Medical Director/Lead Veterinarian at Truss Vet -… · Columbia

A few years ago, we asked a question: what if pets with problems that can’t wait — but don’t belong in the ER — had somewhere great to go? And what if the people providing that care actually loved their jobs? Today the answer is Truss Vet, with five veterinary urgent care clinics across North and South Carolina, a growing community of doctors, and more on the way.

At Truss Vet, we’re on a mission to elevate the human-animal bond by removing barriers to compassionate, high quality veterinary care. Our urgent care clinics are built for pets with non-life-threatening issues that don’t belong in the ER but can’t wait for a regular vet visit. The sweet spot between general practice and emergency care. We deliver exceptional medical outcomes while ensuring a better quality of life for our team. Yes, both. That’s the whole point.

Every veterinarian at Truss Vet is a de facto clinical and cultural leader. But as Medical Director, that is your full time job. You’re the key clinical decision-maker in the building, the person your associates turn to when a case has them stuck, and — with your Practice Manager — one of the two people accountable for whether your clinic is a great place to bring a pet and a great place to work.

WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY OWN

THE MEDICINE IN YOUR CLINIC

You set the standard and you keep it. Case review, medical quality, the protocols that turn a good outcome into a repeatable one, and the judgment calls that don’t have a protocol yet. When someone asks how medicine is practiced at your clinic, the honest answer is: the way you practice it.

YOUR DOCTORS’ SUCCESS

Mentorship, coaching, and development for every associate on your team — the real kind, with regular one on-ones and honest feedback. A doctor who joins your clinic green and quickly thrives is the clearest evidence this job is being done well.

BUILDING YOUR DOCTOR TEAM

You own associate veterinarian hiring for your clinic. Meeting candidates, communicating the opportunity, and making the call. The doctors you hire are the team you then lead, which is truly the best incentive. Of course, we have tons of training and support to help you along the way.

THE LEADERSHIP PARTNERSHIP

You and your Practice Manager run the clinic together: you own the medicine, they own operations and the support team, and you’re jointly accountable for the whole thing. It works when the two of you are genuinely aligned, and we’ll help you get there.

THE CULTURE

Your team will read your worst day more closely than your best one. Setting the tone for how people treat each other, especially when it’s busy, is part of the job, not a side effect.

AND YOU’RE STILL A DOCTOR

This is a working clinical role. You practice, you carry cases, and your credibility with your team comes from being in it with them.

So that the leading actually happens, it gets its own time: roughly four hours a week of protected non clinical time, plus twelve hours a month at your discretion, for mentorship, hiring, case review, and everything else that doesn’t fit between appointments. Leadership here isn’t something you’re expected to squeeze in after your last patient.

And here’s where we are today: the ground floor is built, and the model works. What’s left is the interesting part: new clinics, new markets, and a medicine-and-culture standard that’s still being written by the leaders who show up now. You’re not betting on an idea; you’re advancing a proven model that still has tons of room to innovate.

YOU WON’T BE DOING THIS ALONE

Leading a clinic shouldn’t mean being the only one holding it:

• A Practice Manager partner — you’re not running the building by yourself, and you’re not expected to be an operator as well as a clinician
• A network of Medical Directors — the people doing your exact job at our other clinics, one message away, with the same problems and a few of the answers
• Medical and operational leadership that has done this — our standards are built and supported by working veterinarians, not a binder from “insert your giant consolidator here”
• Real support for the leadership part — coaching and development for you, not just for your team. Being handed a title and wished luck is how good clinicians get turned into frustrated managers, and we’re not interested in that outcome

WHERE THIS CAN GO

We’d rather grow our leaders than rent them, and Medical Director is a destination or a waypoint depending on what you want:

• Master the seat — go deep as a clinical leader, with the mentorship, CE, and case complexity to keep your medicine sharp while you build a team that outlasts you
• Medical leadership beyond your clinic — our company-wide medical roles are built from people who have actually run a clinic, because we don’t think they can be done credibly otherwise
• Beyond — our organization is growing, and new doors are opening every day

No forced timeline, no “up or out.” Just honest conversations about what you want and a company growing fast enough to make room for it.

