---
title: 'Senior Vice President, Clinical Development at Kailera Therapeutics, Inc.'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-vice-president-clinical-development-kailera-therapeutics-inc-waltham-pg9s8pbrsr1z'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-07'
---

# Senior Vice President, Clinical Development at Kailera Therapeutics, Inc.

- **Company:** Kailera Therapeutics, Inc.
- **Location:** Waltham, MA
- **Compensation:** $400k–$425k
- **Posted:** 2026-06-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-07
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/kailera/jobs/5275220008

## Job description

At Kailera, we are bold, authentic and committed to our mission of developing therapies that give people the power to transform their lives and elevate their overall health. Rooted in an entrepreneurial spirit and a team-oriented culture, we are working together to advance Kailera’s mission to advance novel therapies for obesity and related conditions.

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes collaboration, integrity, and excellence. As we expand, we seek the most talented individuals with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences to join our team.

What You’ll Do:

This is a critical leadership role within the medical organization. The Head of Clinical Development leads the development, execution, and communication of the global medical and scientific evidence generation strategy for our products. They solicit and incorporate cross-functional input into this strategy, translate it into an aligned vision and actionable global development plan, and are accountable for its execution. They develop key external scientific relationships with leaders in the obesity research and medical community, interact with global regulatory authorities, and work cross-functionally within the medical organization and throughout Kailera.

Required location: Waltham, MA (hub-based, onsite 3-4 days per week)

Responsibilities:

- Build, grow, and lead the global clinical development organization
- Develop and execute global development strategy and resultant evidence generation plan with incorporation of cross-functional and regional input
- Design, execute, complete, and communicate clinical trials (eg, scientific advisory boards, protocol development, regulatory and ethic committee interactions, medical monitoring, data analyses, study reports, regulatory correspondences and filings, presentations, and data dissemination)
- Deliver robust clinical trial data on-time and on-budget to inform product benefit: risk
- Interface with global medical opinion leaders in obesity to inform clinical development program and maintain engagement
- Clear, data-based, patient-focused communications with global regulators
- Provide clinical input to regulatory, safety, medical affairs, commercial, payer, and manufacturing colleagues

Qualifications:

- At least 15 years of clinical development experience with proven track record of executing clinical trials and global regulatory interactions
- Significant late-stage development experience across large-scale, complex programs
- Experience in obesity and/or metabolic disease strongly preferred
- Exceptional cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to influence and lead across diverse stakeholders
- Prior leadership, budgeting and resource management experience required
- Uncompromising ethics, passion for teamwork and people, attention to detail, solution focus, and strong communication skills
- Ability and willingness to fly at necessary altitude to get job done
- A drive for problem solving, continual learning, and attracting, mentoring, and retaining best people
- Local candidates are strongly preferred; relocation and remote talent will be considered. Remote employees must adhere to the Hub & Home working model, including a minimum of one week per month in the Waltham, MA corporate office (in addition to any other work-related travel), with overall work-related travel estimated at least 25%.

Education:

- MD or equivalent

Salary Range $399,800—$425,300 USD

For Full Time Roles: This range represents the company’s good-faith estimate of the salary at the time of posting. Actual pay may vary based on experience, skills, qualifications, location, and internal equity. We also offer comprehensive health coverage, flexible time off, paid holidays, and a year-end shutdown. Enjoy a monthly wellness stipend, generous 401(k) match, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, disability and life insurance, plus annual bonus opportunities and equity grants—because your well-being and future matter to us.

## EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY INFORMATION:

Kailera Therapeutics, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, creed, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age (40 and over), sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, pregnancy-related conditions, and lactation), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, reproductive health decisions, domestic victim status, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances.

E-Verify:

Kailera Therapeutics, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.

#LI-Hybrid

## About Kailera Therapeutics, Inc.

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kailera Therapeutics is an advanced clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a diversified pipeline of GLP-1‑based therapies for obesity and overweight.
- **Entity Type**: Private (clinical stage; in‑licensed through a strategic collaboration with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals)
- **Headquarters**: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Biotechnology / Obesity therapeutics
- **Target customers**: B2B (pharma partnerships) and ultimately patients and healthcare providers managing obesity and overweight
- **Mission**: To give people the power to restore their health and transform their lives by delivering category‑leading obesity management medications. [kailera.com/about-us](https://www.kailera.com/about-us/)

## Products & Services
Kailera’s pipeline is designed to address diverse unmet needs in obesity care, building on clinical data from Hengrui’s trials in China. All candidates are in‑licensed from Hengrui with exclusive rights outside China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

