Executive Medical Director (Retina Program)
- Employer
- 4D Molecular Therapeutics
- Location
- Remote, United States
- Posted date
- Sep 28, 2026
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- Discipline
- Clinical, Clinical Development, Clinical Medicine
- Required Education
- Doctorate/PHD/MD
- Position Type
- Full time
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Job Details
Attention recruitment agencies: All agency inquiries are vetted through 4DMT’s internal Talent Acquisition team. No unsolicited resumes will be accepted. The 4DMT Talent Acquisition team must expressly engage agencies on any requisition. Agencies contacting hiring managers directly will not be tolerated, and doing so may impact your ability to work with 4DMT in the future.
4DMT is a leading late-stage biotechnology company advancing durable and disease-targeted therapeutics with potential to transform treatment paradigms and provide unprecedented benefits to patients. The Company’s lead product candidate 4D-150 is designed to be a backbone therapy forming the foundation of treatment of blinding retinal vascular diseases by providing multi-year sustained delivery of anti-VEGF (aflibercept and anti-VEGF-C) with a single, safe, intravitreal injection, which substantially reduces the treatment burden associated with current bolus injections. The Company’s lead indication for 4D-150 is wet age-related macular degeneration, which is currently in Phase 3 development, and second indication is diabetic macular edema. The Company’s second product candidate is 4D-710, which is the first known genetic medicine to demonstrate successful delivery and expression of the CFTR transgene in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis after aerosol delivery
GENERAL SUMMARY
The Executive Medical Director will report to the CMO, with a dotted-line relationship to the SVP of Research & Early-Stage Product Development, and will be responsible for the design, execution, and analysis of clinical trials in the ophthalmology therapeutic area
MAJOR DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Clinical Development Leadership
Serve as the clinical lead for Phase 1 retina clinical trials, including study design, protocol development, dose escalation strategy, and safety oversight
Maintain accountability for study execution, data interpretation, and clinical readouts, including early signal detection and go/no-go recommendations
Serve as medical monitor for assigned studies, ensuring subject safety and data integrity
Lead cross-functional study teams (clinical operations, clinical science, biometrics, regulatory, safety, CMC, etc.) to ensure high-quality and timely trial delivery
Provides clinical leadership to multidisciplinary study execution teams drawn from clinical operations, clinical science, biometrics, regulatory affairs, CMC, pharm/tox, drug safety, commercial, and alliance partners
Has lead accountability on the study teams for delivery of study protocols, study conduct, and study readouts
Biomarker & Translational Strategy
Lead development and implementation of biomarker strategies for GA and broader retina programs
Collaborate with research and translational teams to identify, validate, and integrate imaging, molecular, and functional biomarkers into early-phase trials
Ensure biomarkers are aligned with mechanism of action, dose selection, and clinical endpoints to support decision-making and regulatory strategy
Regulatory & Clinical Documentation
Serve as the primary clinical author of development plans, protocols, IBs, INDs, CSRs, and regulatory responses
Lead clinical contributions to IND submissions and early regulatory interactions, including Health Authority meetings for Phase 1 programs
Ensure accuracy, scientific rigor, and regulatory compliance of all clinical documents
External Scientific Leadership
Organizes and leads scientific advisory board meetings. Interacts with external experts and stakeholders to gather input.
Works with the research organization and the portfolio management team to identify and support new project opportunities.
Collaborates to identify program risks, and to create and implement mitigation strategies
Other duties as assigned
QUALIFICATIONS:
Education:
Medical Degree (M.D.), other degrees considered with relevant experience
Residency training in Ophthalmology with a preference for subspecialty training in retina
Board certification/retina fellowship training are a plus
Experience:
10+ years of clinical ophthalmology research in the biopharmaceutical industry
Experience with medical monitoring and oversight of Phase 1 retina clinical trials
Experience with gene therapy clinical studies
Experience in other phases (Phase 2, 3) of clinical research.
Experience with NDA/BLA/MAA submission planning and execution
Experience in data analysis, data interpretation, and medical writing
Other Qualifications/Skills:
Knowledge of ICH-GCP and FDA regulatory guidelines.
Knowledge of international regulatory guidelines
Effective written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking
Travel: up to 20%
Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:
Physical Activity - Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling. Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word.
Physical Requirements - Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
Working Conditions - The worker is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions (as in typical office or administrative work).
Base salary compensation range: $350,000 - 398,000
Please note, the base salary compensation range and actual salary offered to the final candidate depends on various factors: candidate’s geographical location, relevant work experience, skills, and years of experience.
4DMT provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, status as a covered veteran, and any other category protected under applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
Company
4DMT is a gene therapy company with a transformative discovery platform --Therapeutic Vector Evolution --that enables our “disease first” approach to product discovery and development, thereby allowing us to customize our AAV vectors to target specific tissue types associated with the underlying disease.
At 4DMT we are creating and developing optimized “biopharmaceutical grade” AAV vectors that will allow us uniquely to unlock the full potential of gene therapy. Our customized and proprietary AAV vectors are each designed, according to a 4DMT Target Vector Profile, to deliver genes to specific cells and tissues in the body to eradicate both rare and large market diseases.
While AAV gene therapy pioneers are making great strides with the first wave of products, hurdles still exist with the use of conventional vectors. The most commonly used AAV capsids (e.g., AAV2, 5, 8 and 9) were identified either 1) as contaminants in lab stocks of adenovirus, or 2) through monkey tissue processing. Therefore, these conventional vectors are not targeted specifically to any tissue in the body. This can lead to inefficient and non-specific delivery, thus requiring extremely high doses and potentially resulting in toxicities (including inflammation), high manufacturing burdens and suboptimal efficacy. In addition, suboptimal routes of delivery can be required for delivery to the right tissues (e.g., subretinal delivery to the retina). Finally, pre-existing neutralizing antibodies in many patients can limit efficacy, clinical trial enrollment and market sizes. 4DMT Innovation empowers us to create new and improved next generation AAV capsids to allow targeted delivery of our products by the optimal clinical route of administration.
At 4DMT we use our robust discovery platform, termed “Therapeutic Vector Evolution,” to create customized and proprietary gene delivery vehicles (novel AAV vectors) to deliver genes to specific tissues and cells in the body by the optimal route of administration. We use the power of evolution to create and refine these optimized vectors through genetic diversification and then natural selection in vivo.
4D Purpose Statement: Boldly Innovating to Unlock the Full Potential of Gene Therapy for Countless Patients
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Dare to Cure - Patients are waiting. Create big dreams for patients and take calculated risks to achieve them
Break Boundaries - Question the status quo and innovate beyond conventional approaches
Beyond Yourself - It's about patients, their families, our team, our families. We strengthen each other.
Prepare and Execute Relentlessly - Start with the end in mind, over-prepare and make contingency plans to your contingency plans
We invite all of you who share our passion and vision in creating the ultimate gene therapy products to cure genetic and rare diseases in children and adults. We seek the best people in the industry who identify with our mission and innovative results-driven approach. We offer an inspiring and collaborative environment that encourages individual contributions, recognizes performance in multiple ways, offers generous benefits and provides challenging opportunities for career development.
- Phone
- 510-505-2680
- Location
- 5858 Horton St. Suite 455
Emeryville
California
94608