Director/Senior Director, National Accounts - Central

About the role

Stoke Therapeutics (Nasdaq: STOK) is a biotechnology company dedicated to restoring protein expression through RNA medicine. Stoke's first medicine in development, zorevunersen, has shown promise in treating Dravet syndrome and is currently in a Phase 3 study. Stoke focuses on diseases caused by a loss of ~50% of normal protein levels, using its proprietary TANGO approach to develop antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs).

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute pre-launch and launch-phase access strategies, establishing Stoke’s presence with key accounts.

• Serve as strategic leader for key accounts in the region, developing account-specific action plans that shorten the timeline from FDA approval to an active, positive coverage determination.

• Engage targeted accounts and gain meaningful access to all levels of policy decision-makers to advance coverage timelines.

• Establish Stoke’s credibility with medical benefit policy decision-makers before NDA submission, ensuring seamless coverage between approval and patient access.

• Develop multi-year access plans that anticipate commercial cycles and competitive coverage shifts, balancing account-level execution with a national access strategy.

• Payer Engagement & Coverage:

  • Education payers on clinical evidence, FDA labeling, treatment guidelines, and health-economic data to support coverage decisions and eliminate utilization management barriers.

  • Monitor medical policy language at each account and partner with Medical Affairs, HEOR, and Advocacy to respond to and proactively shape policy criteria.

  • Proactively engage payer Medical Directors to obtain informal guidance letters or billing instructions that bridge the gap between launch and permanent J code assignment.

  • Engage and influence policy decision-makers for a medical benefit product to achieve desired coverage policy outcomes.

• Reimbursement & J Code Management:

  • Serve as the company’s subject-matter expert on buy-and-bill reimbursement dynamics for products carrying a miscellaneous J code (J3490/J3590) pending assignment of a permanent, product-specific J code.

  • Educate payer medical policy teams on correct claims submission procedures, billing unit conventions, and NDC-to-J code crosswalk requirements to minimize claim denials during the unclassified code period.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration:

  • Drive alignment across Stoke’s commercial team and field medical team without direct reporting relationships, building internal coalitions across Medical, HEOR, Reimbursement, Government Affairs, Legal, Trade & Distribution, and Patient Services to ensure integrated execution.

  • Ensure effective communication and coordination between the field reimbursement team and patient services to support a high approval success rate and timely patient access.

  • Engage authentically with the Dravet syndrome patient and caregiver community and incorporate community insights into payer engagement in a compelling and compliant manner.

• Compliance & Governance:

  • Conduct all payer engagements in full compliance with company SOPs, OIG guidelines, PhRMA Code, and applicable federal and state regulations.

  • Navigate the unique complexity of a first-in-class disease-modifying ASO therapy with no established coverage precedent, finding creative and compliant paths to access.

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MPH, PharmD) preferred.

• 15+ years in pharma/biotech; minimum 10 years in payer account management with lead responsibility for one of the three large PBM and National accounts.

• Proven track record of achieving positive coverage outcomes for orphan designation or rare disease products on the medical benefit.

• Pre-launch payer strategy experience—not just maintenance of established access.

• Hands-on experience navigating a miscellaneous J code (J3490/J3590) environment, including transition to a permanent product-specific code.

• Strong command of managed care economics, formulary management, utilization management, and coverage policy development processes at national payers.

• Rare pediatric or neurological disease product launch experience; CNS or epilepsy payer experience a significant differentiator.

• Familiarity with disease-modifying therapy and gene testing reimbursement pathways as established according to payer policy.

• Experience at a company building its commercial infrastructure for the first time—startup or early commercial-stage biotech.

• Exceptional ability to influence across functions without direct authority.

• Passion for patient access and rare-disease impact.

Location(s)

Stoke is located in Bedford, MA and will be moving to a new location in Waltham, MA by the end of 2026. This is a remote / field-based position; proximity to a major US airport preferred.

Travel

Approximately 50%.

Compensation & Benefits

The anticipated salary range for this role at the Director level is $238,000 - $268,000 and at the Senior Director level is $279,000 - $322,000. The final offer will be determined based on a variety of factors, including role scope, experience and qualifications, education, market benchmarks, internal equity, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, Stoke offers an annual bonus and equity participation. Our benefits package includes medical, dental and vision insurance; life, long- and short-term disability insurance; paid parental leave; a 401K plan with company match, unlimited vacation time, tuition assistance and participation in our Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP).

Culture & Values

At Stoke, we believe that innovation, the ability to successfully advance our ground-breaking science and having fun as a team are enhanced by being together in person, at least periodically. We allow for flexibility in work arrangements that balance individual’s needs and preferences with the needs of our business and our desire to foster a culture of collaboration and innovation. Our values guide our work to deliver meaningful medicines for people who need them. We are committed to being true to ourselves, to our colleagues, and to the people with severe diseases who are counting on us. We embrace diversity within a unique culture that is defined by our values. Our employee-led Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) Committee underscores the importance of DIB to who we are and what we do.