Director, Regulatory Affairs - Clinical

About Loyal

Loyal is a clinical-stage veterinary medicine company developing longevity drugs for dogs. Our mission is to help dogs live longer, healthier lives.

We're pioneering a new category of veterinary prescription drugs that proactively and preventatively target the underlying drivers of aging, delaying the onset of disease and preserving quality of life as dogs age. We've already made significant progress toward our first regulatory approvals, with additional submissions targeted in the near future.

Loyal is a well-funded startup with teams of scientists, veterinarians, engineers, operators, and creatives. You'll help us continue on our path of earning FDA approval for the first lifespan extension medicine for any species, and change what's possible for the dogs we love.

About the role

We’re seeking an experienced Director Regulatory Affairs, Clinical to serve as Loyal’s subject matter expert on FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) regulatory strategy and clinical trial operations. This is a high-impact, hands-on role for someone who thrives on owning complex regulatory programs end-to-end — from INAD strategy through pivotal submission — and who brings deep expertise in FDA CVM clinical development. You will be the primary interface between Loyal and FDA CVM for clinical regulatory matters, owning our regulatory submissions, and helping shape the strategies that bring our longevity drugs to market. You will also manage 1–2 direct reports as the team grows.

Your work will directly shape the regulatory path to bring novel longevity therapeutics through FDA CVM approval for the first time in any species, setting regulatory precedent for an entirely new category of medications.

This role is for someone who has at least 10+ years of regulatory affairs experience. The ideal candidate should be a strategic thinker that is comfortable owning complex, first-of-kind regulatory programs with limited precedent, possess deep working knowledge of FDA CVM clinical development pathways and submission requirements and thrive in an environment operating with a great deal of autonomy in setting direction, making judgement calls, and driving programs and regulatory pathways forward in an agile organization.

You will be reporting to our VP of Regulatory Affairs .

Your daily work will include

Authoring and reviewing regulatory submissions, including INAD filings, study reports, clinical trial evaluability meetings, and agency correspondence

Leading preparation for FDA CVM meetings, including briefing documents, meeting requests, posing questions, and follow-up MOCs

Partnering with clinical teams to provide real-time regulatory guidance on active studies, including SAE submissions, BIMO preparedness, and NCIE reports

Reviewing and preparing study protocols, ICFs, and amendments to ensure the highest quality submissions for pivotal protocol concurrence

Monitoring and interpreting CVM guidance, policy updates, and precedent to inform Loyal's regulatory strategy across our pipeline

Anticipating and resolving regulatory risks across functions (including R&D, CMC, and commercial) throughout the portfolio before they become problems

Managing and mentoring 1–2 direct reports, providing feedback, priorities, and development support

Collaborating cross-functionally with R&D, clinical development, clinical operations, data management, and legal teams on submissions and strategy

Oversee the maintenance and organization of all regulatory records and interactions related to Loyal’s drug programs

Serving as the internal subject matter expert for any question touching FDA CVM clinical requirements — from study design to labeling to adverse event reporting

Reviewing and advising on external facing pre-approval communications and activities to ensure compliance with FDA CVM regulations

Reviewing and providing guidance on labeling materials for submission to ensure compliance with FDA CVM regulations

About you

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (biology, vet med, regulatory affairs or related); relevant experience > specific degree

10+ years of regulatory affairs experience with with 3+ years in animal health, direct experience with owning FDA/CVM relationships.

Hands on ownership experience with INADs, regulatory submissions, and FDA CVM in-person meetings

Background across multiple drug types ideal (small molecules, biologics, injectables, etc.)

You are data-driven and an analytical thinker; your regulatory experience is grounded in evidence and you communicate with excellence

Strong and experienced writer that takes pride in clarity, accuracy and persuasive story telling about biological pathways or drug mechanisms and clinical impacts

Extensive knowledge of FDA CVM regulatory pathways, policies, and limitations and where there are areas to innovate within those bounds

Excellent judgement where FDA CVM is concerned and comfortable being the single source of strategic conviction using that judgement

Collaborative with cross-functional teams and not afraid to be in the weeds while also being the subject matter expert

Ability to operate as a high level individual contributor while also serving as a mentor to junior team members in order to upskill the department.

Energized by a fast-paced startup environment

Salary Range: $155,000 - $205,000

Loyal benefits

Full-coverage health insurance — medical, dental and vision — for you and your dependents

$1,000 home office equipment stipend

$1,200/year learning budget for books, courses, etc.

$250/month wellness budget for gym, cleaners, spa, food, etc.

All 3-day weekends are turned into 4-day weekends 🎉

Unlimited vacation and paid holidays

Paw-ternity leave — adopt a dog and get a day off with your new family member 🐶

Competitive salary

Company equity options grant for new hires

Loyal is founded and led by a first-gen female CEO and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate against applicants based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law.

Our values

Moonshots, derisked methodically

Bringing the first longevity drug to market is an extremely difficult technical and social pursuit. To achieve this we must take bigger bets than the field has historically made, paired with the technical rigor to de-risk them step by step. We plan on both short and extremely long timescales, and we have the conviction to see our vision through to success or failure.

Opportunity is at the intersection

We lean into combining disciplines, expertise, and perspectives not normally adjacent. We design our organization to facilitate cross-pollination and cross-collaboration. We reject silos.

Expertise without ego

Titles do not determine who has a voice. We push back on each other, ask questions instead of issuing orders, and try to prove ourselves wrong. We are emotionally attached to the outcome, not our personal hypotheses, and welcome being challenged instead of treating it as a threat.

High agency, high humility

Most of what we're doing has never been done before, so we can't rely on established precedents to guide our way. We move forward to generate clarity, build strategies resilient to the fact that we don't know what we don't know, and design small experiments where we can fail safely, without jeopardizing the bigger mission.

Lead with transparency and context

We proactively and consistently share the why behind our strategy - not just the what - because we believe sharing context enables great people to make great decisions.

Empathy and respect for all life

Our patients are not just numbers. We deeply respect the value of every life, large and small and take our ethical responsibility to the families we treat extremely seriously.