Senior Manager / Associate Director, Clinical Operations

Alto Neuroscience
Alto Neuroscience

Operations

Mountain View, CA, USA

Posted on Sep 23, 2026
About Alto Neuroscience, Inc.At Alto Neuroscience, you will play a pivotal role in advancing precision psychiatry and improving how mental health disorders are treated. Join us in building the next generation of personalized neuroscience-based therapeutics.Primary RoleThe Senior Manager/Associate Director, Clinical Operations provides line management and functional oversight for a team of clinical trial staff spanning Clinical Trial Associate (CTA), Clinical Research Associate (CRA), Clinical Trial Manager (CTM), and Clinical Project Manager (CPM) levels. Trials are run in-house rather than outsourced to a CRO, so this role and its team hold direct, hands-on responsibility for site management, monitoring, and trial execution rather than oversight of a CRO's delivery. This role is responsible for staff development, workload/resource allocation across assigned studies or programs, and ensuring consistent quality and process adherence across the team, while individual contributors retain day-to-day accountability for their assigned trials.What you'll doPeople ManagementDirectly manage, coach, and develop a team of 6–12 clinical staff across CTA, CRA, CTM, and CPM levelsConduct performance reviews, goal setting, and career development planning tailored to each direct report's role and levelLead recruitment, onboarding, and training for new team membersIdentify training needs and coordinate role-specific development (e.g., TMF management for CTAs, site monitoring for CRAs, vendor oversight for CTMs, cross-functional leadership for CPMs)Resource & Workload ManagementAllocate staff across studies based on trial phase, complexity, and enrollment statusMonitor team capacity and escalate resourcing gaps or overallocation to the Director/Senior Director Support study budgeting and FTE planning in partnership with Clinical Operations leadershipOperational & Quality OversightEnsure team members follow ICH-GCP, SOPs, and applicable regulatory requirements across assigned trialsReview and approve key study deliverables (monitoring plans, TMF completeness, site management plans) as appropriate to levelProvide direct, hands-on guidance on site selection, initiation, monitoring, and close-out — activities performed in-house by the team's CRAs and CTMs rather than a CROServe as an escalation point for site-level or protocol-execution issues that direct reports cannot resolve independentlyPartner with QA on audit/inspection readiness and CAPA follow-up for the team's studiesCross-Functional CollaborationRepresent Clinical Operations staffing and capacity needs in program-level planning meetingsPartner with Clinical Development, Regulatory, Biostatistics, and Data Management leads to align trial execution with program timelinesProvide input to senior leadership on process improvements and standardization across trialsLocationMountain View, CA or Remote (US)Salary Range$170,000 - $185,000*depending on qualifications and experience levelTravel RequiredTravel required (approximately 25–30%)QualificationsRequired Skills/Abilities: 10+ years of hands-on clinical trial experience across multiple Clinical Operations roles, including CTA, CRA, CTM, and/or CPM experience.3+ years of direct people management experience.Direct experience with site monitoring, site management, and clinical trial execution in an in-house operating model.Strong working knowledge of ICH-GCP, FDA/EMA regulations, and the clinical trial lifecycle.Demonstrated experience managing and developing Clinical Operations staff across varying levels of seniority.Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple studies.Experience with inspection readiness, audits, and CAPA follow-up.Experience supporting multiple clinical programs or studies simultaneously.Bonus Skills/Abilities: Experience building or improving Clinical Operations processes, tools, and ways of working in a growing biotech environment.Supervisory Responsibilities:Directly manages, coaches, and develops Clinical Operations staff across CTA, CRA, CTM, and CPM levels, including performance management, goal setting, career development, and workload allocation.Education and Experience:Bachelor's degree in life sciences, nursing, or related field (advanced degree a plus)Physical Requirements: Required to sit for prolonged periods of time.Ability to travel domestically and internationally.While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usuallyAlto Neuroscience is an equal-opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race, color, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. We offer a welcoming and inclusive environment in service to one another, our products, the diverse consumers we represent, and the communities we call home. We do all of this with kindness, empathy and respect for each other. The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or physical requirements.