Associate Director, Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics, Cardiometabolic

MSD Malaysia; Rahway (NJ); Hybrid; USD 157,000 - 247,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision healthcare

Retirement benefits

401(k)

Paid holidays

Vacation

Sick days

Job summary

MSD Malaysia is seeking an Associate Director in Rahway, NJ/West Point, PA to lead quantitative drug development for cardiometabolic pipelines. You will develop model-based strategies, conduct translational PK/PD analyses, and support dose selection across discovery and development teams.

You will collaborate across disciplines, manage complex modeling projects, and contribute to regulatory documents while operating with increasing independence in a global biopharmaceutical setting.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or equivalent degree with at least 4 years of relevant experience.
• PharmD or equivalent degree with at least 6 years of relevant experience.
• MS or equivalent degree with at least 8 years of relevant experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop and apply model-based strategies, including translational PK/PD approaches, mechanistic models, population PK/PD analyses, and clinical trial simulations.
• Support optimization of dose selection, trial design, and go/no-go decisions.
• Represent QP2 on cardiometabolic discovery and development teams with quantitative input.
• Collaborate with external vendors and strategic partners to align model-informed approaches.
• Contribute to study design, data interpretation, and regulatory submissions.

Skills

Data Modeling

Data Visualization

Drug Development

Machine Learning

Modeling Software

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Pharmacology

Pharmacometrics

PKPD Modeling

Stakeholder Management

Education

PhD or equivalent

PharmD or equivalent

MS or equivalent

Tools

R

Matlab

Phoenix

NONMEM

Monolix

Job description

Job Description The Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics (QP2) Department within our Company’s Research Laboratories in Rahway, NJ, and West Point, PA is excited to welcome a curious, collaborative, and scientifically driven Associate Director to help support our growing cardiometabolic pipelines. In this role, you will represent QP2 on cross‑functional teams of experienced scientists working together to discover and advance novel therapeutic agents for cardiometabolic and ophthalmologic diseases. You will contribute to the discovery and development of small molecules, biologics, and non‑traditional therapeutics, including peptides, novel biological constructs, and other emerging modalities. The successful candidate will be a skilled quantitative drug developer with a strong, integrated understanding of the strategic elements of drug discovery and development, a collaborative mindset, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work independently with minimal supervision. Within QP2, you will have a unique opportunity to grow your career as a quantitative drug developer while contributing to an end‑to‑end pipeline in one of the world’s most research‑intensive biopharmaceutical companies. We offer a collaborative, mission‑driven environment where your scientific expertise can help shape meaningful decisions and advance innovative therapies for patients.

Responsibilities

• Develop and apply model-based strategies, including translational PK/PD approaches, mechanistic models, population PK/PD analyses, and clinical trial simulations, to inform quantitative decision‑making within and across development programs and departments.
• These efforts will help optimize drug discovery and development decisions, including dose selection, clinical trial design, and go/no‑go recommendations.
• Represent QP2 on cardiometabolic discovery, early clinical development, and late clinical development teams, using quantitative approaches to support efficient, evidence‑based advancement of programs across these growing portfolios.
• Partner collaboratively with functional area colleagues, external vendors, and strategic partners to build aligned, quantitative, and model‑informed approaches that support drug discovery, development, and regulatory decision‑making.
• Collaborate across disciplines on study design, protocol development, study execution, data interpretation, reporting, and communication of results.
• Maintain a strong understanding of global regulatory expectations and contribute to the development, presentation, and defense of regulatory documents and submissions.
• Work closely with pharmacometrics colleagues to provide scientific input on modeling strategies, analyses, interpretation, and reporting.

Required

• Ph.D. or equivalent degree with at least 4 years of relevant experience
• PharmD or equivalent degree with at least 6 years of relevant experience
• or MS or equivalent degree with at least 8 years of relevant experience
• Relevant experience should reflect increasing responsibility and independence in pharmaceutical drug development, a regulatory agency, or academia.
• Educational background in biopharmaceutics, pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacometrics, chemical or biomedical engineering, or a related quantitative discipline.
• Experience in pharmacometrics, conducting population PK and PK/PD analyses using standard pharmacometrics software, such as R, Matlab, Phoenix, NONMEM, Monolix, or similar tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to collaborate across disciplines, scope complex problems, and plan work effectively.
• Knowledge in modeling complex therapeutics/mechanistic modeling.
• Preferred: Knowledge of cardiometabolic clinical drug development programs.
• Advanced skills in mathematical problem‑solving, critical data analysis and interpretation, experimental design, and statistics.
• Scientific understanding of the biopharmaceutical and ADME properties of small molecules and/or biologics.
• A strong record of increasing responsibility, independence, and demonstrated impact in advancing drug development decisions through model‑based approaches.

Required Skills

• Data Modeling
• Data Visualization
• Drug Development
• Machine Learning (ML)
• Modeling Software
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Pharmacometrics
• PKPD Modeling
• Stakeholder Relationship Management

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision healthcare
• other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits
• 401(k)
• paid holidays
• vacation
• compassionate and sick days

Salary range for this role is $156,900.00 - $247,000.00

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

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.

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.

Our company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products.

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

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Employee Status: Regular Relocation: Domestic VISA Sponsorship: Yes Travel Requirements: 10% Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid Shift: 1st - Day Valid Driving License: No Hazardous Material(s): N/A