---
title: 'Medical Director, Clinical Development at Oruka Therapeutics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/medical-director-clinical-development-oruka-therapeutics-waltham-90d1jacw6dyb'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-04'
---

# Medical Director, Clinical Development at Oruka Therapeutics

- **Company:** Oruka Therapeutics
- **Location:** Waltham, MA
- **Compensation:** $256k–$288k
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-09-25
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-04
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/oruka/jobs/5434933008

## Job description

About Us:

Oruka Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ORKA) is developing novel biologics designed to set a new standard for the treatment of chronic skin diseases. Oruka’s mission is to offer patients suffering from chronic skin diseases like plaque psoriasis the greatest possible freedom from their condition by achieving high rates of complete disease clearance with dosing as infrequently as once or twice per year. Oruka is advancing a proprietary portfolio of potentially best-in-class antibodies that were engineered by Paragon Therapeutics and target the core mechanisms underlying plaque psoriasis and other dermatologic and inflammatory diseases. For more information, visit [www.orukatx.com](http://www.orukatx.com)

As we build our core team, we're seeking top talent in different functional areas who are not just looking for a job, but an opportunity to be part of something bigger.  Someone who is passionate about making a difference and eager to contribute to establishing an engaged, inclusive, and positive company culture.

Job Title: Medical Director, Clinical Development

Location: Remote OR Hybrid 3 days/week if located near office in Waltham, MA will be required.

Role Overview:

Medical Director of Clinical Development plays a key role in the execution and operational oversight of clinical trials, ensuring high-quality data generation to support the safety and efficacy of our pipeline products. This role involves supporting clinical study design, implementation, and data interpretation while working cross-functionally to align clinical activities with overall development plans. The Medical Director collaborates closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure trial execution meets regulatory, scientific, and business objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

- Clinical Trial Design and Oversight:
- Supports the development of clinical trial protocols, including patient selection criteria, study endpoints, and data collection methods
- Oversees the conduct of clinical trials at study sites, ensuring adherence to protocols and good clinical practice (GCP) guidelines
- Reviews and interprets clinical data to assess the safety and efficacy of the investigational drug
- Authors and contributes to clinical and non-clinical documents required during the clinical development process (including but not limited to: Clinical Study Protocols, Investigator Brochures, Clinical Study Reports)
- Medical Expertise:
- Provides medical expertise of the therapeutic area, disease state, and potential drug effects
- Reviews clinical data to identify and analyze safety concerns and adverse events, and makes appropriate recommendations to the team
- Stays current with relevant medical literature and clinical trial methodologies
- Contributes medical expertise to external interactions with collaborators throughout the clinical development cycle
- Cross-Functional Collaboration:
- Works closely with other functions including clinical operations, regulatory affairs, medical affairs, biometrics, pre-clinical and project management teams to help ensure optimization of the clinical development process
- Presents clinical data to internal and external stakeholders
- Strategic Leadership:
- Contributes to the overall clinical development strategy
- Helps to identify critical clinical development milestones and helps the team to drive toward meeting or exceeding timelines
- Leads the clinical contribution for clinical study reports, clinical documents and regulatory submissions
- May oversee the work of Clinical Scientists working on the same or other programs

Qualifications:

- Medical degree (MD) with board certification in a relevant specialty
- Extensive experience in clinical research and development, ideally within the pharmaceutical industry
- Strong understanding of clinical trial design, GCP guidelines, and regulatory requirements
- Excellent communication, leadership, and analytical skills

Compensation:

- An appropriate financial package will be developed for the successful candidate to include a competitive base salary and equity, with a performance-related bonus opportunity.
- The anticipated salary range for the Medical Director is $256,00-288,000. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the industry, education, etc. Oruka is a multi-state employer and this salary range may not reflect positions that work in other states.

We're looking forward to hearing how you can contribute to our team and mission. Join us in shaping the future of our company and making a real impact every day. Salary Range for the Role $256,000—$288,000 USD

What We Offer:

- A chance to be part of a vibrant startup culture where your work can directly impact bringing new medicines to patients.
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
- A supportive and inclusive team environment where everyone is encouraged to bring their authentic selves to work.
- Opportunities for professional growth and development.

## About Oruka Therapeutics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Oruka Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing potentially best-in-class monoclonal antibodies with extended half-lives to transform the treatment of psoriasis and other chronic inflammatory skin diseases by enabling high rates of complete disease clearance with as few as one or two doses per year.
- **Entity Type**: Public (Nasdaq: ORKA)
- **Headquarters**: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States (with a second office in Menlo Park, California)
- **Founded**: Not publicly available
- **Founders**: Not publicly available (the company was formed as a spinout of Paragon Therapeutics, which discovered its antibody pipeline)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Biotechnology – dermatology and inflammatory disease therapeutics
- **Target customers**: Patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and other inflammatory conditions; physicians and healthcare providers; payers and health systems
- **Mission**: *“To offer patients suffering from chronic skin diseases like plaque psoriasis the greatest possible freedom from their condition by achieving high rates of complete disease clearance with dosing as infrequently as once or twice per year.”* [orukatx.com](https://orukatx.com/)

