Senior Toxicology Study Director (Senior Research Scientist)

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development, and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales, or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

About the role

Charles River is seeking a Senior Toxicology Study Director (Senior Research Scientist) to join our Safety Assessment team in Reno, Nevada. This role is designed for an experienced Study Director who has successfully led complex GLP and non-GLP in vivo toxicology studies across multiple species and can provide scientific leadership, study oversight, and client consultation throughout the lifecycle of preclinical safety assessment programs.

This role functions as an independent Study Director responsible for overseeing the design, execution, interpretation, and reporting of toxicology studies. You will collaborate across scientific and operational teams, and apply your expertise to drive scientific excellence, operational success, business growth, and capability development within the organization. This is a senior individual contributor role. While the position may involve mentoring, coaching, and serving as a scientific resource to others, it is not primarily a people-management position and does not include direct reports upon hire.

This opportunity is ideal for a highly experienced toxicology professional who thrives in a client-facing environment, brings deep operational study leadership experience, and is looking to make a meaningful impact within a growing and highly collaborative team.

Responsibilities

• Lead studies from proposal through final report, serving as Study Director and/or Principal Investigator/Individual Scientist, as applicable.
• Oversee protocol development, study execution, data interpretation, reporting, and sponsor communications.
• Ensure compliance with GLP regulations, SOPs, quality standards, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Serve as the primary scientific and client contact for assigned studies.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and consultation to internal teams and external clients.
• Support business development through proposal development, client relationship management, and identification of growth opportunities.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and maintain awareness of emerging scientific and industry developments.

Study Director

• Design and manage study plans, schedules, and amendments.
• Direct and coordinate study execution across functional groups.
• Ensure studies are conducted in compliance with GLP and regulatory requirements.
• Review and approve study reports and communicate study progress and outcomes to clients.

Principal Investigator / Individual Scientist

• Provide scientific leadership within area(s) of specialization.
• Develop and review study plans and schedules, amendments, and contributing scientist reports.
• Oversee and coordinate specialized study activities and ensure scientific quality and integrity of results.

Requirements

• PhD, DVM, PharmD, MD, MS, or BS in Toxicology, Pharmacology, Veterinary Sciences, or a related life sciences discipline.
• Typically 8+ years of relevant industry experience in toxicology, safety assessment, drug development, or a related scientific field.
• Demonstrated experience functioning as a Study Director within a CRO, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or regulated research environment.
• Experience leading GLP and non-GLP in vivo toxicology studies.
• Experience working across multiple animal species and study designs.
• Proven track record of direct client interaction and scientific communication.
• Strong scientific writing skills, including protocol, report, and study documentation development.
• Ability to independently manage multiple studies and competing priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• CRO toxicology experience.
• Multi-species experience, including large animal models (NHP, canine, and minipig experience, preferred).
• Experience serving as a primary Study Director for regulatory toxicology or safety assessment studies.
• Expertise in a specialty area such as genetic toxicology, ocular toxicology, safety pharmacology, developmental and reproductive toxicology, or related disciplines.
• Previous mentoring, leadership, or supervisory experience.
• Experience driving scientific initiatives, capability development, process improvements, or new service offerings.
• Experience supporting business development activities, client growth opportunities, or proposal development.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $130,000–$144,000 annually. Salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

About Safety Assessment

Charles River is committed to helping our partners expedite their preclinical drug development with exceptional safety assessment services, state-of-the-art facilities, and expert regulatory guidance. From individual specialty toxicology and IND enabling studies to tailored packages and total laboratory support, our deeply experienced team can design and execute programs that anticipate challenges and avoid roadblocks for a smooth, efficient journey to market. Each year approximately 300 investigational new drug (IND) programs are conducted in our Safety Assessment facilities.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies, hospitals, and academic institutions around the world. At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science, and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.