Why Join Us?
Be a hero for our rare disease patients
At Ultragenyx, we fundamentally believe that taking real impactful action to care for the needs of patients and our people is always the right thing to do. To achieve this goal, our vision is to lead the future of rare disease medicine. For us, this means going where other biopharma companies won’t go – challenging the status quo and creating a new model that advances our field so more patients and caregivers can benefit from life-changing treatments. We do this by following the science, applying a novel rapid development approach, making innovative medicines at fair and reasonable prices, and creating a collaborative ecosystem to reach patients in ways that are most meaningful for them.
Our commitment and care for patients extends to our people, so culture is an essential cornerstone for Ultragenyx. We remain continuously focused on creating a supportive and inclusive environment of profound learning and growth – so employees can thrive in all areas of their lives, in and outside of work. Ultimately, we want to be an organization where we would be proud for our family, friends and children to work.
If you want to have a meaningful impact, do the best work of your career, and grow a lot, both professionally and personally, come join our team.
Position Summary:
ultrafocused – Work together to fearlessly uncover new possibilities
The Associate Director, Medical Affairs Brazil, provides strategic and scientific leadership across all medical initiatives in the rare disease portfolio. The role oversees the design and execution of medical strategy, advisory boards, and scientific education efforts, ensuring strong alignment with organizational priorities. The Associate Director will also serve as a senior scientific representative in external engagements, strengthening relationships with experts and advancing the company’s scientific presence in key forums. The position requires close collaboration with cross‑functional leaders - including Market Access, Regulatory, Clinical Development, and Commercial - to ensure coherent, compliant, and high impact medical execution. The Associate Director also contributes to scientific oversight of clinical trial site evaluation and readiness in Brazil, ensuring strategic alignment and operational excellence, and applies real‑world evidence to support value demonstration, clinical differentiation, and the strategic positioning of the company’s therapies.
Work Model:
Flex: This role will typically require onsite work 2-3 days each week or more depending on business needs. In many locations, the business will set certain days each week that Flex employees are required to be onsite.
Responsibilities:
- Lead and oversee the activities of the Medical Affairs function—directing project/program teams and day-to-day execution—to ensure alignment with departmental/organizational strategic goals and delivery against short-term objectives and contribute to the planning/managing of the department budget and to the resource allocation decisions.
- Manage cross functional teams and collaborate with internal stakeholders and external experts to develop scientifically robust, evidence based educational materials that reflect current clinical practice and comply with company standards and regulatory requirements, leveraging subject‑matter expertise and functional interdependencies to resolve issues (seeking management approval when broader strategic impact is expected).
- Analyze clinical, epidemiological, and real-world data to identify trends, unmet needs, and opportunities that inform medical strategy and anticipate internal/external issues in line with organizational objectives.
- Leverage data driven insights to support day-to-day decisions focused on short‑term team/department goals, while informing long‑term planning and prioritization of medical initiatives that support operational and strategic objectives, maintaining alignment with department priorities and full compliance with corporate policies, ethical standards, local regulations, and global requirements.
- Maintain deep scientific, clinical, and therapeutic expertise; serve as a senior medical authority across the organization and as senior medical reviewer for promotional and nonpromotional materials, ensuring scientific accuracy, compliance, and alignment with medical strategy.
- Lead high level scientific engagement with external stakeholders—including experts, investigators, scientific societies, and patient advocacy groups—to advance disease understanding, elevate scientific exchange, and influence in complex/sensitive settings while sustaining positive relationships.
- Align closely with the Senior Director, Medical Affairs Brazil on strategy, operational priorities, and medical governance—receiving regular direction on work impacting strategic objectives—and translate assigned objectives into individual/team goals aligned with midterm departmental priorities.
- Partner cross functionally with Medical Affairs, Commercial, Market Access, Patient Advocacy, Regulatory, Clinical Development, Finance, HR, and other key functions to ensure integrated planning and execution of medical and strategic initiatives with impact across multiple areas/departments.
- Implement and monitor quality assurance processes to uphold the highest standards of scientific integrity and operational excellence, proactively addressing issues and escalating when broader strategic decisions are implicated.
- Contribute to Access related materials, including Health Economics insights and dossier preparation for reimbursement submissions, applying real-world evidence to support value demonstration, clinical differentiation, and the strategic positioning of the company’s therapies.
- Perform any additional responsibilities associated with the Medical Affairs to function at the local, regional, or global level, as required.
Requirements:
- Advanced degree, MD, PhD.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with a focus on medical management or leadership roles working in rare diseases preferred.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the public.
- Expertise in designing and conducting clinical trials and in Health Economics and dossier writing.
- Proven manager experience and able to work both independently and as a member of an integrated, interdisciplinary team in carrying out assigned responsibilities.
- Advanced presentation skills and professional interaction.
- Must be analytical and articulate in both oral and written skills, with a demonstrated ability to communicate well with others at varying professional levels, especially in the medical profession.
- Track record of forming compliant partnerships with commercial colleagues.
- Ability to think creatively and efficiently to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
- Fluent in English and Spanish.
- Travel will be required (approx. 20-30% time).
#LI-CK1 #LI-Hybrid
Full Time employees across the globe enjoy a range of benefits, including, but not limited to:
· Generous vacation time and public holidays observed by the company
· Volunteer days
· Long term incentive and Employee stock purchase plans or equivalent offerings
· Employee wellbeing benefits
· Fitness reimbursement
· Tuition sponsoring
· Professional development plans
* Benefits vary by region and country
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital and veteran status, and any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for all protected statuses or classifications protected by applicable law, including individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, and based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants can request an accommodation prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, you may contact Talent Acquisition by emailing us at talentacquisition@ultragenyx.com.
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Note to External Recruiters: All candidate activity and open positions are managed strictly through our Human Resources Department. Our Human Resources Department kindly requests that recruiters not contact employees/hiring managers directly in an attempt to solicit business and present candidates. Please note that failure to comply with this request will be a factor in determining a professional relationship with our organization. Submission of unsolicited resumes prior to an agreement set in place between the Human Resources Department and the recruiting agency will not create any implied obligation. Inquiries on developing a recruiting relationship with us, may be directed to
: talentacquisition@ultragenyx.com.