YOU’RE A GREAT FIT IF :

• You’re a strong clinician first. Your team’s respect starts with your medicine, and no amount of leadership skill substitutes for it
• People have followed you before — formally or not. You’ve been the person others came to, and you liked being that person
• You can hold a high standard and a warm relationship at the same time. Feedback from you lands as investment, not as a reprimand
• You’ll have the uncomfortable conversation while it’s still small, rather than hoping it resolves itself
• You get genuine satisfaction from someone else’s growth. A doctor you coached nailing a hard case should feel as good as nailing it yourself
• Someone would describe you as proactive, detail-oriented, timely, organized, productive, analytical... and still a people person! Bonus points if you can move things with your mind!
• You have a growth mindset; you never stop learning, and you’re constantly looking for ways to advance yourself, your career, and your team
• You want to work for a company with a big vision and ambitious plans for growth, and you want to help achieve that growth
• You want to make a difference in the world, have an impact on people’s lives, and change the future of animal healthcare for the better
• You love working in teams and find that you’re able to relate to people of all types (yes, people are gross, but you didn’t choose vet med because you love animals and hate people)
• You’re willing to “get your hands dirty.” No task is beneath you; you’re entrepreneurial and a servant leader
• You provide energy to the people around you because you’re generally a happy, positive, optimistic person (after interacting with you, people feel energized, not drained)
• You are licensed or eligible for veterinary licensure in South Carolina
• You have 5+ years of in-practice experience (ER or urgent care experience not necessary, but preferred). Prior leadership or mentorship experience is a plus; a track record of people wanting to work with you matters more than a title
• You read our values (below), and they overlap with your personal values

WE BELIEVE IN :

• Excellence in medicine and the highest reasonable standards of care
• Providing our teams the resources to be happy and successful
• That every pet deserves to live its best life (except for that one chihuahua... jk)
• 3-day workweeks
• Going home on time
• No abusive noncompetes
• Building a supportive team that you want to hang out with even on your off days (but we’ll never make you)
• Treating people like we want to be treated
• Compensation and benefits that help people live well
• Working hard and pursuing excellence while still having fun

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR CLINICS

For too long, veterinary hospitals have been off the beaten path, sequestered in old strip centers, or simply too hard to find. Pets have become family members — so why shouldn’t veterinary clinics be located where family members shop, work, and dine? And why shouldn’t veterinary teams get to work in beautiful, safe, and vibrant locations?

Every Truss Vet clinic is outfitted with industry-leading equipment — full in-house IDEXX diagnostics (CBC/chemistry, automated fecal/UA, digital cytology, on-site enzyme analysis), digital radiography, ultrasound, and fully cloud-based, mobile-friendly technology — inside a Fear Free-informed space with dedicated feline exam rooms, comfort rooms, and a modern aesthetic reflective of today’s best healthcare environments. This isn’t the clinic you’re escaping from. It’s the one you wish you’d been working in all along.

ABOUT TRUSS VET COLUMBIA

Columbia opened in March 2026 as our first clinic outside North Carolina — the one that proved this model travels. At 4,520 square feet it’s also the largest clinic we’ve built, a former fitness space converted end-to-end into a bright, modern urgent care with room to work in.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Competitive salary, no negative accrual
• A management bonus shared with your Practice Manager, tied to the growth and success of your clinic — because you’re accountable for it together
• Health/vision/dental insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage, life insurance
• 3 weeks PTO plus 5 holidays for full-time doctors
• A generous CE stipend with guaranteed coverage for 1 major conference per year
• Parental leave
• 401(k) and Roth 401(k) with a 2.5% employer match
• Payment of all professional dues/licenses/association memberships/VIN/PLIT
• Commitment to professional and personal development through mentorship
• Pet care discounts and uniform allowance
• No boarding, grooming, or on-call!

TRUSS VET VALUES STATEMENTS

DARE TO CARE

Doing what is easy isn’t always right. Doing what is right isn’t always easy. So we show up. We give a sh!t. Even when clients don’t deserve our best, even when a conversation is uncomfortable, we approach situations with courage, empathy, and authenticity. “We care enough to have tough conversations and we handle tough conversations with care.”

THE DETAI LS MATTER

Our standards are reflected in every detail, and those details matter. The client will never forget the hug you gave when they said goodbye to their best friend. That blanket may mean the difference between an hour of comfort for a pet versus an hour of fear. The smell or sight of a dirty rug may mean the difference between a great first impression versus skepticism of our entire team.

TRUSS ONE ANOTHER

To be accountable to the success of the team means we’re accountable to the success of each other. We have our teammates’ backs. We catch each other’s mistakes. We challenge each other to improve and be the best versions of ourselves.

BOWL HALF FUL L

Your dog doesn’t go through life believing his bowl is half-empty. We see the good in others and in each other, we see opportunities in challenges, we meet discomfort with good humor, and when we find closed doors, we kick them open or make new ones.

Sound like your kind of place? Come lead a team that’s passionate, positive, and committed to shaping the future of veterinary medicine — for pets, their people, and each other.