Head of Specialty Therapeutics

About the role

The role will be a clinical authority on neuromodulation and emerging pharmacotherapies (including esketamine, ketamine, and psychedelic-assisted therapies) while overseeing safe, evidence-based program development with the goal of positioning LifeStance as a national leader in interventional psychiatry. This role is responsible for advancing specialty and interventional psychiatric therapeutics by developing protocols, training, quality standards, and outcome measures to support patients. Success looks like safe, evidence-based, responsibly scaled specialty therapeutic programs that improve outcomes and align with enterprise clinical and operational priorities. This role is part of a team who will be assisting with implementing the and guiding the directives of the CMO team. We are seeking a highly collaborative, mission-driven professional with strong emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and exceptional executive functioning. The ideal candidate is a mature and efficient team player who communicates thoughtfully, remains solutions-oriented under pressure, and consistently puts shared goals above personal agenda. This person should be energized by the opportunity to help shape the future of mental healthcare and thrive in a high-accountability environment built on trust, focus, and mutual respect. Consistent with LifeStance’s values, every member of the LifeStance team is expected to support each other and the mission, which may mean participating in projects and initiatives and performing functions and responsibilities not specifically outlined in this job description.

This role receives strategic direction from the Senior Leader, Psychiatric Excellence & Emerging Therapeutics and independently leads development of specialty therapeutic strategy, clinical standards, program design, and outcome measurement recommendations. The role makes day-to-day decisions related to protocol development, provider education, quality monitoring, evidence review, and specialty program improvement. Input or escalation is required when decisions involve new or higher-risk interventions, regulatory requirements, patient safety concerns, significant investment, operational expansion, vendor selection, or enterprise-wide policy implications.

This role may supervise direct reports or contractors as specialty therapeutic programs scale and is expected to provide functional leadership to clinical workgroups, specialty program teams, and cross-functional implementation partners. The role influences performance through clinical standards, provider education, expert consultation, program governance, and accountability for safe, evidence-based program execution.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement an enterprise interventional psychiatry strategy encompassing TMS (including rapid protocols), emerging pharmacotherapies, and neuromodulation modalities.
• Lead clinical program development for psychedelic-assisted therapies (including psilocybin, MDMA, and other emerging agents) in alignment with current and future FDA guidance and DEA regulatory requirements.
• Evaluate emerging specialty treatments using current evidence, regulatory requirements, safety considerations, operational feasibility, and patient need.
• Monitor and synthesize emerging literature in interventional psychiatry to inform strategy and competitive positioning.
• Develop clinical protocols, eligibility criteria, care pathways, quality standards, and safety monitoring expectations for specialty therapeutic programs.
• Over