Novartis Posted June 22, 2026

Associate Director, PK Scientist/Clinical pharmacologist

Shanghai (Shanghai), China Regular
Clinical Development Associate Director

Novartis is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Provides strategic and broad team leadership on drug discovery, development projects and/or evaluation. Widely recognized as a strong team leader and/or expert from PK Science.

Key responsibilities: Defines team goals, or provides matrix leadership, aligns and provides input to departmentstrategy to project team or company initiative. Assumes responsibility for project, externalevaluation or initiative and builds a clear connection to department and company goals.Successfully leads or operationalizes key scientific/technical/development areas from thediscipline to advance department and company goals.May lead PKS sub-team(s) to generate, analyze, integrate data. Works with teams toidentify potential project gaps and identifies mitigation plan (eg, resource needs, strategicalignment)Champions and advances new science relevant for project/department goals.Completes all required organizational trainings and requirements according to corporatetimelines. Adhere in strict accord to the appropriate SOP and GxP guidelines.Leadership, Culture and Impact:May develop and lead innovative interdisciplinary team, and/or leads through matrix using a well-developed internal and external scientific network.Generates innovative strategy input and project concepts across multiplescientific/technical/development/evaluation domainsLinks scientific strategy with specific objectives in novel areas through flexible matrix communities and/or direct team leadership and empowerment. Conducts long-and mid-term planning to identify specific, measurable impact on team objectivesSkilled in collaboration across PKS-internal or external business partners. Utilizes established networks and builds new network connections to bring new knowledge into thedepartment/TM/BR/GDD and beyond.Essential requirements:PhD / Pharm.D. level scientist with relevant experience in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics or related biologic background10+ years in the pharmaceutical industry and experience in drug discovery, development or a relevant environment (e.g. Clinical Pharmacology or Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics).Knowledge of regulatory requirements and experience indealing with regulatory authorities and experienceconducting due diligence.Proficient with full range of techniques used in job and corearea. Working knowledge of tools and processes used indrug design and development.Extensive library research skills and knowledge of problemsolving techniquesExtensive and in-depth knowledge of scientific discipline andrelevant laboratory tools and procedures if responsible forlab associated activityGood understanding of management and training principlesSound and robust list of scientific publications and externalpresentations.Fluent oral and written Chinese and EnglishDesirable requirements:Extensive and in-depth knowledge of drug metabolism andpharmacokinetics including, pharmacology PK and PK/PDevaluation, Immunogenicity (for PTM roles), techniques,experience in working in project teams (preferably global)and knowledge of regulatory requirements.Demonstrated success of working in cross functional projectteams (preferably global) and sound awareness of recentdevelopments in drug development sciences.

Job details

Seniority
Associate Director
Function
Clinical Development
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Shanghai (Shanghai), China
Employment type
Regular

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Clinical Development role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 309 comparable Associate Director Clinical Development roles across 48 biopharma companies.

309Comparable roles tracked
273Currently active
48Companies hiring similar roles
28Countries represented

Salary context

66 of 309 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Peer group range $90,199 – $315,000 (median $180,250)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 309 comparable roles

United States107
India87
China12
Poland11
United Kingdom11
Spain9

+ 22 more countries

Seniority mix

309 of 309 peers have a known seniority level

Manager146
Senior91
Associate Director72

Therapeutic area mix

24 of 309 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology9
Immunology6
Cardiovascular / CVRM4
Neuroscience3
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Ophthalmology1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Novartis Shanghai (Shanghai), China Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences Shanghai Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. Shanghai, China Associate Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
50%similar
AbbVie Shanghai, Shanghai Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
Novartis Beijing (Beijing), China Senior
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
Novartis Beijing (Beijing), China Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
Novartis Guangzhou (Guangdong Province), China Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Clinical Sciences Associate Director
Novartis · Shanghai (Shanghai), China · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
50%
Global Clinical Operations- (Senior) CRA
Novartis · Beijing (Beijing), China · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
50%
Clinical Medical Manager (Beijing, Beijing, CN)
Novo Nordisk · Beijing, China · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
50%
(Sr.) Clinical Trial Manager - Oncology (Beijing, China)
Boehringer Ingelheim · Beijing, China · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.