Gilead Sciences, Inc. Posted September 10, 2026

Sr Director, Nonclinical Safety

Foster City, United States Full time
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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

The Nonclinical Sciences Department at Gilead Sciences is seeking a highly motivated veterinary anatomic pathologist to provide expert pathology and scientific support for nonclinical studies and safety strategies to support drug development from discovery through marketed products  This team-facing role involves collaboration with departmental colleagues and cross-functional teams throughout nonclinical drug development, supporting various molecular modalities, therapeutic areas, and spanning across research and regulatory pathology areas. The primary function of this role is to provide the interpretation, integration, and communication of complex anatomic and clinical pathology findings for novel therapeutics. Additional opportunities to participate in due diligence teams, serve in project team leadership roles, drive mechanistic studies, and participate in Gilead-wide working groups/cross-functional initiatives are available.

Minimum Qualifications: DVM with a PhD in a relevant biological discipline with 10+ years of relevant experience Recognized board certification in anatomic pathology. At least 8+ years of toxicologic pathology experience in a pharmaceutical R&D environment, including screening, IND-enabling and development studies in rodent and non-rodent species.

Demonstrated issue-resolution experience. High level of understanding of the drug discovery, development and regulatory process, including experience working directly on drug development project teams and Regulatory Authority interactions and submissions. Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills.

Anatomic pathology residency training and specialty board certification

• Previous industry experience is beneficial, though not required

• Professional experience as a project pathologist in the biopharmaceutical industry is preferred

• Strong decision-making, complex problem-solving, and project management skills

• Proven strengths in critical data analysis and interpretation

• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, dynamic, and team-oriented environment

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including technical writing and presenting

• Demonstrated scientific productivity (such as publications and conference presentations)

• Deep experience in immunology, virology, or oncology is highly desirable

• Experience mentoring and developing junior scientists, while fostering a culture of scientific rigor and collaboration

• Ability to represent the nonclinical pathology function in external scientific forums/consortia, cross-functional strategic discussions, and regulatory interactions

• Working knowledge of digital pathology, image analysis, and AI is desirable

The salary range for this position is: $261,375.00 - $338,250.00. 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
Senior Director
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Foster City, 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 64 comparable Senior Director Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 24 biopharma companies.

64Comparable roles tracked
57Currently active
24Companies hiring similar roles
7Countries represented

Salary context

33 of 64 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 $261,375/yr – $338,250/yr
Highest disclosed · Executive Director, Biotherapeutics DMPK · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $268,000/yr – $402,000/yr
Peer group range $0 – $335,000 (median $250,800)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 64 comparable roles

United States54
China2
United Kingdom2
India2
Poland1
Spain1

+ 1 more countries

Seniority mix

64 of 64 peers have a known seniority level

Director39
Senior Director14
Executive/VP11

Therapeutic area mix

12 of 64 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology9
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Neuroscience1
Respiratory1

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
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, 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
60%similar
Amgen Inc. Thousand Oaks, United States 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
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America 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%
Senior Director, Discovery Sciences & Technologies
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, 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%
Director/Sr. Director – Medicinal Chemistry (synthetic macrocycles)
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Senior Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Director, Quantitative Pharmacology
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development and Commercialization, Inc. · Remote, United States · 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.