Pro practiceDirector of Research and Development (Pharmaceuticals) practice interview
Directing pharmaceutical discovery and development portfolios, evidence gates, technical transfer, regulatory readiness and R&D investment. Practise the 6 questions interviewers ask for this role with follow-ups. Paid plans add scored feedback on every answer.
A Pro practice interview, on the Pro plan from ₦5,000 a month billed yearly, or on Premium.
- Lead
- 20 minutes
- 6 questions
- Scored feedback on paid plans
About the role
This is an executive interview about choosing and delivering a pharmaceutical R&D portfolio under scientific and commercial uncertainty. The panel will test whether you can challenge evidence, connect discovery to development and manufacturing, and make disciplined investment decisions without compromising quality or integrity.
How to prepare
- Prepare one portfolio decision where you advanced, paused or stopped a programme and explain the evidence behind it.
- Review how you define stage gates, critical experiments and stopping rules.
- Think through a scale-up or technical transfer problem involving R&D, quality and manufacturing.
- Prepare an example of resolving disagreement between scientific and development functions.
- Be ready to explain how you protect data integrity and raise material risks to executives.
Common mistakes
- Treating publication strength as a substitute for development feasibility.
- Keeping weak assets alive because of sunk cost or senior sponsorship.
- Discussing discovery, clinical work and manufacturing as separate hand-offs.
- Responding to data integrity concerns as a communications problem rather than a scientific one.
What to expect
A real first-round interview
6 questions the way interviewers ask for this role, with follow-ups when an answer needs more.
Spoken, like the real thing
Speak your answers in your browser or the free desktop app, with live captions. You can ask the interviewer to repeat anything.
Scored on 5 areas
The things this interview weighs most. With a paid plan, your report shows how you did on each one.
A private report
On Plus, Pro and Premium: every answer scored, your strongest lines quoted and what to say differently next time. Interview creators never see it.
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