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Senior Director Medical Writing Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Senior Director, Medical Writing Department: Regulatory Affairs Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time Location: Agomab US Reporting To: Senior VP/Head of Regulatory Affairs Description This is a ...

The Senior Director, Medical Writing is responsible for providing strategic leadership and scientific expertise in the planning, development, authoring, review, and finalization of high-quality ...

The Director, Medical Writing is responsible for advancing the medical writing portfolio within the clinical and regulatory areas. This includes authoring and overseeing the authoring of clinical ...

The Director, Medical Writing will collaborate with colleagues to produce high-quality, strategically aligned documents supporting the regulatory requirements of a clinical development program ...

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Director, Medical Writing

Waltham, MA · On-site

$220K - $235K/yr

The Director, Medical Writing provides strategic and operational leadership for medical writing activities across one or more clinical development programs. This role combines hands-on writing ...

Director, Medical Writing

Waltham, MA · Hybrid

$220K - $235K/yr

The Director, Medical Writing provides strategic and operational leadership for medical writing activities across one or more clinical development programs. This role combines hands-on writing ...

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Senior Director Medical Writing information

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$39.5K

$142.9K

$279.5K

How much do senior director medical writing jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 25, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior director medical writing in the United States is $142,920.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $101,500.00 and $161,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a senior director medical writing do?

A Senior Director of Medical Writing leads teams responsible for creating, reviewing, and managing scientific documents required for regulatory submissions, publications, and internal communications in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry. They oversee the development of clinical study reports, regulatory dossiers, and other scientific materials, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and clarity. Additionally, they collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, such as clinical, regulatory, and safety groups, to ensure that all documents meet industry standards and regulatory requirements. Their role also involves strategic planning, resource management, and mentoring junior writers.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior director medical writing?

To thrive as a Senior Director Medical Writing, you need deep expertise in scientific writing, regulatory requirements, and leadership, typically supported by an advanced degree in life sciences and extensive medical writing experience. Familiarity with document management systems, regulatory submission platforms, and guidelines such as ICH and FDA is essential. Exceptional communication, project management, and mentoring skills distinguish top performers in this role. These competencies are crucial for ensuring the accuracy, compliance, and strategic impact of medical documents within fast-paced pharmaceutical environments.

What are some common challenges faced by senior directors medical writing in managing cross-functional teams?

Senior Directors of Medical Writing often oversee teams that collaborate closely with clinical, regulatory, and scientific departments. One common challenge is aligning diverse stakeholder expectations and ensuring consistency in messaging across complex documents. Balancing tight regulatory timelines with high-quality deliverables, while mentoring and developing a team of writers, also requires strong organizational and communication skills. Successful directors foster open communication, set clear priorities, and adapt to shifting project requirements to keep teams productive and motivated.

What is the difference between Senior Director Medical Writing vs Medical Writer?

AspectSenior Director Medical WritingMedical Writer
CredentialsAdvanced degrees (MD, PhD, PharmD), extensive experienceBachelor's or Master's in life sciences, relevant writing experience
Work EnvironmentLeadership roles, strategic planning, cross-functional teamsHands-on writing, editing, and document preparation
Employer & Industry UsagePharmaceutical, biotech, regulatory agenciesPharmaceutical, biotech, medical communications
Search & Comparison IntentLeadership, strategic, senior rolesWriting, documentation, regulatory submissions

The Senior Director Medical Writing typically holds advanced degrees and extensive experience, focusing on strategic leadership and overseeing medical writing teams. In contrast, Medical Writers are primarily responsible for creating and editing scientific documents. The senior role involves higher-level management and strategic planning, while Medical Writers focus on producing accurate, compliant documentation.

More about Senior Director Medical Writing jobs

What cities are hiring for Senior Director Medical Writing jobs?

Cities with the most Senior Director Medical Writing job openings:

What states have the most Senior Director Medical Writing jobs?

States with the most job openings for Senior Director Medical Writing jobs include:

Infographic showing various Senior Director Medical Writing job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 77% Full Time, 15% Part Time, and 7% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $142,920 per year, or $68.7 per hour.

Senior Director, Medical Writing

Waltham, MA • Hybrid

Zenas BioPharma
Biotechnology Research and Development • 11 - 50 employees

$219K - $274K/yr

Full-time

Posted 17 days ago


Job description

Position Summary:

The Senior Director, Medical Writing (MW) will be responsible for writing or providing direction and leadership to other writers to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality documents that are scientifically rigorous, logically organized, and have accurate data presentation and interpretation, in accordance with program goals and regulatory requirements. We seek a highly qualified individual for this role with the demonstrated ability to independently lead the pertinent sections of a marketing authorization submission including the development, review, and approval of clinical documents and the ability to identify any new or unique document types that may require a different approach. This position will partner closely with and report to the Executive Director, Medical Writing.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Providing leadership across the medical writing function through strategic input, continual process improvement, and innovation in the development and implementation of a strategic view of regulatory documents.
  • While partnering with the Executive Director, Medical Writing, ensures medical writing deliverables are resourced, escalates critical issues, and ensures sound strategic direction of the clinical documents for submission to regulatory authorities.
  • May have direct people management responsibility of writers, including providing oversight of medical writing vendors and contractors. Will provide mentoring and providing guidance on prioritization, content, timeline development, and process management.
  • Assist the Executive Director, Medical Writing, partnering with legal and finance as needed, to negotiate medical writing contracts and develop budgets for contract medical writing resources.
  • May participate in the selection of and will oversee the operation of external vendors and contractors, including resource requirements forecasting, contract change management, and oversight of vendor financials.
  • Oversee contract medical writing resources as required to ensure timely completion of assigned projects, which may include defining and reviewing of scopes of work within the assigned programs.
  • Oversight of clinical trial transparency documents and vendor oversight.
  • Collaborate with MW organization to maintain functional SOPs, best working practices guidelines, document templates, style guides, reference library, and quality control checklists that drive consistency across documents and processes.
  • Contributes to a supportive team culture that promotes open-minded thinking and collaboration by leading through example.
  • Demonstrated ability to pivot strategy quickly when needed to meet organizational needs, working effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative, start-up culture.

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline or equivalent combination of education and experience. A Master's degree in a scientific area is preferable.
  • 12+ years of medical writing capacity or equivalent, in pharma/biopharma/contract research organization (CRO).
  • Extensive knowledge of English grammar and American Medical Association (AMA) style guide.
  • Prior direct experience leading medical writing team(s) or members, either internal, contract writers or combination, responsible for global marketing authorization applications.
  • Expert knowledge of drug development, clinical research, study design, biostatistics, regulatory requirements, and medical terminology.
  • Proficiency in use of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint), Adobe Acrobat, electronic document management systems, document templates, project management tools, and reference management tools.
  • Comfortable working hands-on while also building scalable infrastructure for future growth.
  • Ability to travel to and work from the Zenas headquarters every three months or as needed (up to 15%).

#LI-Hybrid

Zenas is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The base salary pay range for this role is $219,400 to $274,300. Actual compensation packages will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to depth of experience, education, skillset, overall performance and/or location.

Zenas believes in providing a competitive compensation and benefits package to all employees. Our base salary is just one component of Zenas' competitive total rewards strategy that also includes annual performance bonus, equity, full range of benefits and other incentive compensation plans.