💼 About This Role

You'll lead the design and implementation of disease and drug mechanism of action studies to advance therapeutics into clinical development at Acadia Pharmaceuticals. Your impact will span nonclinical sciences leadership and cross-functional partnership across drug development phases. This role offers the opportunity to shape translational biology strategies for underserved neurological and rare disease communities.

🎯 What You'll Do

• Develop translational biology strategies to interrogate disease and drug MoA.
• Lead nonclinical sciences function and mentor scientists.
• Partner with colleagues to develop preclinical strategies for IND filing and clinical development.
• Synthesize complex biological data and provide actionable insights to drive drug development decisions.

📋 Requirements

• PhD in life science or related field.
• Targeting 15 years of progressively responsible experience in drug development.
• Hands-on experience across drug discovery, preclinical development, and clinical-stage programs (Phase 1-3), including rare disease.
• Expertise in preclinical MoA analysis, indication selection, and regulatory submissions (IND, NDA, BLA).

✨ Nice to Have

• Experience in neurology and across modalities (e.g., ASO, mRNA).
• Computational literacy and bioinformatics integration experience.

🎁 Benefits & Perks

• 💰 Competitive base salary plus discretionary bonus and equity awards.
• 🏥 Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 🏖️ 15+ vacation days and 13-15 paid holidays including office closure between Dec 24 and Jan 1.
• 📈 401(k) Plan with fully vested company match 1:1 up to 5%.
• 📊 Employee Stock Purchase Plan with 2-year purchase price lock-in.

📨 Hiring Process

Estimated timeline: 2-4 weeks · AI estimate

1. 1Recruiter screen· 30 min
2. 2Hiring manager interview· 60 min
3. 3Panel interview· 90 min