VP of Research and Scientific Communication

Virta Health is on a mission to reverse metabolic disease in one billion people. Current treatment approaches aren’t working—over half of US adults have either type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, and obesity rates are at an all-time high. Virta is changing this by helping people reverse their metabolic condition through innovations in technology, personalized nutrition, and virtual care delivery reinvented from the ground up. We have raised over $350 million from top-tier investors, and partner with the largest health plans, employers, and government organizations to help their employees and members restore their health and take back their lives. Join us on our mission to reverse metabolic disease in one billion people.

We are recruiting an experienced leader who can provide strategic vision for the research team and also share our evidence with the world. This leader has done it all in the research domain, and can bring their team along with them, and they are an expert communicator who can implement a strategy to share Virta science with key opinion leaders, scientists, and commercial stakeholders.

The clinical research team’s mission is to generate rigorous evidence to inform Virta’s care, to build credibility among clinical, commercial and scientific audiences, and to accelerate expansion of Virta’s care model. We put evidence ahead of convention to improve patient outcomes and impact metabolic disease at scale. See the team’s work here.

Transitioning to an era where long-term health outcomes and economic impact move to the center of the metabolic health space, we’re adding real world evidence to the focus of the clinical research team, and hence are searching for a leader who has built a portfolio of work leveraging claims and clinical datasets to demonstrate the impact of a clinical health program.

We also know that generating evidence isn’t sufficient. This leader will need to have a track record of building KOL networks, communicating science, and partnering closely with Commercial Marketing to translate Virta’s clinical outcomes, economic impact, and research leadership into a compelling market narrative. This person will help ensure Virta’s evidence base is not only disseminated, but actively used to shape how the market understands metabolic health outcomes and the value of Virta’s care model.

• Commercial Growth & New Business: Partner directly with the Chief Commercial Officer and Sales leadership to leverage RWE as a primary closer for large-scale health plan and employer contracts.

• Brand & Public Representation: Serve as a lead spokesperson for Virta’s science at global conferences, in top-tier media outlets, and during high-stakes presentations with prospective Fortune 50 clients.

• Cross-Functional Product Innovation: Drive the integration of clinical evidence into the core product roadmap, ensuring that RWE insights directly inform coaching protocols and technological iterations.

• Marketplace Transformation: Lead the development of a long-term scientific strategy that moves the industry from traditional treatment paradigms to a focus on long-term health outcomes and economic impact.

• KOL & Ecosystem Leadership: Orchestrate a global network of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and academic partners to validate Virta’s care model and accelerate its adoption across the healthcare ecosystem.

• Executive Leadership: Lead and mentor a high-performing team of doctoral-level investigators, fostering a culture of technical excellence and career advancement.

• Evidence-Based Marketing: Collaborate with the Marketing team to translate complex clinical data into compelling narratives that resonate with both scientific audiences and commercial buyers.

• Strategic Clinical Initiatives: Sit on the Virta Medical Group leadership team to lead evidence-based initiatives that improve the quality and efficiency of care for thousands of patients.

• RWE Oversight: Oversee the generation of economic and clinical outcomes data from diverse sources, including internal registries, claims sets, and external health plan data warehouses.

• Lead and nurture Virta’s team of experienced clinical researchers who have decades of combined experience developing, implementing, and publishing data from pivotal clinical trials in metabolic health, as well as presenting and publishing on analyses from our own registry data.

• Build a network of key investigators who are interested in collaborating with Virta researchers on trials that extend the impact of the Virta program.

• Strategically align Virta’s scientific work with key national and international conferences, meetings, and symposia.

• Represent Virta’s science on the podium at scientific meetings, in calls and presentations with Virta’s clients and sales prospects, and at internal meetings.

• Participate as an active member of the Virta Medical Group leadership team, representing the scientific point of view and leading/collaborating on evidence-based clinical initiatives that advance the quality and efficiency of the care Virta provides to thousands of patients suffering from metabolic health adversity.

• Advanced Academic Credential: A PhD, MD, or equivalent research doctorate in HEOR, Epidemiology, Health Economics, or a related quantitative health discipline.

• Extensive Leadership Experience: Minimum of 10 years of experience (with at least 5+ in a senior leadership capacity) building and scaling research teams in high-growth, start-up, or health-tech environments.

• Proven Commercial Impact: Demonstrated track record of using clinical research and RWE to directly influence and close significant business deals.

• Communication fluency: A strong point of view on how to communicate science to different audiences outside of the typical presentation/publication pathway.

• KOL Maven: Experience developing and executing KOL engagement strategies, including formal KOL mapping, identification and prioritization of key stakeholders, advisory board planning, scientific communications, and ongoing external relationship management.

• Elite Publication Record: Extensive experience as a senior author on peer-reviewed publications, with a focus on clinical and economic outcomes.

• Metabolic Expertise: Deep subject matter expertise in metabolic health and behavior change is essential.

• Technical Proficiency: While an executive role, you must possess the technical depth to guide SQL-based data strategies and rigorous trial designs.

• Executive Presence: Exceptional "poise" and the ability to command authority on a podium or in a boardroom.

Virta’s company values drive our culture, so you’ll do well if:

• You put people first and take care of yourself, your peers, and our patients equally

• You have a strong sense of ownership and take initiative while empowering others to do the same

• You prioritize positive impact over busy work

• You have no ego and understand that everyone has something to bring to the table regardless of experience

• You appreciate transparency and promote trust and empowerment through open access of information

• You are evidence-based and prioritize data and science over seniority or dogma

• You take risks and rapidly iterate

Is this role not quite what you're looking for? Join our Talent Community and follow us on Linkedin to stay connected!

Virta has a location based compensation structure. Starting pay will be based on a number of factors and commensurate with qualifications & experience. For this role, the compensation range is $242,750 - $313,500 per year. Information about Virta’s benefits is on our Careers page at: https://www.virtahealth.com/careers.

As part of your duties at Virta, you may come in contact with sensitive patient information that is governed by HIPAA. Throughout your career at Virta, you will be expected to follow Virta's security and privacy procedures to ensure our patients' information remains strictly confidential. Security and privacy training will be provided.

As a remote-first company, our team is spread across various locations with office hubs in Denver and San Francisco.

Clinical roles: We currently do not hire in the following states: AK, HI, RI

Corporate roles: We currently do not hire in the following states: AK, AR, DE, HI, ME, MS, NM, OK, SD, VT, WI.

Virta uses Ashby as its applicant tracking system, which incorporates AI-powered tools (provided by OpenAI, AWS, and Google Gemini) in certain aspects of the recruiting process, including application review, candidate screening, and interview note taking; your data is not used to train AI models, and all final hiring decisions are made by Virta Health personnel. For more information, see Ashby's AI Terms at https://www.ashbyhq.com/resources/terms-ai-features

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