Associate Principal Scientist, Process Engineering

Merck; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 142,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Long-term incentive

Benefits package

Job summary

Merck is seeking an Associate Principal Scientist, Engineering in the Chemical Commercialization Technology group to lead scale-up and tech transfer for late-stage small molecule programs. This role combines laboratory work with pilot-plant activities and requires strategic leadership and collaboration across manufacturing, quality, regulatory and external partners.

This position emphasizes process robustness, regulatory support, and continuous improvement to ensure reliable supply of commercial

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering or a related science with 4+ years industrial experience.
• BS/MS in Chemical Engineering or related field with 8+ years industrial experience.
• Experience in chemical process development and scale-up for pharma or specialty chemicals.
• Ability to design, run, interpret, and communicate experiments to improve robustness.
• Experience supporting tech transfer from lab to pilot to commercial manufacturing.
• Strong leadership and project management in cross-functional teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to mentor.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, scale-up, and commercialization of small molecule drug substance processes.
• Design studies to establish process understanding and operating ranges.
• Apply QRM, QbD and DOE to develop robust control strategies.
• Lead technology transfer to pilot and commercial sites.
• Support process validation, continued process verification, and regulatory submissions.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, Process Research, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain and partners.
• Mentor junior scientists and engineers; drive process robustness and yield improvements.
• Drive innovation using advanced process technologies and data analytics.

Skills

API Manufacturing

Bioprocessing

Chemical Engineering

Chemical Processes

Commercialization

Manufacturing

Manufacturing Processes

Manufacturing Scale-Up

Manufacturing Technologies

Pharmaceutical Process Development

Process Design

Process Development (PD)

Small Molecule Drugs

Technology Transfer

Education

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering

B.S./M.S. in Chemical Engineering

Job description

Merck is seeking an Associate Principal Scientist, Engineering in the Chemical Commercialization Technology group to lead scale-up and tech transfer for late-stage small molecule programs. This role combines laboratory work with pilot-plant activities and requires strategic leadership and collaboration across manufacturing, quality, regulatory and external partners.

This position emphasizes process robustness, regulatory support, and continuous improvement to ensure reliable supply of commercial