## Products & Services
- **ORKA-001**: An investigational monoclonal antibody targeting IL-23p19, engineered for extended circulation time. Designed as a potentially best-in-class therapy for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, with the potential for dosing once or twice per year. Currently in Phase 2b clinical trial (EVERLAST-B). [orukatx.com](https://orukatx.com/our-pipeline/)
- **ORKA-002**: An investigational monoclonal antibody targeting IL-17A/F, also engineered for half-life extension. Aimed at psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and hidradenitis suppurativa, with potential dosing two to three times per year. Currently in Phase 1/2. [orukatx.com](https://orukatx.com/our-pipeline/)
- **ORKA-003**: A preclinical sequential combination regimen of ORKA-002 and ORKA-001, designed to deliver rapid responses with an ideal maintenance profile. [orukatx.com](https://orukatx.com/our-pipeline/)
- **ORKA-021**: Preclinical stage candidate (details not fully disclosed). [orukatx.com](https://orukatx.com/our-pipeline/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available at this time (company went public via IPO; market cap fluctuates daily). Latest financial data should be obtained from SEC filings.
- **Key Metric**: As a clinical-stage public company, Oruka has no approved products yet. Funding and operational runway are funded by its IPO proceeds; exact amounts not provided in search results.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Discovery and engineering partner: Paragon Therapeutics (also parent of Apogee Therapeutics and Spyre Therapeutics). Investor base includes public market shareholders post-IPO.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Two co-lead programs advancing through clinical trials (Phase 1 data expected; Phase 2 ongoing).
  - Team expanding rapidly, with multiple job openings across scientific, clinical, and corporate functions.
  - Dual-location offices (Boston area and Bay Area) to attract top biotech talent.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Advanced antibody engineering**: Incorporates half-life extension technology (e.g., YTE mutations) to dramatically prolong circulation time, aiming for the longest dosing intervals in the class (1–2 doses per year vs. standard 4–12 times per year).
- **Proven mechanisms**: Targets IL-23p19 and IL-17A/F—validated, blockbuster pathways in psoriasis—but with enhanced pharmacokinetics to maximize efficacy and patient convenience.
- **Discovery engine**: Pipeline originated from Paragon Therapeutics, a proven antibody engineering shop that also spawned Apogee and Spyre, indicating a repeatable model for creating best-in-class molecules.
- **Focus on complete clearance**: Emphasizes “complete disease clearance” (e.g., PASI 100) as a goal, not just improvement—a higher bar than many current treatments.

## Strategic Focus
- **Near-term**: Generate Phase 1 safety and pharmacokinetics data for ORKA-001 and ORKA-002; advance EVERLAST-B (Phase 2b for ORKA-001) and ORCA-SURGE (Phase 2 for ORKA-002); initiate trials in additional indications (psoriatic arthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa).
- **Long-term**: Build a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company capable of commercializing novel biologics, potentially expanding beyond dermatology into other inflammatory diseases.
- **Organizational growth**: Aggressively hiring across all functions (clinical development, medical affairs, regulatory, CMC, finance, BD, etc.) to scale from early-stage to late-stage organization.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: A chance to directly impact millions of patients living with chronic skin diseases—offering the potential for life-changing freedom from disease.
- **Startup culture with public-company resources**: Small, nimble team (“wear multiple hats”) but with the backing of a Nasdaq listing, equity grants, and competitive compensation.
- **Flexible work environment**: Remote-first policy with hybrid options (3 days/week) if located near Waltham, MA or Menlo Park, CA offices. [greenhouse.io](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/oruka/jobs/5202407008)
- **Compensation & benefits**: Competitive base salary (e.g., Senior Scientific Communications Manager salary range $161k–$187k), equity, performance bonus, and professional development opportunities. [greenhouse.io](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/oruka/jobs/5202407008)
- **Team culture**: Described as “vibrant startup culture,” “supportive and inclusive,” with emphasis on bringing “authentic selves to work.” Opportunities for growth in a fast-moving, high-autonomy environment.
- **Top-tier location**: Offices in both the Boston/Cambridge biotech hub and the Bay Area, giving employees access to two of the strongest life science ecosystems.

## Sources
1. [orukatx.com – Home](https://orukatx.com/)
2. [orukatx.com – Who We Are](https://orukatx.com/who-we-are/)
3. [orukatx.com – Pipeline](https://orukatx.com/our-pipeline/)
4. [orukatx.com – Join Us](https://orukatx.com/join-us/)
5. [greenhouse.io – Senior Scientific Communications Manager job posting](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/oruka/jobs/5202407008)

## Other roles at Oruka Therapeutics

- [Manager, Clinical Data Management](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-clinical-data-management-oruka-therapeutics-remote-2s40n9dfy7z3)
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- [Associate Director, Biostatistics](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-biostatistics-oruka-therapeutics-menlo-park-c0nn31kzkjdv) — Menlo Park, CA / Waltham, MA
- [Director of Biostatistics](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-biostatistics-oruka-therapeutics-menlo-park-p1gj4dc26c6d) — Menlo Park, CA / Waltham, MA
- [Senior Engineer/Manager, Device Development — Combination Products](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-engineer-manager-device-development-combination-products-oruka-9vxkzfje9s3m) — Waltham, MA
- [Senior Medical Director, Pharmacovigilance and Safety](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-medical-director-pharmacovigilance-and-safety-oruka-therapeutics-waltham-gp7z8xyv17a8) — Waltham, MA
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- [Clinical Scientist, Clinical Development](https://feeny.ai/job/clinical-scientist-clinical-development-oruka-therapeutics-remote-18t9akrxe2tm)
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- [Senior Manager/Associate Director Clinical Monitoring Strategy & Optimization](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-associate-director-clinical-monitoring-strategy-optimization-fz8n0jqr0913) — Menlo Park, CA / Waltham, MA