Associate Director, Data Science

MSD Malaysia; Boston, Northern (MA, KY); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 251,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Retirement benefits (401(k))

Paid holidays

Vacation and sick days

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc. is seeking an Associate Director in the Translational Genome Analytics group to lead data mining of molecular data and inform decisions across oncology pipelines.

The role emphasizes reverse translation from clinical datasets to biomarker discovery and patient-specific strategies. The candidate will apply advanced deep learning, ML, and statistical methods to integrative analyses of multimodal molecular data and collaborate with AIML teams developing foundation models trained

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD with significant computational and statistical component in pharma/biotech/academic setting.

Responsibilities

• Enable reverse translation from clinical datasets to inform biomarker discovery, combination strategies, and novel target identification.
• Analyze, summarize, and visualize findings from large multi-modal clinico-genomic datasets (bulk RNAseq, WES/WGS, imaging, epigenetic profiling, single-cell RNAseq, proteomics).
• Leverage deep learning and AI methods and multivariate predictive modeling to discover biomarkers predictive of clinical outcomes.
• Apply statistical inference frameworks and deep learning for integrative analysis of multimodal, high-dimensional tumor profiling datasets in oncology/immuno-oncology.
• Collaborate with AIML teams on development of foundation models trained on large cohorts of human data.

Skills

Cancer Biology

Computational Biology

Data Analysis

Data Mining

Data Science

Genomic Data Analysis

Immuno-Oncology

MATLAB

Multimodal Analysis

Python

R Programming

Statistical Analysis

Statistical Learning

Education

Master's degree (with 8+ years)

Ph.D. (with 4+ years)

Tools

MATLAB

R

Python

Job description

Job Description The Translational Genome Analytics group within the Data, AI & Genome Sciences Department is recruiting an Associate Director (Associate Principal Scientist) to join our data science team. We are seeking an experienced and innovative computational scientist to perform data mining of molecular data and inform decisions across all stages of our company’s expanding oncology pipeline.

Responsibilities

• Enable reverse translation form clinical datasets to inform biomarker discovery, combination strategies, and novel target identification linked to molecularly defined patient populations with unmet medical need.
• Analyze, summarize, and visualize the findings from large multi-modal clinico-genomic datasets which include bulk RNAseq, WES/WGS, imaging, epigenetic profiling, single-cell RNAseq, and proteomics data from oncology clinical trials and real-world datasets.
• Leverage advanced deep learning and AI methods and multivariate predictive modeling to discover novel biomarkers predictive of clinical outcomes.
• Demonstrated expertise in the application of statistical inference frameworks and/or deep learning approaches to the integrative analysis of multimodal, high-dimensional tumor profiling datasets in the oncology and immuno-oncology context.
• Effectively collaborate with AIML teams working on development of foundation models trained on large cohorts of human data.

Qualifications

• Education: Master's (with 8+ years) or Ph.D. (with 4+ years) in a quantitative discipline such as Engineering, Applied Physics/Mathematics, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology or related field with a significant computational and statistical component and relevant experience in pharma, biotech or academic setting.

Required Experience and Skills

• Demonstrated expertise in the application of methods of statistical learning and data mining to the integrative analysis of multimodal, high-dimensional molecular profiling datasets in oncology, immuno-oncology or other therapeutic area.
• Hands‑on analysis experience with algorithms for large genetic, genomic, immunogenomic and clinical datasets (e.g. IEDB, TCGA, GTEx, DepMap).
• Expertise to code in scientific computation environments (R/Python, Matlab) with adoption of best practices for reproducible data analyses.
• Demonstrated expertise in the application of statistical inference frameworks and/or deep learning approaches to the integrative analysis of multimodal, high-dimensional disease profiling datasets in oncology, immuno-oncology or other therapeutic area.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; ability to guide and influence decisions through use of data‑driven hypotheses; attention to detail.
• Independent, flexible and collaborative mindset.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Experience with analysis of genomic data originating from clinical trials.
• Understanding of the major concepts of cancer biology as represented in molecular data.
• Experience with a matrix environment and ability to effectively collaborate with colleagues from a wide range of disciplines.
• Record of publishing in high profile scientific journals.

Required Skills

• Required Skills: Cancer Biology, Computational Biology, Data Analysis, Data Mining, Data Science, Genomic Data Analysis, Immuno-Oncology, MATLAB, Multimodal Analysis, Python (Programming Language), R Programming, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Learning

#EligibleforERP Required Skills: Cancer Biology, Computational Biology, Data Analysis, Data Mining, Data Science, Genomic Data Analysis, Immuno-Oncology, MATLAB, Multimodal Analysis, Python (Programming Language), R Programming, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Learning

Preferred Skills

Preferred Skills: US and Puerto Rico Residents Only: Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities.

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.

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 salary range for this role is $159,600.00 - $251,200.00 This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

Employee Status: Regular Relocation: Domestic/International VISA Sponsorship: Yes Travel Requirements: 10% Flexible Work Arrangements: Not Applicable Shift: 1st - Day Valid Driving License: No Hazardous Material(s): N/A

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Job Posting End Date: 09/4/2026 *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.

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 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.

Our company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where we have codified our legacy for over a century. Our success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.