Patient Engagement Associate Director, Design And Innovation

About the role

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Patient Engagement Associate Director, Design and Innovation based in the United States. This is a strategic, sponsor-dedicated leadership role focused on embedding the patient voice throughout the drug development lifecycle. You will shape patient engagement, recruitment, retention, and patient-centered evidence strategies within a pharmaceutical development environment. The role combines strategic influence with hands-on leadership across clinical development, patient experience, and enterprise transformation. You will collaborate with clinical, regulatory, medical, data, commercial, and public affairs stakeholders to translate patient insights into development decisions. A key focus will be improving trial feasibility, participant experience, representation, recruitment, and retention through innovative approaches. You will also help establish scalable patient engagement capabilities, strengthen external partnerships, and contribute to evolving industry and regulatory practices. This fully remote opportunity is designed for an experienced pharmaceutical professional ready to drive meaningful change in patient-focused drug development.

Responsibilities

• Lead global strategies for patient-focused clinical trial design, patient experience enhancement, patient engagement, and patient-centered evidence generation.
• Develop and execute sponsor-side patient recruitment and retention strategies that are integrated into clinical development planning and execution.
• Apply patient journey insights, inclusion frameworks, and co-designed engagement approaches to reduce participant burden and improve recruitment and trial satisfaction.
• Develop strategies that strengthen patient representation and inclusion across therapeutic areas, programs, and geographies.
• Lead enterprise-level change initiatives designed to scale patient engagement capabilities, standardize best practices, and modernize clinical trial experiences.
• Partner cross-functionally with Clinical Operations, Clinical Research, Regulatory, Data Science, Medical Affairs, Public Affairs, Commercial, and Corporate Affairs teams.
• Provide strategic input into initiatives related to patient-focused drug development, patient-focused medicine development, digital health, real-world evidence, and relevant regulatory frameworks.
• Engage with patient advocacy organizations, caregivers, and other external stakeholders to build meaningful relationships, trust, and long-term collaboration.
• Influence protocol design, endpoint considerations, development strategy, and other key decisions by incorporating actionable patient insights.
• Establish scalable and measurable patient engagement approaches across clinical programs.
• Drive strategies that improve recruitment and retention by ensuring clinical trials are designed with patient needs and experiences in mind.
• Support organizational transformation by helping embed patient engagement as a core component of development planning and decision-making.
• Communicate complex scientific, clinical, and regulatory concepts clearly to senior and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development of patient engagement capabilities that can be sustained and expanded across programs and therapeutic areas.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience in patient engagement, patient recruitment, or patient-centric clinical trial strategy within a pharmaceutical company.
• Demonstrated experience influencing senior cross-functional stakeholders and leading enterprise-level change.
• Strong understanding of global clinical development processes, regulatory frameworks, and operational decision-making.
• Proven ability to design and execute global, multifunctional patient engagement initiatives.
• Direct pharmaceutical sponsor-side experience owning patient engagement or recruitment strategy is required.
• Strong knowledge of patient-focused drug development and the evolving role of patient perspectives in