. South San Francisco, United States Senior Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

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.

60%
Director/Senior Director, ADMET & PK/PD Modeling
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Director , Quantitative Pharmacology
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Tarrytown, United States · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Director – BioIntelligence
Amgen Inc. · Thousand Oaks, United States · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Director, Advanced Pharmacometrics, Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics – Immuno-Oncology (Hybrid or Remote)
Merck · Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America · Senior 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.