Principal Scientist, Discovery Separation Sciences
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Job summary
Merck seeks a Principal Scientist in Boston to lead purification and analytical chromatography for drug discovery across modalities. You will provide scientific leadership, oversee purification workflows, and drive innovation in chromatography and automation.
The role requires building talent, partnering across Discovery Chemistry, and advancing digital capabilities to improve productivity and data quality.
Qualifications
- Ph.D. or advanced degree with extensive industry drug-discovery experience.
- Experience in chromatographic purification and analytical separations.
- Strong leadership and collaboration across cross-functional teams.
Responsibilities
- Provide scientific leadership for purification and analytical activities enabling drug discovery programs.
- Lead chromatographic purification, analytical separations, and impurity isolation.
- Foster safety, quality, and operational excellence in laboratory operations.
- Champion innovative technologies, LIMS, and digital workflows.
- Recruit, mentor, and develop scientists and staff across the organization.
- Collaborate with Medicinal, Process, Analytical Sciences, Automation, Informatics, IT, and other teams.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
We are seeking an accomplished scientist and leader to join Discovery Chemistry as a Principal Scientist within the Boston Separation Sciences group.
The successful candidate will provide scientific leadership and operational oversight for purification and analytical chromatography capabilities supporting drug discovery programs across multiple modalities, including small molecules, peptides, targeted protein degraders, and emerging therapeutic formats. This role requires deep technical expertise in both HPLC and SFC chromatography and demonstrated experience supporting a broad range of purification workflows, including high-throughput library purification, singleton purification, chiral separations, and analytical support for medicinal chemistry programs. The role combines laboratory leadership, scientific expertise, capability development, people management, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure the delivery of high-quality purification and analytical support to project teams.
The Principal Scientist will contribute to the advancement of Separation Sciences capabilities through the implementation of innovative technologies, development of scientific talent, optimization of workflows, and partnership with colleagues across Discovery Chemistry and adjacent functions. The individual will serve as a recognized subject matter expert while contributing to project, departmental, and capability strategies that enhance the effectiveness and impact of drug discovery efforts.
Serve as a recognized subject matter expert in purification and separation sciences, providing scientific leadership and contributing to purification and analytical activities that enable Discovery Chemistry programs through the delivery of high-quality compounds, analytical data, and scientific recommendations.
Provide technical leadership and expertise in chromatographic purification, analytical separations, impurity isolation, and related technologies, while guiding resolution of complex scientific and operational challenges.
Foster a culture of scientific excellence, operational efficiency, safety, and quality throughout laboratory operations.
Champion and implement innovative technologies, laboratory informatics platforms, LIMS solutions, automation-enabled purification workflows, and digital capabilities that enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of Separation Sciences capabilities.
Establish best practices, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and contribute to capability roadmaps aligned with Discovery Chemistry priorities.
Recruit, manage, mentor, and develop scientists and laboratory staff, building both technical expertise and leadership capability across the organization.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing environment that supports employee development, succession planning, and scientific excellence.
Partner closely with Medicinal Chemistry, Process Chemistry, Analytical Sciences, Automation, Informatics, IT, and other research functions to support project progression and capability development.
Serve as a trusted scientific partner to project teams, contributing purification and analytical expertise to project strategy and departmental initiatives.
Partner in laboratory operations, instrumentation strategy, capital planning, and implementation of automation and digital solutions that improve scientific productivity.
Partner with Facilities, Procurement, Engineering, IT, and external vendors to ensure reliable laboratory operations, regulatory compliance, and continuous capability advancement.
Maintain awareness of emerging technologies and scientific advances in separation sciences and chromatography, contributing to our company's scientific reputation through publications, presentations, collaborations, and external engagement.
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Engineering, or a related scientific discipline with a minimum of 8 years of relevant industrial experience in a pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or related drug discovery research environment.
Or
M.S. in Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Engineering, or a related scientific discipline with 10-12 years of relevant industrial experience in a pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or related drug discovery research environment.
Or
B.S. in Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Engineering, or a related scientific discipline with 12-15 years of relevant industrial experience in a pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or related drug discovery research environment.
- Extensive experience in chromatographic purification and analytical separations supporting drug discovery programs, with expertise in HPLC, uHPLC, LCMS, SFC, and preparative chromatography technologies.
- Demonstrated experience supporting multiple therapeutic modalities, including small molecules, peptides, targeted protein degraders, and other emerging modalities.
- Experience with high-throughput experimentation (HTE), high-throughput and singleton purification workflows, laboratory automation, and analytical support within a Discovery Chemistry environment.
- Demonstrated ability to provide scientific leadership, influence technical direction, and deliver results through a laboratory-based scientific capability, including scientific leadership in chromatography, separation sciences, analytical chemistry, or related drug discovery capabilities
- Experience implementing new technologies, laboratory informatics platforms, LIMS solutions, automation-enabled purification workflows, digital workflows, instrumentation, and process improvements.
- Experience managing, mentoring, and developing scientific staff, with strong communication, collaboration, and organizational skills.
- Demonstrated commitment to safety, quality, and operational excellence.
- Track record of cross-functional and cross-site scientific leadership, capability deployment, technology transfer, and successful collaboration across Discovery Chemistry sites, scientific disciplines, and research organizations.
Chromatography, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), High-Throughput Experimentation (HTE), Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), Organic Synthesis, Project Leadership, Scientific Leadership, Separation Sciences, Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC)
Our company is 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.
We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
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
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.
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
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Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts
The salary range for this role is
$176,200.00 - $277,300.00
This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. 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.
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
Regular
Domestic
No
10%
Not Applicable
Not Indicated
No
Standard lab reagents
09/28/2026
*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFOREthe listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.
R417735
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