One of our premiere clients is building next-generation cancer screening and survivorship programs at the intersection of oncology, diagnostics, epidemiology, and AI-enabled technology. As they scale, they are hiring a Director, Clinical Research to own clinical research strategy and medical AI validation agenda.
This role has two core mandates. First, you will design and lead the validation strategy for their foundation models, including academic medical center partnerships, cohort-based studies across cancer types and subpopulations, and the methodological rigor required for clinicians, regulators, and internal teams to trust the results. Second, you will shape and run the broader clinical research strategy, including prospective and observational studies that build the evidence base fortheir screening and survivorship programs, real-world evidence collaborations with clinical partners, and the scientific output that establishes the company’s clinical credibility
.
This role reports directly to the Co-Founder leading the medical team and will be one of their medical hires. The scope is broad today and will expand quickly as the company grow
s.
What You’ll
Do:
Lead clinical research and validation stu
- diesDesign and lead prospective and cohort-based validation studies for our foundation models across screening and survivors
- hip.Shape and execute the broader clinical research agenda, including observational studies, real-world evidence efforts, and protocol design for screening and survivorship progr
- ams.Define endpoints, study populations, statistical plans, and bias controls with the rigor required for clinical adopt
- ion.Translate broad model capabilities into focused validation plans for specific cancer types and subpopulations, such as recurrence prediction in breast cancer or risk prediction in colorectal can
cer.
Work with academic medical ce
- ntersProvide scientific and clinical input into the identification and structuring of new academic medical center partnerships alongside the leadership team that owns those relations
- hips.Partner closely with academic medical centers and cancer research centers as validation and clinical research programs move for
- ward.Own the scientific execution of studies within those partnerships, including IRB strategy, data agreements, multi-site coordination, and day-to-day study leader
- ship.Serve as a credible medical and scientific counterpart to academic principal investiga
tors.
Partner with AI re
- searchWork alongside the AI research team to define the clinical questions our models should answer, prioritize validation targets, and pressure-test research direction against clinical re
- ality.Translate model outputs into clinically meaningful signals, endpoints, and evidence strat
- egies.Help shape the medical roadmap as validation findings and clinical evidence feed back into what gets
built.
Set the clini
- cal barOwn clinical-grade rigor across the research and validation effort, including endpoints, bias, generalizability, interpretability, and regulatory readiness as
- needed.Co-author publications on clinical research and validation in collaboration with the AI research team and academic pa
- rtners.Represent the company’s clinical research externally to academic, scientific, and clinical aud
iences.
Minimum Qualifi
- cations:
MD, MD-PhD, or PhD in Oncology, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, or a relat - ed field.7+ years of post-training experience leading oncology clinical research, including prospective, cohort-based, or observational studies focused on diagnostics, screening, surveillance, or risk strati
- fication.Demonstrated ability to independently design and execute clinical studies end to end, including endpoint definition, protocol writing, statistical analysis planning, study powering, and bias and generalizability
- controls.Hands-on experience collaborating with academic medical centers on multi-site studies, including IRB submissions, data use agreements, and ongoing scientific le
- adership.Strong oncology background with familiarity in cancer screening, survivorship, or early d
- etection.Proven ability to operate as a credible scientific counterpart to academic PIs and cross-functional partners across clinical, product, and AI/
- ML teams.Demonstrated interest in AI/ML, with prior exposure through coursework, research collaborations, or hands-on work with technic
- al teams.Comfort operating as a foundational hire in an early-stage, high-ambiguity, high-rigor startup env
ironment.
Preferred Quali
- fications:
Experience validating diagnostic, screening, or risk-stratification tools, including computational models, for cl - inical use.Formal training in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, or Clinical Research Methods, such as an MS, MPH, or equivalent
- coursework.Strong publication record in oncology, clinical trials, or clinical AI/analytics, ideally including multi-center or large-coho
- rt studies.Experience working with real-world oncology data, including EHRs, cancer registries, claims, or large observationa
- l datasets.Experience in an early-stage biotech, digital health, or AI/ML-driven healthca
- re company.Experience representing research programs at scientific meetings and engaging clinical key opini
on leaders.
Why This Role I
- s Different:
This is one of the company’s first medical hires and the first dedicated clinical research hire, with a chance to build the clinical research strategy from t - he ground up.The role offers direct partnership with the founders and AI researc
- h leadership.It will own the validation effort beginning in 2026 and help deliver key real-world results in 2027, making it a defining program for
- the company.It sits at the frontier of clinical AI validation, where top-tier AI rigor and top-tier clinical rigor need to w
- ork together.The scope is broad now and designed to evolve as the medical
team scales.
