Executive Director, Medical Affairs

Role Summary

The Executive Director of Medical Affairs will provide strategic and hands-on leadership for Artiva’s Medical Affairs function. The role is external facing and execution-driven, with accountability for scientific communications, medical messaging, key opinion leader (KOL) engagement, advisory activities of external thought leaders, and competitive/market insights. The successful candidate will be comfortable traveling extensively and personally engaging key stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Scientific and Medical Communications
  • Develop and execute scientific and medical communications strategies aligned with company development objectives.
  • Identify, build and own scientific and medical presentations that communicate our science and development strategy to clinical trial sites, KOLs/HCPs, and patient groups.
  • Partner cross-functionally with Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Translational Science, and Regulatory to ensure accurate, compliant scientific messaging.
  • Develop a Conference Strategy Plan for supporting International, National and Regional conferences in Rheumatology and Cell Therapy.
  • Develop/Co-develop materials and resources for field Medical Affairs usage including clinical trial brochures, slide decks and conference booth materials.
• Congress & Conference Execution
  • Provide operational Medical Affairs support for major congresses, including booth presence, scientific exchange, speaker coordination, and on-site engagement with KOLs and HCPs.
  • Ensure Medical Affairs readiness for conferences, including training, preparation of materials, and logistics.
• KOL & External Engagement
  • Develop and execute a robust KOL engagement strategy, including identification, prioritization, and relationship building.
  • Conduct frequent in-person visits to investigators and key opinion leaders to educate, gather insights, and build advocacy for the AlloNK program.
  • Serve as a scientific ambassador for Artiva, representing the company in high-value external scientific discussions.
• Advisory Boards & Steering Committees
  • Plan and execute advisory boards and steering committees, including objective setting, faculty selection, content development, and insight capture.
  • Ensure high-quality scientific exchange and compliant execution.
• Medical Insights, Market Research & Competitive Intelligence
  • Lead medical market research efforts to understand physician perceptions, unmet needs, and treatment paradigms.
  • Collect, synthesize, and communicate medical insights from the field to inform clinical strategy, evidence generation, and corporate decision-making.
  • Monitor and analyze competitive intelligence, including competitor pipelines, data readouts, publications, and congress activity.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Partner closely with Clinical, Translational, Regulatory, and Corporate teams to align on strategy and execution.
  • Support internal education and alignment by translating external insights into actionable recommendations.

Qualifications

• Required:
  • Minimum 5 years of Medical Affairs experience, 10 years preferred, in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with direct ownership of:
  • Publications and Congress strategy
  • KOL engagement
  • Advisory boards
  • Medical insights and competitive intelligence
  • Formal training and hands-on experience in Immunology and/or Inflammation (e.g., MD, PhD, or equivalent scientific background strongly preferred).
  • Proven ability to operate in a highly external, travel-intensive role.
  • Strong understanding of Medical Affairs compliance and scientific exchange standards.
  • Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to engage credibly with leading physicians and researchers.
• Preferred:
  • Experience in early- to mid-stage biotech.
  • Prior leadership experience building or scaling Medical Affairs capabilities.
  • Experience supporting clinical-stage programs and pre-launch activities.