- **Ribupatide (KAI‑9531)** – Once‑weekly injectable GLP‑1/GIP receptor dual agonist peptide; currently in a global Phase 3 program.
- **Ribupatide oral tablet** – Once‑daily oral formulation of the dual agonist.
- **KAI‑7535** – Oral small‑molecule GLP‑1 receptor agonist (clinical stage).
- **KAI‑4729** – Once‑weekly injectable GLP‑1/GIP/glucagon receptor tri‑agonist (clinical stage).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – not publicly available; revenue – none (pre‑commercial). Pipeline lead in Phase 3.
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (strategic collaboration and in‑licensing partner). Leadership team includes veterans from Cerevel Therapeutics, Translate Bio, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Amgen, Frazier Life Sciences, and AbbVie. [kailera.com/leadership](https://www.kailera.com/leadership/)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Ribupatide clinical data presented at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 2026.
  - Global Phase 3 program underway for ribupatide.
  - Multiple clinical‑stage candidates (oral, small molecule, tri‑agonist) targeting different patient needs.
  - Active hiring with 29 open positions (as of mid‑2026) across R&D, clinical, supply chain, regulatory, and corporate functions. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/kailera](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/kailera)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Diversified modality pipeline**: Injectable dual agonist, oral formulation, oral small molecule, and tri‑agonist – covering a broad range of patient preferences and treatment stages.
- **Cross‑border development acceleration**: Access to Hengrui’s clinical data from China informs and de‑risks global trials.
- **World‑class leadership**: CEO Ron Renaud (former CEO of Cerevel and Translate Bio, both acquired by AbbVie and Sanofi respectively). CMO Scott Wasserman, M.D. (former CEO of Latigo Biotherapeutics, former Amgen VP leading metabolic and cardiovascular portfolios). Commercial and operational executives from top pharma. [kailera.com/leadership](https://www.kailera.com/leadership/)
- **Obesity‑first focus**: Pipeline deliberately built for the chronic, progressive nature of obesity, aiming to address the gap for greater weight loss and higher‑BMI patients.

## Strategic Focus
Kailera’s immediate priority is advancing ribupatide through Phase 3 to regulatory submission while progressing the earlier‑stage oral and tri‑agonist programs. The company aims to “elevate the next era of obesity care” by delivering multiple options for patients no matter where they are in their treatment journey. [kailera.com/](https://www.kailera.com/)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture (“Kai Values”)**: Emphasizes courage, collaboration, compassion, and commitment. The team operates with entrepreneurial spirit, transparency, and a patient‑centered mission. [kailera.com/join-our-team](https://www.kailera.com/join-our-team/)
- **Work Model**: Hybrid and remote options available – many roles are based in Waltham, MA, but some (e.g., Statistical Programming, Clinical Quality Assurance) are listed as US‑Remote.
- **Notable Perks**: Purpose‑driven work in a fast‑growing therapeutic area; opportunity to work with top industry veterans; exposure to a pipeline that spans multiple cutting‑edge modalities (injectable, oral, small molecule).
- **Growth Opportunity**: With 29 open positions across all levels (Associate Director to Senior Director), the company is scaling rapidly, offering significant career advancement in a high‑impact field.

## Sources
1. [kailera.com](https://www.kailera.com/)
2. [kailera.com/about-us](https://www.kailera.com/about-us/)
3. [kailera.com/leadership](https://www.kailera.com/leadership/)
4. [kailera.com/join-our-team](https://www.kailera.com/join-our-team/)
5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/kailera](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/kailera)

## Other roles at Kailera Therapeutics, Inc.

- [Associate Director, Clinical Scientist](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-clinical-scientist-kailera-therapeutics-inc-waltham-sgrctnmfaxpv) — Waltham, MA
- [Associate Director, Program Management (Early Pipeline)](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-program-management-early-pipeline-kailera-therapeutics-inc-d3xve0y35etn) — Waltham, MA
- [Senior Director, Drug Substance Commercial Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-drug-substance-commercial-manufacturing-kailera-therapeutics-wxj0jjh230fc) — United States
- [Director, Drug Substance Commercial Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/director-drug-substance-commercial-manufacturing-kailera-therapeutics-inc-dmr3vs8w638q) — United States
- [Senior Director, Alliance Management](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-alliance-management-kailera-therapeutics-inc-united-states-68myhez9bm6n) — United States
- [Manager, Patient Retention](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-patient-retention-kailera-therapeutics-inc-waltham-tewqr6aad1a2) — Waltham, MA
- [Director, Analytical Development and Quality Control](https://feeny.ai/job/director-analytical-development-and-quality-control-kailera-therapeutics-inc-dcvdqtvsxt3e) — United States
- [Associate Director, CMC Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-cmc-operations-kailera-therapeutics-inc-united-states-39cdrzcbwtbm) — United States
- [Vice President, CMC Regulatory Affairs](https://feeny.ai/job/vice-president-cmc-regulatory-affairs-kailera-therapeutics-inc-united-states-t441rhykr9wc) — United States
- [Vice President, Global Supply Chain](https://feeny.ai/job/vice-president-global-supply-chain-kailera-therapeutics-inc-united-states-1z9qjwy9fyqy) — United States