

New · posted Nov 14
Eli Lilly · Pharmaceuticals
Senior Director, Clinical Development
- Remote, US
- Remote
- Full-time
- Director
The role
Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, is a clinical-stage company developing orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists as a new class of medicines for the treatment of narcolepsy and potentially other sleep-wake disorders. Centessa’s lead investigational candidate – cleminorexton (formerly ORX750) – is being developed for narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia. Centessa's OX2R agonist portfolio includes additional clinical and preclinical-stage assets with potential utility across a broader range of neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric conditions. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Centessa was recognized as a Great Place to Work® in 2026.
Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: CNTA) new kind of pharmaceutical company with a deconstructed R&D environment that prioritizes data driven decision making led by subject matter experts. Centessa is advancing a portfolio of high conviction programs with strong biological validation.
The (Senior) Director, Clinical Development will play a critical leadership role in advancing our clinical programs in sleep-wake disorders and broader CNS indications. Reporting directly to the Associate President, Clinical Development, this leader will assume primary responsibility for the strategic and operational execution of the company’s late-stage Orexin Receptor 2 Agonist Program (Program 750), which targets narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia.
At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.
What you need
Basic Qualifications
- MD required, MD/PhD strongly preferred (includes internationally recognized equivalent)
- Minimum 5 years of combined experience across academia, clinical practice, pharma/biotech industry, etc.
- Minimum 2 years of pharmaceutical/biotech industry experience, including managing clinical development programs and clinical trials
- Substantial experience supporting CNS / neuroscience drug development required; sleep medicine and associated therapeutic areas strongly preferred
- Willingness to deliver project and tactical level work· Excellent working knowledge of regulations across various agencies (FDA, EMA, etc.) and GCP, & ICH guidelines. Knowledge or experience supporting regulatory or health authority inspections a plus.
- Experience leading and authoring clinical development inputs into regulatory submissions (IND, CTAs, NDA/BLAs, designation applications, etc.) and representing clinical development in agency interactions.·
- Experience authoring and guiding teams with key asset and clinical trial level plans and documents.
- Strong knowledge in clinical development strategy, clinical trial design, regulatory pathways, biostatistics methodologies, and ability to analyze and interpret translational medicine, clinical, and research data as it relates to an asset, patients, etc.
- Possess excellent written and oral communication skills with internal and external stakeholders
- Proven ability to work collaboratively, take initiative, solve complex issues, and deliver results in a fast-paced, team-based matrix environment
- Demonstrate sound judgement in handling complex, confidential, and highly regulated information
- Ability and willingness to travel as required.
What you'll do
· Primary point of contact for clinical development activities with willingness to work strategically and hands on at the program and clinical trial levels.
· Accountable for the oversight, monitoring and surveillance of overall risk, safety, benefit/efficacy to patients as well as compliant trial execution and optimal integrity of data.
· Responsible for establishing relationships and communication with KOLs, investigators and relevant site medical (or other supportive roles) personnel.
· Lead the clinical development strategy and innovative approaches for the overall clinical pathway for the asset.
· Key clinical development contributor to publication strategy and planning, authoring of publications, posters, etc., and present or support presentations, posters, etc., in conferences and meetings.
· Play a key role in regulatory and health authority interactions.
· Lead clinical development contributor to regulatory activities, submissions, and clinical sections of regulatory/health authority pre-meeting packages and initial applications, routine annual reports, ad hoc safety reports (SUSARs), interim and final CSRs, etc.
· Author asset and clinical trial level plans, charters, documents.
· Determine optimal clinical trial design options that are innovative, patient centric, cost efficient, and enable meeting business goals.
· Responsible for review, analysis and interpretation of all clinical trial data including assessment of protocol deviations.
· Lead asset level clinical sub-teams and play key leadership role on program team for clinical development.
· Lead asset level and trial level medical forums as needed (safety review committee, ad board, KOL meetings, medical review/discussions of patient cases, cohort review meetings, etc.).
· Attend and present as needed at core team meetings, investigator meetings, site visits, etc.
· Liaise with cross functional partners, vendors, and CROs to ensure the progression of clinical studies within the expected time frame.
· Provide clinical evaluation and interpretation of pre-clinical results.
