Senior Director Head of Biostatistics
About the Role
The Senior Director, Head of Biostatistics is the enterprise leader accountable for the design, integrity, and delivery of all statistical strategy and outputs across Ocugen’s clinical development programs. This role establishes Biostatistics as a core scientific and decision-making engine within the organization, ensuring that all clinical data are translated into clear, defensible, and regulatory-ready insights that directly inform development strategy, regulatory interactions, and business decisions.
As a key member of the Clinical Development leadership team, this individual owns the statistical strategy across programs, ensures alignment with regulatory expectations for gene therapy and rare disease development, and builds a scalable biometrics capability to support Ocugen’s progression toward multiple BLA submissions.
Responsibilities
- Enterprise Statistical Leadership
- Own and define the statistical strategy across all programs, ensuring alignment with clinical, regulatory, and corporate objectives
- Serve as the single point of accountability for all statistical methodologies, assumptions, and outputs used in decision-making
- Guide the organization on innovative statistical approaches for gene therapy and rare disease (small populations, adaptive designs, etc.)
- Influence development strategy through data-driven insights and risk framing
- Department Leadership & Capability Build
- Establish and lead the Biostatistics function as a standalone capability, including operating model, standards, and talent strategy
- Define how Biostatistics interfaces with Data Management, Programming, Clinical, and Regulatory
- Build a scalable, fit-for-purpose model leveraging internal leadership and external partners
- Set clear expectations for accountability, quality, and delivery across all biometrics activities
- Regulatory & Submission Leadership
- Serve as the lead statistical voice in regulatory interactions, including FDA/EMA meetings and submission strategy
- Ensure all statistical components of INDs, BLAs, and regulatory responses are defensible, consistent, and inspection-ready
- Own the statistical narrative in submissions (not just outputs), including interpretation and positioning of results
- Anticipate and proactively address regulatory risk related to data and analysis
- Program-Level Accountability
- Accountable for statistical design and execution across all trials, including:
- Study design and endpoints
- Sample size and power considerations
- Interim analysis and decision frameworks
- Ensure delivery of:
- SAPs
- TLFs
- CDISC-compliant datasets
- Integrated summaries
- Act as a core member of program leadership, not a downstream function
- Accountable for statistical design and execution across all trials, including:
- Operational Excellence
- Drive performance of CROs and vendors with clear ownership of outcomes, not oversight alone
- Ensure biometrics execution aligns to milestone-driven timelines (IND, BLA, topline data)
- Implement processes that balance:
- Speed (lean biotech reality)
- Rigor (regulatory expectations)
- Ensure continuous inspection readiness
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Partner with:
- Clinical Development (study design & execution)
- Regulatory (submission strategy & HA interactions)
- Program Leadership (timelines, risks, dependencies)
- Translate complex statistical outputs into clear, executive-level insights
- Contribute to board-level and investor-facing narratives where data interpretation is critical
- Partner with:
Qualifications
- Ph.D. or M.S. in Biostatistics, Statistics, or related field
- 12+ years of experience in biometrics, with demonstrated leadership in clinical development programs
- Proven experience leading statistical strategy through regulatory submissions (IND, BLA/NDA)
- Deep experience in rare disease and/or gene therapy preferred
- Experience operating in a lean, outsourced model with high accountability for vendors
- Demonstrated ability to influence clinical and regulatory strategy through data
Attributes
- Balances scientific rigor with execution urgency
- Comfortable operating with ambiguity and incomplete data
- Direct, transparent, and enterprise-minded
- Able to translate complexity into clarity for leadership
Schedule
Incumbent will primarily work Monday – Friday during normal business hours out of our Malvern, PA corporate headquarters. This position operates in an office setting and may require availability outside of normal hours to handle priority business needs.