Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted October 6, 2026

Director, Medical Affairs Research

Foster City, United States Full time
Medical Affairs Director
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Gilead Sciences, 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

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 1987. Together we deliver lifesaving therapies to patients in need. With the commitment and drive you bring to the workplace every day, you will be part of a team that is changing the world and helping millions of people live healthier, more fulfilling lives.

This role is responsible for providing management, operational, and logistical support in global late phase research in all Gilead’s therapeutic areas (TAs) including, but not limited to HIV, Liver Diseases, Inflammation and Oncology. This is a highly cross-functional role requiring strong strategic thinking, operational leadership, process excellence, change management, and influencing capabilities.

The primary focus is on the development and management of integrated evidence planning across the portfolio to support the strategic development of late phase research. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience in leading high-impact cross-functional workshops to build alignment, enable effective decision-making, and drive actionable outcomes across diverse stakeholders.

Essential Duties & Job Functions:

The IEP Process Lead is responsible for driving the effective execution of Integrated Evidence Plans (IEPs). The role provides end-to-end operational leadership to deliver the research strategy in support of the overall asset strategy.

Working across global, regional, and local teams and relevant cross-functional stakeholders, the IEP Process Lead will ensure that research activities progress from strategy and prioritization of data needs into a research plan for execution with clear ownership, milestones, dependencies, and outcomes.

Manage Integrated Evidence Planning across therapeutic areas including identification and implementation of process improvements.

Build strong partnerships across Medical Affairs Research and relevant Medical Affairs and cross-functional teams within the Gilead ecosystem.

Act as a connector across strategy, governance, operational execution, and functional stakeholders.

Influence outcomes through credibility, collaboration, and evidence-based recommendations rather than reliance on formal authority.

Establish milestones, deliverables, ownership, dependencies, and critical decision points for IEP activities.

Knowledge & Skills:

Strong facilitation skills to lead large, complex cross-functional workshops, drive alignment, and translate diverse perspectives into clear outcomes and actions.

Demonstrated project management, process improvement, and organizational skills, including management of multiple projects with tight timelines while maintaining attention to detail.

Affinity for a collaborative, team-oriented environment, and approach; must be able to appropriately interact within Medical Affairs, across Development and Commercial, as well as senior management.

Ability to apply logic and problem-solving skills under pressure, adapt to change, and successfully work independently coupled to excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

Experience with process-excellence methodologies and continuous improvement.

Ability to work in a global environment which will require participation in meetings outside of standard work hours to accommodate time zone differences.

Strong understanding of research governance and the interfaces between scientific strategy and operational execution.

Strong problem-solving skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information and develop pragmatic solutions.

Understanding of the quality, compliance, legal, and regulatory considerations associated with Medical Affairs research.

Ability to travel as dictated by business needs

Education & Experience:

BS/BA in life sciences: biological, pharmaceutical sciences, epidemiology required with 12+ years of experience OR

MBA or MS in life sciences: biological, pharmaceutical sciences, epidemiology required with 10+ years of experience OR

PhD or PharmD in life sciences: biological, pharmaceutical sciences, epidemiology required with 8+ years of experience

Demonstrated facilitator experience required

Experience supporting integrated evidence planning and execution coupled to a broad exposure to various aspects of clinical research and operations.

Strong program and project leadership capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

Advanced degree (MS, MBA, PhD, PharmD)

Minimum of 6-8+ years of experience with formal facilitator certification strongly preferred

Scientific knowledge/ experience in any of Gilead’s TAs (HIV, Liver Diseases, Inflammation, or Oncology) a plus but not required.

The salary range for this position is: $243,100.00 - $314,600.00. Gilead considers a variety of factors when determining base compensation, including experience, qualifications, and geographic location. These considerations mean actual compensation will vary. This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package. Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans*.

For additional benefits information, visit:

https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing

* Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

For jobs in the United States:

Gilead Sciences Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex , age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com  for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the  'Know Your Rights' poster.

NOTICE: EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Gilead Sciences will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the  legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Gilead provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
Medical Affairs
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Foster City, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

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

We currently track 314 comparable Director Medical Affairs roles across 61 biopharma companies.

314Comparable roles tracked
289Currently active
61Companies hiring similar roles
28Countries represented

Salary context

140 of 314 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 $243,100/yr – $314,600/yr
Lowest disclosed · Principal Strategic Medical Writer · AbbVie $109,500/yr – $208,500/yr
Peer group range $159,000 – $392,100 (median $264,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 314 comparable roles

United States230
United Kingdom22
China8
Canada7
Germany5
France4

+ 22 more countries

Seniority mix

314 of 314 peers have a known seniority level

Director263
Senior Director34
Principal17

Therapeutic area mix

140 of 314 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology58
Neuroscience17
Immunology17
Respiratory15
Dermatology & Aesthetics10
Cardiovascular / CVRM9
Rare Disease7
Gastroenterology4
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Ophthalmology1

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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.

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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.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Medical Affairs job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

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%
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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.