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Medical Affairs Sr/Science Director - Pain

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Company websitevrtx.com (Vertex Pharmaceuticals, opens in new tab)

Base salary $193,800  to $290,800

Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Boston, MA

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  • LocationBoston, MA
  • WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
  • Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
  • Last checked (44 min ago) · observed since

About this job

Job Description

General Summary:

The Pain Medical Affairs Science Director is a critical role in Global Medical Affairs, working on global activities for the Pain disease area. Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, Medical Plan development, launch strategy and execution, scientific leadership, external medical expert engagement, and strategic alignment with commercial and other cross-functional business partners. This role will also be critical in developing medical content, including training, Q&A, and externally facing medical materials, and contributing to the development of the publication plan. This role reports to the disease area Global Medical Lead and is a core member of the disease area Global Medical team.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Execute and communicate the Global Medical Plan in collaboration with other internal stakeholders across Vertex.
  • Serve as a senior and advanced product expert for all global compound or disease area related issues with the external community and internally at Vertex.
  • Closely follow medical developments within disease area and ensure new information to transform clinical trends and emerging data is integrated into medical plans.
  • Leads the development of global scientific communications and core global materials (e.g., congress plans)
  • Represent Vertex at scientific and medical forums, including medical education forums, scientific societies, patient advocacy groups, and congresses.
  • Engage with leading global key thought leaders (KTL) to gain contribution/ participation in advisory boards, greater understanding of the therapeutic area, and insights into unmet patient needs.
  • Perform and lead medical review of assigned brand-related content.
  • Drives alignment on medical content/messaging within the organization to ensure maximal functional and regional input.
  • Conducts complex critical appraisals of available scientific and medical knowledge, identify gaps, and in collaboration with the Medical Affairs Training & Capabilities group develops training and core medical materials for medical team.
  • Demonstrated enterprise strategic mindset in collaborating cross functionally and creating innovative strategies and deliverables.
  • Leads projects characterized by complexity, and integration requirements that cross functions with extensive stakeholder management.
  • Interprets internal/external business challenges and develops best practices to improve products, processes or services.
  • Serves as a mentor/coach to others on the team.
  • Represent Medical Affairs on relevant commercial teams
  • Thought partner while supporting Access, Patient Advocacy, Policy, and Corporate Communications teams with medical/scientific expertise and materials review.

Knowledge and Skills:

  • Working in a Scientific expert advisor capacity this role is expected to exhibit advanced Medical Affairs competencies, including but not limited to:
  • Demonstrated leadership and expertise in scientific communication frameworks and impactful material development.
  • Expert in in health communication principles and knowledge of how to pull through material development.
  • Communication, medical and scientific knowledge of the disease area with the ability to communicate highly complex ideas; interacts with senior leaders and may apply advanced negotiation skills.
  • Enterprise strategic thinking and problem solving: Resolves complex problems with wide-reaching implications to the performance of an organizational function.
  • Demonstrates strong business acumen and has thorough drug development experience, demonstrating deep and broad understanding of cross-functional interdependencies across the drug development lifecycle.
  • Proven leadership capabilities, ability to work within complex matrixes with and without functional authority.
  • Compliance expertise and in-depth knowledge of relevant (area-specific) legislation or regulatory guidance governing the provision of medical information and appliable data privacy legislation.
  • Actively fosters strong and highly effective working relationships with key influential stakeholders inside and outside of Vertex.

Education and Experience:

  • Advanced degree (MD, Masters, PharmD,. or Ph.D.) or equivalent highly relevant experience
  • Typically requires 12 years of experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience
  • 5 or more years of relevant experience in medical affairs and/or clinical development, including experience in both Global and Country/Region desired

At Vertex, we embrace continuous learning and encourage employees to stay informed on advances in AI, technology, automation, and industry trends. We seek talent who bring an external perspective, demonstrate curiosity and sound judgment, and thoughtfully adopt new capabilities that improve decision-making, drive innovation, increase efficiency, and help deliver better outcomes for patients.

Pay Range:

$193,800 - $290,800

Disclosure Statement:

The range provided is based on what we believe is a reasonable estimate for the base salary pay range for this job at the time of posting. This role is eligible for an annual bonus and annual equity awards. Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay, in accordance with federal and state requirements. Actual base salary pay will be based on a number of factors, including skills, competencies, experience, and other job-related factors permitted by law.

At Vertex, our Total Rewards offerings also include inclusive market-leading benefits to meet our employees wherever they are in their career, financial, family and wellbeing journey while providing flexibility and resources to support their growth and aspirations.  From medical, dental and vision benefits to generous paid time off (including a week-long company shutdown in the Summer and the Winter), educational assistance programs including student loan repayment, a generous commuting subsidy, matching charitable donations, 401(k) and so much more.

Flex Designation:

Hybrid-Eligible Or On-Site Eligible

Flex Eligibility Status:

In this Hybrid-Eligible role, you can choose to be designated as: 
1.    Hybrid: work remotely up to two days per week; or select
2.    On-Site: work five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility.

Note: The Flex status for this position is subject to Vertex’s Policy on Flex @ Vertex Program and may be changed at any time. 

#LI-Hybrid
 

Company Information

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at [email protected]

Source: Vertex Pharmaceuticals on Workday · View original posting (opens in new tab)

Pay in context

This role's base floor ($193,800) is above 77% of the 310 Science & Research roles in Massachusetts listed on this site. Their median floor is $159,500; the middle half runs from $129,730 to $190,600.

Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 8, 2026.

This range next to 6 other live Vertex Pharmaceuticals roles with the nearest advertised base floor
Chart as a table
This range next to 6 other live Vertex Pharmaceuticals roles with the nearest advertised base floor
RolePublished base
Medical Affairs Sr/Science Director - Pain (this listing)$193,800 - $290,800
Publications Science Director, Endocrinology$193,800 - $290,800
CMC Statistics Director$193,100 - $289,700
Director, Medical Writing (Hybrid)$192,700 - $289,100
Heme, Research Fellow$197,400 - $296,200
T1D, Research Fellow$197,400 - $296,200
Director, Stem Cell Research$197,400 - $296,200

Same $100K to $400K scale as every card. All Vertex Pharmaceuticals roles · How to read the bar

Observed changes

  1. First observed on the employer's board
  2. Began meeting the published-salary criteria
Observed since
Employer-stated posting date
2026-09-25
Where this pay comes from

Location as the employer wrote it: Boston, MA

$193,800 - $290,800

Method
Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
Checked
Rule set
us-base-v2

The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.

What we verified

  • The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
  • The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
  • The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.

We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.

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