Senior Data Scientist, Imaging Foundation Models

Merck; Cambridge (MA); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 228,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck in the United States is seeking a Senior Data Scientist with strong expertise in computer vision and biomedical imaging to develop scalable imaging foundation models and interpretable pipelines for immunology and oncology biomarker discovery.

You will collaborate with immunologists and pathologists, apply zero-shot/weakly supervised methods, and contribute to platform strategies and companion diagnostics in a hybrid work setting.

Qualifications

• PhD in a STEM field or Master’s with 4+ years in industry.
• Strong expertise in computer vision and medical image analysis, with multimodal data.
• Experience building segmentation, detection, and representation learning models in histopathology.
• Proficiency with Python and PyTorch.

Responsibilities

• Develop and train imaging foundation models for histopathology with immune focus.
• Build segmentation driven and cell-centric pipelines for immune analysis.
• Design interpretable workflows linking image features to biology and endpoints.
• Apply zero-shot and weakly supervised methods to extract immune signals from H&E and IHC data.
• Collaborate with immunologists and pathologists to ensure relevance and interpretability.
• Support imaging biomarker development including companion diagnostics.
• Contribute to platform imaging strategies, QC standards and best practices.
• Share findings through internal forums, publications, and collaborations.

Skills

Computer Vision

Medical Imaging Analysis

Biomed Imaging

Deep Learning

Python

PyTorch

Transformer Models

Vision Transformer (ViT)

Multimodal Data

Image Analysis

Education

PhD in a STEM field or Master’s with 4+ years in industry

Tools

PyTorch

Job description

Within DAGS, our AI/ML team drives innovation across disease areas by building biologically grounded and interpretable imaging pipelines. In Immunology, digital pathology plays a critical role in understanding tissue level immune mechanisms and supporting companion diagnostics. We are seeking a Senior Data Scientist with strong expertise in computer vision and biomedical imaging to develop scalable imaging foundation models and interpretable pipelines for immunology and oncology biomarker discovery.

What You’ll Do

• Develop and train imaging foundation models for histopathology, with a focus on immune‑relevant tissue and cellular patterns.
• Build segmentation driven and cell‑centric pipelines (e.g., immune cell typing, spatial organization, microenvironment analysis).
• Design interpretable modeling workflows that link image derived features to biological hypotheses and clinical endpoints.
• Apply zero‑shot and weakly supervised learning methods to extract immune signals from H&E and IHC data.
• Collaborate closely with immunologists, pathologists, and translational teams to ensure biological relevance and interpretability.
• Support imaging biomarker development efforts, including applications toward companion diagnostics.
• Contribute to platform level imaging strategies, QC standards, and best practices within DAGS.
• Share findings through internal forums, publications, and scientific collaborations.

You Should Have

• PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, AI/ML, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genetics & Genomics, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Pharmaceutical Science, or related STEM field with 0+ years postdoctoral experience or Master’s degree with 4+ years of industry experience.
• Strong expertise in computer vision and medical image analysis and/or multimodal data.
• Experience building and/or applying models for segmentation, detection, and representation learning, ideally in histopathology.
• Familiarity with modern deep learning architectures (e.g., transformers, vision foundation models).
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
• Strong interest in immunology and tissue‑based biomarker discovery.
• Ability to communicate complex technical ideas to multidisciplinary scientific partners.

Preferred Skills And Experience

• Familiarity with clinical or translational imaging biomarker programs.
• Publications in venues such as MICCAI, CVPR, NeurIPS, ISBI, or related journals.

Required Skills

Biomedical Imaging, Computer Science, Computer Vision, Data Science, Data Segmentation, Deep Learning, Digital Pathology, Foundation Models, Image Analysis, Machine Learning (ML), Medical Imaging Analysis, Multimodal, Multimodal Analysis, PyTorch, Representation Learning, Transformer Model, Vision Transformer (ViT)

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.

Requirements

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 EEOC GINA Supplement 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. Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $144,800.00 - $227,900.00. 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.

Benefits

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.

The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

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

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship

Yes

Travel Requirements

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements

Hybrid

Shift

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License

No

Hazardous Material(s)

n/a

Job Posting End Date

09/25/2026

• A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID

R399017