Recruits Lab places clinical operations, medical directors, regulatory affairs, and safety leaders for biotechs running Phase 1 through Phase 4 trials. We hire faster so your trial starts on time.
Clinical development is the single highest-stakes hiring area in biotech. A great clinical operations leader can pull six months out of a trial timeline. A weak medical director can delay an IND. A regulatory miss can cost a cycle with the FDA. The people you hire here directly determine how fast your science reaches patients.
Recruits Lab is a specialized clinical development recruiting firm placing across the full clinical lifecycle. We work with sponsors running first-in-human studies, registrational Phase 3 trials, and post-approval Phase 4 commitments. Our recruiters know the difference between a clinical operations leader who has actually managed a Phase 2 oncology trial and one who only oversaw site selection at a CRO.
We place clinical operations directors and VPs, clinical project managers, medical directors and medical monitors, clinical scientists, regulatory affairs managers, regulatory CMC, pharmacovigilance leaders, biostatistics, and clinical data management. We work across oncology, rare disease, immunology, neuroscience, and cell and gene therapy.
Our model is built around the reality that clinical hiring rarely happens one role at a time. A Phase 2 startup typically needs to build a clinical operations org of 8 to 15 people in 6 to 9 months. Our subscription model lets you do that for a fraction of the cost of contingency search.
The companies that close clinical hires fastest run the same playbook: tight intake, parallel sourcing, structured interviews, and offer discipline. We bring that playbook with us.
Why this market is hard to recruit for. And how we solve each one.
Many candidates only have CRO experience. The screen for true sponsor-side judgment is non-obvious. We have built it.
An oncology clinical ops leader is not interchangeable with a rare disease one. We map by indication, not just function.
Medical directors expect comp well above startup default ranges. We coach on what a competitive offer actually looks like.
FDA guidance shifts faster than job descriptions. We screen for current, not historical, regulatory fluency.
Clinical roles require site travel. We pre-qualify on travel tolerance before submitting.
MD candidates often do not understand startup equity. We translate the offer in real dollar terms.
The repeatable system behind our 14-day average hire time.
We map the indication, trial design, current site count, and where you are in regulatory before recruiting begins.
Targeted outreach to sponsor-side talent first, with CRO candidates only when explicitly aligned.
Pre-screen on direct indication experience. Oncology candidates only for oncology trials.
5–8 candidates with structured technical, leadership, and travel-tolerance briefs.
Manage MD-level offers including equity translation, sign-on, and start-date negotiation.
2026 U.S. base salary ranges for clinical development roles at venture-backed biotechs and mid-cap pharma. Equity, bonus, and clinical trial completion bonuses excluded.
| Role | Base Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Senior Clinical Project Manager | $155K–$200K |
| Director, Clinical Operations | $215K–$285K |
| Medical Director (MD) | $285K–$390K |
| VP, Clinical Operations | $305K–$420K |
| Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs | $245K–$320K |
| Chief Medical Officer | $425K–$600K |
| Director, Pharmacovigilance | $210K–$270K |
Quick answers to the questions founders and hiring leaders ask most.
The best clinical development recruiters specialize by indication and phase. Recruits Lab places clinical operations, medical, and regulatory talent for venture-backed biotechs across oncology, rare disease, immunology, and cell and gene therapy with a 14-day average hire time.
Industry average is 90-150 days. Recruits Lab averages 21-28 days for director-level clinical operations searches.
Medical directors with MD credentials and therapeutic area expertise typically earn $285K-$390K base in 2026, plus 15-25 percent bonus and equity worth $200K-$500K over four years at venture-backed biotechs.
Yes. Chief Medical Officer search is a core executive practice area. We have placed CMOs at companies ranging from preclinical through commercial.
We focus on sponsor-side roles but will source CRO talent when it is the right fit for the role.
Needed a Medical Director with confirmed rare disease Phase 2 experience before a planned end-of-Phase-2 FDA meeting. Internal recruiting had been searching for 4 months.
Recruits Lab mapped 51 qualified MD candidates with direct rare disease experience, ran warm outreach, presented a 5-person shortlist in 14 days.
Offer signed in 26 days. Candidate led the EOP2 meeting and is now SVP of Clinical Development.
"Recruits Lab understood our trial design before they sent us a single resume. The slate was sharp."
"We hired 7 clinical roles in a single quarter through their subscription. We would still be at 3 with contingency."
Yes. Highest volume in oncology, rare disease, immunology, neuroscience, and cell and gene therapy.
Yes. We routinely run multi-role searches to support pivotal trial readiness.
Yes, as part of clinical development practice.
Yes. We maintain relationships with ex-FDA reviewers and have placed several.
90 days, full search rerun at no additional fee.
Yes for confidential CMO and SVP replacements.
Yes. Most clinical operations roles are hybrid with 1-3 days on-site and required travel to sites.
Book a free hiring strategy review.
Compensation data, hiring playbooks, case studies, and related recruiting specialties.
Four ways to engage. Pick whichever matches where you are.
30-minute strategy review with a senior recruiter. Free, no commitment.
Get startedTell us about the role. We respond with a calibration call within 24 hours.
Get startedSend a job description. We confirm fit and quote a subscription or contingency engagement.
Get startedSenior candidates: get represented to our active hiring pipeline.
Get startedRelated Resources
Hand-picked salary guides, market reports, and recruiter pages related to this topic. Authored by Darren Nelson and the Recruits Lab team.
Schedule a free 30-minute Hiring Strategy Review and walk away with a clear plan tailored to your roles.