· Remain current on the development of orexin agonists and the relevant therapeutic areas through review of the scientific literature, interactions with KOLs and other external experts and attendance at relevant scientific meetings, to provide input and guidance for the strategic direction of Centessa clinical stage programs.
Pay and benefits
$201,000 – $356,400 a year
Employer providedWork Location
The (Senior) Director, Clinical Development role is a remote role based in the US, with occasional travel.
Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.
Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.
Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).
Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is
$201,000 - $356,400
Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.
Company bonus
401(k)
Pension
Medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits
Flexible spending accounts
Life insurance and well-being benefits
Job intelligence
The context around this role
Live data · November 14, 2026
Salary intelligence
How the pay compares
This role's midpoint is 7% below the US median for Clinical Development roles at this level.
This roleEmployer provided
Director roles in the US219 roles publishing pay
| Annual base pay | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| This role | $201,000 | — | $356,400 |
| All US (middle half) | $253,000 | $300,000 | $335,500 |
This role: Eli Lilly's own published range. Comparisons: the base pay employers published on open Clinical Development roles at the same level on Regulatory Jobs, November 14, 2026. Nothing is estimated.
Career trajectory
Where this role sits in Clinical Development
The general path across 292 open Clinical Development roles on Regulatory Jobs, with the titles they carry most. Not Lilly's own promotion track.
Skills DNA
What this role leans on
How many of the posting's 32 duty, requirement and summary lines touch each area. The posting's emphasis, not a proficiency score.
- Clinical trial conduct16
- Collaboration and leadership14
- Investigations and CAPA4
- Regulatory submissions4
- Documentation and SOPs3
- GMP and compliance1
- Lab testing and methods1
- Validation and qualification1
Regulatory intelligence
The rules, regulations and standards behind this role
The regulations, guidance and standards that govern Clinical Development work in pharmaceuticals, led by the three this posting names, each linked to the agency or standards body that publishes it.
- ICHICH E6(R3) good clinical practice(official source, opens in a new tab)The international standard for the design, conduct and reporting of clinical trialsNamed in the posting
- FDA21 CFR Part 312(official source, opens in a new tab)Investigational New Drug applications and sponsor duties in drug trialsNamed in the posting
- FDA21 CFR Part 314(official source, opens in a new tab)Applications for FDA approval to market a new drug (NDA and ANDA)Named in the posting
- FDA21 CFR Part 50(official source, opens in a new tab)Protection of human subjects: informed consent in FDA-regulated trials
- FDA21 CFR Part 56(official source, opens in a new tab)Institutional review boards for FDA-regulated clinical investigations
- ICHICH E9 and E9(R1)(official source, opens in a new tab)Statistical principles for clinical trials and estimands
- ICHICH E3(official source, opens in a new tab)Structure and content of clinical study reports
- FDAFDA Investigations Operations Manual(official source, opens in a new tab)How FDA investigators plan and conduct inspections
- EUEU Clinical Trials Regulation 536/2014(official source, opens in a new tab)How clinical trials of medicines are authorized and run in the EU, through CTIS
- ICHICH E8(R1)(official source, opens in a new tab)General considerations for clinical studies and quality by design in trials
- HHS45 CFR Part 46 (Common Rule)(official source, opens in a new tab)The federal policy for the protection of human research subjects
- NIH42 CFR Part 11(official source, opens in a new tab)Clinical trial registration and results reporting on ClinicalTrials.gov
- FDAFDA Bioresearch Monitoring (BIMO)(official source, opens in a new tab)FDA inspections of clinical investigators, sponsors, IRBs and GLP labs
- FDA21 CFR Part 11(official source, opens in a new tab)FDA rules for electronic records and electronic signatures
- HHSHIPAA Privacy Rule(official source, opens in a new tab)Federal protections for individually identifiable health information
- EUGDPR (Regulation 2016/679)(official source, opens in a new tab)The EU General Data Protection Regulation for personal data, including health data
Company hiring pulse
Lilly on Regulatory Jobs
- 60
- Open roles
- 60
- Distinct roles
- 10
- Locations
By discipline
- Quality30 50%
- Clinical23 38%
- Regulatory7 12%
By level
- Director28 47%
- Senior & Principal16 27%
- Manager7 12%
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Senior Director, Clinical Development at Lilly
Open until filled. $201K–$356K a year, employer provided.


