Senior PMO Business Analyst - Automation, Analytics & AI (Sr. BA - AA & AI)

Merck & Co.; North Wales (Montgomery County); Hybrid; USD 106,000 - 167,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co. in North Wales, PA seeks a hands-on PMO lead to drive emerging technology, AI, and automation across major change initiatives in GCTO. You will coordinate PMO tracking, ensure best practices, and translate business needs into scalable digital solutions.

The role includes end-to-end delivery of dashboards, automation tools, and AI-enabled processes, partnering with cross-functional teams, ensuring governance and change management to improve cycle time, accuracy and value realization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in life science discipline, business analytics, computing science, engineering, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in data/analytics, process improvement, or technology-enabled transformation within life sciences/healthcare or a comparable regulated environment.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional stakeholders with hands-on project management in a matrix environment.
• Design and deliver automation/analytics/AI-enabled solutions (dashboards, RPA/workflow automation, AI/ML pilots) that yield measurable improvements.
• Ability to translate business requirements into functional/technical specifications and manage end-to-end delivery.

Responsibilities

• PMO project coordination across strategic initiatives.
• AI/Automation strategy development and intake, surfacing high-value opportunities.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of tools and solutions (dashboards, workflow automation, AI-enabled processes).
• Develop project analytics and visualization to track deadlines, deliverables, and resources.
• Governance, compliance, and change management including training and stakeholder engagement.
• Collaborate with functional representatives, automation/analytics/AI partners, IT and vendors as needed.

Skills

Automation

Project management

Data analytics

Cross-functional teamwork

Business process modeling

Communication & influence

Change enablement

Agile/Lean

Stakeholder management

Solutions delivery

Education

Bachelor's degree in life science or related field

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

SQL

Job description

Job Description

The core responsibility of this role is a hands-on project delivery partner and PMO lead for emerging technology, AI, and automation in support of major change initiatives/projects in GCTO. The role will also help coordinate PMO tracking and reporting, and work to ensure technology best practices are being applied across initiatives. They will apply data stewardship and data governance principles in the management of applications. The incumbent may also identify, evaluate, build, pilot, and scale digital, AI, and automation solutions that support GCTO.--

Primary responsibilities for the role include:

Key Responsibilities

PMO project coordination

• Contribute to the ongoing management of strategic process improvement initiatives within GCTO.
• Provide general and project support to project managers by promoting cross-initiative alignment and best practice sharing.

AI/Automation strategy & intake

• Partner across HQ Ops and GCTO functions to surface priority pain points and high-value opportunities for automation, analytics, and AI.
• Lead development of business cases including problem definition, options analysis, solution scope, resource/cost estimates, benefits/KPIs, risks, and compliance considerations.
• Align local opportunities with GCTO priorities; verify with relevant GCDI/central repositories and teams if there are similar tools to avoid duplication; summarize reuse opportunities and recommendations as appropriate.

Solution design & delivery

• Lead and drive the end-to-end delivery of tools and solutions (e.g., dashboards, workflow automation, AI-assisted processes) using appropriate platforms and methods.
• Responsible for escalation to centralized assessment when project requirements exceed local capability or scale.
• Translate business requirements into functional/technical specifications and oversee build, testing, validation, and controlled deployment; ensure security, privacy, and quality.

Project reporting, tracking & analytics

• Develop or oversee development of project analytics and visualization (e.g., GCTO Project Catalog, GCTO Change Management Dashboard, GCTO Pilot Tracker, etc) to track deadlines, deliverables, resources and timelines.
• Define and track project success metrics (e.g., cycle-time reduction, accuracy, adoption/satisfaction, cost avoidance/FTE savings) and embed learning loops for continuous improvement.

Governance, compliance & change

• Ensure solutions comply with ICH GCP, Company policies, and local regulations; partner with Compliance/Legal as needed.
• Maintain project tracking and provide periodic updates via relevant governance forums; support RRO governance processes.
• Lead change management efforts, including training plans, communications, and stakeholder engagement; contribute to capability uplift in data literacy and digital ways of working.

Collaboration & solution scaling

• Serve as a PMO liaison with functional representatives, Automation/Analytics/AI partners, and when required, IT and external vendors for integration and support.
• Share learnings and reusable assets with other functions and project teams; assess and adapt project-specific tools for local use.

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a life science discipline, business analytics, computing science, engineering, or related field.

Required Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in data/analytics, process improvement, or technology-enabled transformation within life sciences/healthcare or a comparable regulated environment which includes:
• Successfully designing and delivering automation/analytics/AI-enabled solutions (e.g., dashboards, RPA/workflow automation, AI/ML pilots) that produced measurable improvements.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional stakeholders, with hands-on project management in a matrix environment.

Preferred Experience

• Experience working across multiple functions or on cross-functional process improvement initiatives.
• Exposure to integrations with IT/data science teams.
• Familiarity with clinical trial processes and operational metrics.
• Compliance/regulatory: understanding of ICH GCP and applicable quality and data protection requirements.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Business process modeling and requirements techniques: e.g., process mapping, user stories, acceptance criteria, functional specifications-
• End-to-end product and solution ownership mindset: with accountability for value delivery across the full solution lifecycle (ideation, MVP, rollout, scaling, maintenance, and retirement)-
• Data literacy and analytics: ability to translate business questions into metrics; hands-on with BI tools (e.g., Power BI/Tableau) and data querying basics (SQL or equivalent).
• Automation/AI awareness: practical experience with workflow automation/RPA platforms; exposure to AI/ML use cases and constraints in clinical operations.
• Program/project management: planning, prioritization, risk/issue management, and delivery at pace; comfortable with Agile/Lean practices.
• Communication & influence; ability to influence across functions and present technical topics to non-technical audiences.
• Change enablement: stakeholder engagement, training, and adoption support.
• Problem-solving & critical thinking: structured analysis, hypothesis-driven approach, and pragmatic delivery mindset.

Required Skills

• Adaptability
• Automation
• Cross-Functional Teamwork
• Data Analytics
• Process Improvements
• Project Management
• Risk Management
• Solutions Delivery
• Stakeholder Communications
• Workflow Automation

The primary location for this posting is:
USA - Pennsylvania - North Wales (Upper Gwynedd)

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:
$106,200.00 - $167,200.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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 .

Additional location(s)

Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information

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

Hybrid

Shift

1st - Day

Valid Driving License

No

Hazardous Material(s)

N/A

Job Posting End Date

11/21/2026

*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

R425959