Director, Clinical Research & Strategy

ATEC Spine has an exciting opportunity for the Director of Clinical Research & Strategy as a member of the Scientific Affairs team located in Carlsbad, California. ATEC’s Scientific Affairs team is responsible for regulatory, testing, and research activities in support of the company’s initiatives. The Clinical Research function, as part of Scientific Affairs, includes planning, coordinating, and overseeing the successful execution of preclinical and clinical research studies and large-scale data collection efforts in partnership with our surgical practice partners. Specifically, the position is responsible for defining the strategic direction, resourcing, and managing the execution of the company’s clinical evidence strategy, including site-initiated and sponsored protocol-driven research studies and registry data collection and utility.

From evidence generation to evidence dissemination, the Director of Clinical Research & Strategy is a liaison between ATEC and our site-based research partners, and as a customer-facing advocate for ATEC’s mission, is empowered to take initiative and implement process-improving solutions that enable sites to be successful research partners and that support the company’s underlying research objectives. Internally, the role collaborates closely with other members of the Scientific Affairs teams as well as product marketing, development, and field representatives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Leads the development of strategy to demonstrate the value of our product and procedural solutions through the design, execution, and reporting of clinical studies
• Leads the strategic integration of multi-modal clinical data—including patient outcomes and EOS imaging alignment metrics—to enable advanced predictive modeling for surgical planning.
• Identifies and builds deep relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs) to generate clinician collaboration and relevant research projects, building and growing customer and investigator relationships that drive credibility in our products and organization
• Liaises with the leadership of medical societies, research institutions, and other potential collaborators to facilitate academic partnerships, building and growing a reputation for ATEC as a research-focused organization
• Oversees the appropriate review, negotiation, and execution of research agreements with sites and third-party partners
• Bears ultimate responsibility for execution of research projects from start to finish, overseeing the development of study documents, including: protocols, case report forms (CRFs), participant consent forms and other regulatory documents such as for institutional review boards (IRBs); data collection and management, compliant to the protocol and all regulations; data analysis; and report generation, both internal and external (conference presentations, peer-reviewed journal publications)
• Contributes to the dissemination of scientific findings through presentation and writing for both internal and external audiences, including interim reports, conference abstracts, presentations, manuscripts, product/procedural training and collateral; assists investigators or customers on the preparation and delivery of research results; manages a publication and podium strategy that effectively increases ATEC’s scientific presence and reputation in the spine academic community.
• Maintains a high level of engagement with clinicians and academicians and their scientific findings through attendance at scientific conferences, regularly assessing published literature for trends or novel concepts (with consideration for ATEC solutions and competition), and direct interactions with research partners, peers, and industry colleagues
• Collaborates closely with other members of the Scientific Affairs team, through meetings and interactions to gather technical and clinical support as well as to ensure alignment of the clinical activities within the team
• Collaborates with research and development engineers to provide clinical insight to projects under development
• Collaborates with marketing teams to provide clinical support for product strategies, collateral creation, and sales needs
• Manages the execution of projects to budget and time expectations
• Performs other duties as required
• Work with cross-functional teams to identify evidence needs and align evidence-generation activities with business goals, including demonstrating the value of our product and procedural solutions.
• Partners with data science, informatics, and clinical teams to define and operationalize real-world evidence strategies, including integration of ATEC’s Insight platform into clinical studies and longitudinal outcomes tracking.
• Champions the inclusion of functional and patient-reported outcomes in study design to reflect the true value of ATEC’s procedural solutions and improve alignment with evolving value-based care metrics.
• Hires and manages clinical research associates, analysts, and/or other scientific personnel
• Fosters continued development of team members, including technical and clinical expertise

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Comprehensive knowledge of the healthcare and medical device industry
• History of clinical research publication, including a well-established publication record
• Proficiency in conducting literature searches and critically evaluating and communicating findings
• Ability to build and maintain mutually respectful relationships with clinicians and scientists
• Experience collaborating with external stakeholders on clinical research projects, building or managing both sponsor- and investigator-initiated studies
• Knowledge, understanding, and application of the ethical conduct of clinical investigations involving humans in accordance ICH/GCP, US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and other countries’ regulations
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, to communicate internally and externally with investigators and customers
• High relational skills, highly dynamic, project management and execution focused
• Superior problem-solving skills with a solid understanding of scientific data collection and management methods
• Fluent in statistical analysis and data visualization
• Superior organization skills, attention to detail, and the ability to keep detailed, accurate records
• Ability to organize and prioritize workflow to meet established timeframes, while working in a fast-paced and goal-oriented environment
• Self-motivating, self-starter
• Ability to work within a cross-functional team and matrix management structure
• Ability to exercise independent judgment consistent with department guidelines
• Ability to learn and maintain knowledge of procedures, products, and activities of assigned area
• Proficiency with common computer applications (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows, Internet applications, etc.) required
• Ability to travel as needed for conference and symposium support and physician engagement

Education and Experience

• Minimum of Bachelors' degree in a field of science required; MS, PhD preferred
• Ten years of Medical Device experience required, (spine industry a plus); experience managing a team strongly preferred.

For roles based in the United States that require access to hospital facilities, must be eligible for and maintain credentials at all required hospitals, including meeting any applicable physical requirements or vaccination requirements (including the COVID-19 vaccine, as applicable).

ATEC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to its employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state or local laws. Further, ATEC will make reasonable accommodations that are necessary to comply with disability discrimination laws.

Salary Range

Alphatec Spine, Inc. complies with state and federal wage and hour laws and compensation depends upon candidate’s qualifications, education, skill set, years of experience, and internal equity. $180,000 to $220,000 Full-Time Annual Salary Range