Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) Capability Engineering Team Lead

1000 Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC; Rahway (NJ); Hybrid; USD 173,000 - 273,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) retirement

Paid holidays

Vacation

Sick leave

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc. in Rahway, NJ is seeking an Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning Capability Engineering Team Lead to supervise a cross-functionally embedded team of AI/ML engineers and data scientists.

You will design and deploy innovative AI methods for NLP and agentic AI, partner with R&D and software teams, and mentor staff while navigating AI governance and regulatory considerations.

Qualifications

• PhD or MS/BS with sufficient industry experience and 5+ years leadership in AI/ML.
• MS in related field with 6+ years industry experience.
• BS with 7+ years industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional AI/ML team delivering NLP and agentic AI capabilities.
• Collaborate with R&D and software teams to design and improve AI solutions.
• Evaluate ML workflows using standard and novel techniques with human-in-the-loop methods.
• Identify focus areas and propose AI projects.
• Mentor and recruit AI/ML engineers and researchers.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy and AI policies.

Skills

Python

NLP

Machine Learning

LLM

Agentic AI

Spark

Airflow

LangGraph

DevOps

MCP

Education

PhD in data science or related

MS in related field

BS in related field

Tools

Apache Airflow

Apache Spark

Git

Docker

LangGraph

Job description

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) Capability Engineering Team Lead

The Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) Capability Engineering Team Lead supervises a cross-functionally embedded team of AI/ML Engineers and Data Scientists developing innovative AI Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Agentic AI capabilities for therapeutic research and development. Working with partners across the R&D pipeline and software technology stack, you will lead AI initiatives, influence AI strategy, and supervise a team of talented individuals. The models and pipelines that you and your team develop will help solve real-world problems and improve patient outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Building, deploying, and publishing innovative and robust AI methods and agentic workflows that drive impact in areas such as AI machine translation, content generation and document drafting, workflow optimization, large-scale data enrichment, literature mining, target and biomarker prioritization, and representation learning (e.g., molecular design).
• Partnering with stakeholders and product teams to ideate, design, build, and iteratively improve impactful solutions.
• Rigorously evaluating and optimizing machine learning and AI workflows using standard and novel techniques, as well as developing human-in-the-loop AI approaches.
• Having the freedom to propose areas of focus and solutions to explore.
• Collaborating cross-functionally with experts across the R&D pipeline and across modalities of informatics and AI/ML work, including image processing, bioinformatics, representation learning, decision sciences, and more.
• Tracking and helping to adhere to the developing landscape of AI regulations and internal policies, such as for data privacy and risk mitigation.
• Staying up-to-date on the latest innovations in AI/ML and Agentic AI.
• Using AI coding assistants in innovative and responsible ways.
• Presenting plans and results to scientific and IT leadership and providing input on strategic planning.
• Supervising, mentoring, and recruiting talented AI/ML engineers and other personas.

Candidate Profile

• Excellent technical and non-technical communication, planning, teamwork, and leadership skills.
• The ability to critically evaluate new problems, as well as AI/ML solution architecture and implementation.
• A strategic mindset, including the ability to envision how AI/ML and software solutions may generalize to new areas of application.
• Deep understanding of modern LLM and Agentic architectures, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), tool calling / Model Context Protocol (MCP), structured extraction, and agent orchestration.
• Fluency in Python programming, version control and collaboration with Git, environment management (e.g., uv, Docker), and at least one ML framework (e.g., Pytorch, vLLM).
• Excellent statistical analysis skills (e.g., a strong understanding of the implications of class imbalance).
• Experience with scalable engineering frameworks such as Apache Spark and orchestrator frameworks such as Airflow.
• Experience with Agentic AI protocols and standards such as MCP, A2A, and A2UI and with building production-ready software and AI solutions.
• Experience with harness optimization approaches (e.g., auto‑research).
• Experience with AI/ML model deployment and operations, as well as modern software deployment standards (e.g., DevOps and CI/CD practices).
• Experience with agentic system development (e.g., LangGraph), text processing (e.g., regular expressions, information retrieval, search systems), semantic engineering (e.g., RDF), and/or data engineering.
• Familiarity with enterprise AI governance, data privacy boundaries, validation, fairness, and related ethical AI topics.
• A passion for technology, science, biomedicine, and mentorship.

Minimum Requirements

• A PhD in data science, AI/ML/LLM/Agentic system engineering, computer science, semantic engineering, a related discipline, or a scientific field and 5 years of relevant industry experience.
• OR M.S. in a similar field with 6 years relevant industry experience.
• OR B.S. in a similar field with 7 years relevant industry experience.
• 5 years of technical leadership experience with AI/ML, NLP, or Agentic AI projects or products.
• 2 years of experience with supervision of team members.

Required Skills

• Apache Airflow
• Apache Spark
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Data Engineering
• Git
• IBM watsonx.governance
• Image Processing
• LangGraph
• Machine Learning (ML)
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Orchestrate
• Python (Programming Language)
• Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
• Solution Architecture
• System Designs
• System Integration
• Systems Engineering
• Testing

Location

The primary location for this posting is: USA - New Jersey - Rahway.

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Salary

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is: $173,200.00 - $272,600.00. This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs. The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. If a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• Retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• Paid holidays
• Vacation
• Compassionate and sick days

Equal Employment Opportunity & Accessibility

We are committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process. As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit: EEOC Know Your Rights EEOC GINA Supplement. We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts.

Recruiter & Application Information

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status: Regular

Relocation: Domestic

VISA Sponsorship: No

Travel Requirements: 10%

Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid

Shift: Not Indicated

Valid Driving License: No

Hazardous Material(s): n/a

Job Posting End Date

11/14/2026 *

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.