(Associate) Director, Clinical Science

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.
Description of Role
Centessa is seeking an (Associate) Director, Clinical Science to provide scientific and clinical leadership for the design, execution, and interpretation of early-stage (Phase 1/2) clinical trials for our Orexin-targeted programs in neurodegeneration and neuropsychiatric indications. This individual will serve as a scientific leader and key cross-functional partner to Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Translational Science, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics, and Safety/Pharmacovigilance, with significant responsibility for study-level scientific strategy and execution.
Reporting to the Executive Director, Clinical Development, this individual will lead authorship of key clinical and regulatory documents, drive ongoing clinical data review and interpretation, contribute to dose-escalation and development strategy decisions, and provide scientific leadership across internal governance and cross-functional forums.
Key Responsibilities
Serve as clinical scientist lead on one or more early-stage (Phase 1/2) clinical trials for Orexin-targeted programs in neurodegeneration and/or neuropsychiatric indications.
Contribute to clinical development plan strategy, including study design, dose-escalation/titration strategy, and data interpretation.
Lead the development, authorship, and review of key clinical and cross-functional documents, including protocols, amendments, investigator brochures, eCRFs, completion guidelines, SAP/TLF shells, and regulatory briefing materials.
Serve as study medical/scientific lead from study start-up through clinical study report completion, including CRF design, enrollment monitoring, and patient profile review.
Drive dose-escalation and study conduct discussions through real-time review and interpretation of emerging safety, PK/PD, and biomarker data.
Provide scientific leadership and recommendations in data review meetings, safety review committees, governance forums, and cross-functional team discussions.
Serve as a core scientific leader on cross-functional program/study teams, partnering closely with Clinical Operations, Translational Science, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics, and Safety/Pharmacovigilance.
Drive alignment and execution across functions to support high-quality, timely study delivery.
Collaborate with Translational and Preclinical teams to integrate biomarker and mechanistic hypotheses into clinical studies and broader development strategy.
Proactively identify and address scientific, operational, and strategic risks and gaps.
Lead ongoing review and interpretation of clinical data, including safety, efficacy, PK/PD, and exploratory biomarkers.
Develop clear scientific insights and recommendations to inform clinical development strategy and decision-making.
Contribute to regulatory submissions, health authority responses, internal governance materials, and external scientific communications.
Support preparation of abstracts, posters, manuscripts, and presentations for scientific meetings and publications.