Discovery Program Leader — Nonclinical Safety

Merck & Co.; South San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 176,000 - 277,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co. in the United States seeks a Discovery Program Leader to represent Nonclinical Drug Safety on discovery teams and in scientific reviews, focusing on immunology and oncology.

The role demands leadership, collaboration, and independence to define and oversee the NDS strategy from target identification through GLP toxicity studies. You will lead cross-functional groups, assess risks, de-risk discovery programs, and contribute to regulatory safety sections.

Qualifications

• PhD in relevant field, DVM, MD degree or equivalent.
• Minimum 8+ years of pharmaceutical industry experience as a non-clinical safety scientist and/or as non-clinical safety assessment representative to cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate cross-functional lines and drive team decisions in a matrix structure.
• Highly dedicated, motivated, resilient, and flexible; capable of creative problem solving and timely delivery.
• Excellent team player with ability to collaborate across discovery teams and study conduct portfolios.
• Excellent communicator who can raise issues to stakeholders and management.

Responsibilities

• Represent NDS on discovery teams and participate in governance reviews.
• Promote and facilitate creative thinking from target identification through lead optimization across multiple therapeutic areas.
• Be a drug creator and promoter of innovative thinking across cross-site groups and functional disciplines.
• Identify and assess risks for targets or development candidates using literature, internal data, and external information.
• Lead early development teams, informing preclinical studies to support product development.

Skills

Clinical Safety

Immuno-Oncology

Matrix Management

Strategic Thinking

Regulatory Submissions

Toxicology

Education

PhD in relevant field

Job description

Merck & Co. in the United States seeks a Discovery Program Leader to represent Nonclinical Drug Safety on discovery teams and in scientific reviews, focusing on immunology and oncology.

The role demands leadership, collaboration, and independence to define and oversee the NDS strategy from target identification through GLP toxicity studies. You will lead cross-functional groups, assess risks, de-risk discovery programs, and contribute to regulatory safety sections.