As a Clinical Research Engagement Lead (CREL) at Roche, you will act as the ultimate strategic partner and primary face of Roche Clinical Operations within your market. This is not a traditional coordination role—you are the champion of a "ONE Roche" approach, wielding clinical operational expertise and deep Disease Area (DA) knowledge to build elite, high-trust partnerships with clinical trial sites.
The Opportunity:You will bridge the gap between strategy and execution across the entire trial lifecycle—from early development to late-stage delivery—ensuring our clinical assets are executed with maximum speed, efficiency, and clinical quality. In this role you will have the opportunity to:
Strategic Planning & Alignment: Develops and executes country-level site engagement strategies aligned with internal priorities, making strategic investment decisions regarding Principal Investigators and clinical sites to support the broader portfolio.(DS) Experience with site budget negotiation, tracking clinical grant payments, and forecasting site-level resource needs
Early Feasibility & Study Set-Up: Conducts early, strategic landscaping and site engagement (in-person or remote) during the protocol concept and study set-up phases to identify optimal sites, evaluate country feasibility, and accelerate recruitment.(DS) Demonstrated ability to drive study start-up metrics, optimize cycle times, and utilize enrollment forecasting tools to ensure site milestones are met on schedule.
Relationship Management & Site Support: Builds deep, multi-stakeholder relationships at strategic sites (including investigators, pharmacists, and administration), acting as a "site champion" and Primary Point of Contact to maintain cross-study consistency and address site needs. Must have and demonstrate exceptional communication skills both oral and written.
Issue Escalation & Performance Oversight: Serves as the local escalation point for study challenges, monitors investigator performance, supports motivational site visits to boost recruitment, and manages sensitive communications during premature site closures. Be able to manage and navigate sensitive and complex situations under unknown or un-clear circumstances.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Reporting: Partners seamlessly with internal teams (e.g., Medical Affairs, Study Start-Up) and CROs to ensure unified site communication, while maintaining meticulous documentation of site visits and interactions in central systems (e.g., Veeva).
Portfolio Oversight & Compliance: Manages assigned local/global clinical studies by overseeing CRO performance, mitigating timeline or operational risks, ensuring eTMF completeness, and maintaining continuous inspection readiness.
(DS) Digital Clinical Trial: Focus on driving adoption of DCT and digital solutions with our sites i.e. eConsent, eSource, Remote Data Entry, etc. Actively pursuing and reviewing digital tools with sites to examine challenges and provide solutions.
Who you are:Degree (MD, PhD, MA / MS, BA / BS) in life sciences or equivalent.
Minimum 5+ years of relevant clinical research or clinical operations experience in pharmaceutical, biotech or related industry; Sponsor experience preferred.
Experience in end-to-end product development and expert understanding of ICH/GCP are both essential.
Understanding of end-to-end clinical trial processes, including monitoring, and strong knowledge of clinical trial regulations and guidelines.
Proven track record in managing site relationships and overseeing complex clinical trials.
Exceptional interpersonal, cross-functional, negotiation, and influencing skills with a proven track record of building high-trust, sustainable relationships with internal stakeholders, CROs, and site personnel.
Ability and willingness to travel domestically between 30-50% dependent on business or site needs.
Preferred qualifications:
Postgraduate degree or master’s degree will be valued but not required
Prior experience working directly with local trial sites and a strong existing network within the regional healthcare ecosystem is a strong plus
Highly experienced in early and late phase oncology
Highly experienced across multiple disciplines/TAs in non-oncology
This role is regional. Applicants should reside within 30 miles of a major airport and should reside within 50 miles of the Primary Location. Preference will be given to applicants who reside within those parameters.
Relocation benefits are not available for this posting
The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of Phoenix, AZ, is $108,800 to $202,000. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job-related factors permitted by law. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.
Benefits
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Genentech is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy and practice to employ, promote, and otherwise treat any and all employees and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence. The company's policy prohibits unlawful discrimination, including but not limited to, discrimination on the basis of Protected Veteran status, individuals with disabilities status, and consistent with all federal, state, or local laws.
If you have a disability and need an accommodation in relation to the online application process, please contact us by completing this form Accommodations for Applicants.
Skills Required
- Degree (MD, PhD, MA/MS, BA/BS) in life sciences or equivalent.
- Minimum 5+ years relevant clinical research or clinical operations experience in pharmaceutical, biotech or related industry.
- Sponsor experience.
- Expert understanding of ICH/GCP and end-to-end product development.
- Understanding of end-to-end clinical trial processes including monitoring and clinical trial regulations/guidelines.
- Proven track record managing site relationships and overseeing complex clinical trials.
- Exceptional oral and written communication, interpersonal, negotiation, and influencing skills.
- Experience with site budget negotiation, tracking clinical grant payments, and forecasting site-level resource needs.
- Experience maintaining documentation in central systems (e.g., Veeva) and ensuring eTMF completeness/inspection readiness.
- Ability and willingness to travel domestically 30-50%.
- Reside within 50 miles of the Primary Location and within 30 miles of a major airport (regional role).
- Experience driving adoption of DCT and digital solutions (eConsent, eSource, remote data entry).
- Postgraduate or master's degree.
- Prior experience working directly with local trial sites and strong regional healthcare network.
- Highly experienced in early and late phase oncology.
- Experience across multiple therapeutic areas/non-oncology disciplines.
Genentech Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Genentech and has not been reviewed or approved by Genentech.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive across medical, dental, vision, mental health, and prescriptions, supported by HSAs/FSAs and broad wellness resources. On‑site fitness and health centers, mental‑health clinicians, and specialized programs like fully covered preventive cancer screenings and menopause support deepen the offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits feature a 401(k) with up to a 4% company match plus an additional annual 6% company contribution to eligible pay. Additional financial protections such as life and accident insurance complement salary, bonuses, and stock options.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time away includes about 20 paid vacation days, paid holidays, personal days, and a year‑end shutdown. A paid six‑week sabbatical every six years notably expands long‑term time‑off flexibility.
Genentech Insights
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