Senior Clinical Scientist, Immunology

MSD; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 117,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid holidays

Vacation

Sick days

Job summary

Merck seeks a Senior Clinical Scientist to provide scientific leadership for a clinical development program in autoimmune diseases. You will partner with Clinical Directors, Study Managers, Medical Monitors, Data Management, Statistics, and Regulatory colleagues to ensure scientific integrity, quality, and protocol alignment.

You will lead clinical data review, interpret results, and generate insights to inform development decisions, study reports, and regulatory documents, while mentoring

Qualifications

• Advanced degree or equivalent in life sciences or healthcare.
• Bachelor’s Degree with 5+ years of clinical sciences experience or Master’s with 3+ years.
• Experience with protocol development, clinical data review, and cross-functional drug development teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the assigned clinical trial as lead Clinical Scientist, overseeing from planning to analysis and reporting.
• Contribute to protocol development, ICFs, CRFs, data review plans, and related study documents.
• Partner with Clinical Directors and cross-functional teams to ensure alignment of endpoints with development strategy.
• Monitor evolving literature and therapies within the therapeutic area.

Skills

Adaptability

Clinical Data

Clinical Operations

Clinical Research

Clinical Trials

Data Analysis

ICH GCP Guidelines

Protocol Development

Regulatory Compliance

Stakeholder Alignment

Strategic Thinking

Study Design

Education

Advanced degree (PharmD, PhD, MD, DO, PA or ANRP)

Bachelor’s Degree in life sciences

Master’s Degree in life sciences

Job description

Job Description

The Senior Clinical Scientist provides scientific leadership for one clinical trial of a clinical development program within the assigned therapeutic area. This role partners with Clinical Directors, Study Managers, Clinical Operations, Medical Monitoring, Data Management, Statistics, and Regulatory colleagues to ensure the scientific integrity, quality.

The Senior Clinical Scientist applies expertise in disease biology, clinical research, and drug development to support study design, clinical data review, interpretation of results, and generation of scientific insights that inform development decisions and advance protocol objectives.

Job Responsibilities

Clinical Development & Scientific Leadership

• Serve as the lead Clinical Scientist for assigned clinical trial, providing scientific oversight from study planning through analysis and reporting
• Contribute to the development of clinical protocols, protocol amendments, informed consent forms, case report forms, data review plans, and other study-related documents
• Partner with Clinical Directors and cross-functional study teams to ensure study objectives, endpoints, assessments align with development strategy
• Maintain knowledge of evolving scientific literature, treatment guidelines, competitive developments, and emerging therapies within the therapeutic area

Clinical Data Review & Scientific Insights

• Lead ongoing review and interpretation of clinical data to assess patient safety, protocol adherence, data quality, and study conduct
• Collaborate with Medical Monitors and Clinical Directors to evaluate safety signals, protocol deviations, patient profiles, laboratory findings, and efficacy outcomes
• Analyze and interpret clinical trial data to identify meaningful trends and generate scientific insights that support study deliverables
• Contribute to study reports, regulatory documents, publications, scientific presentations, and internal governance materials

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Clinical Operations, Data Management, Programming, Biostatistics, and Regulatory Affairs to support high-quality study execution and delivery
• Provide scientific expertise and guidance to study teams and mentor junior clinical scientists as appropriate
• Effectively communicate complex scientific concepts and study findings to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Influence decisions and drive alignment within a matrix-based global organization

Key Focus Areas

• Strong understanding of autoimmune diseases including biology, pathophysiology, and treatment paradigms for immune-mediated diseases
• Ability to interpret efficacy, safety, biomarker, and patient-reported outcome data within the context of disease-specific endpoints and evolving standards of care
• Experience conducting medical review of clinical trial data and contributing to safety and efficacy assessments
• Ability to translate scientific findings into actionable insights that support clinical development strategy
• Demonstrated scientific curiosity and commitment to staying current with advancements in immunology research, disease mechanisms, and emerging treatment approaches

Education & Experience

Required

• Advanced degree (PharmD, PhD, MD, DO, PA or ANRP) -OR-
• Bachelor’s Degree in life sciences and 5+ years of experience in clinical sciences -OR-
• Master’s Degree in life sciences and 3+ years of experience in clinical sciences
• Experienced with:
  • Protocol development
  • Clinical data review
  • Medical monitoring support
  • Cross-functional drug development teams

Preferred

• Experience in Immunology clinical development

clinicaltrialjobs

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Clinical Data, Clinical Operations, Clinical Research, Clinical Trials, Data Analysis, ICH GCP Guidelines, Protocol Development, Regulatory Compliance, Stakeholder Alignment, Strategic Thinking, Study Design

Preferred Skills:

Leadership, Mentorship, Technical Knowledge

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. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

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:

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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.

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The salary range for this role is

$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. 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

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

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

09/29/2026

*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.