Senior Principal Scientist, Pharmacokinetics

Merck; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 194,000 - 306,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) plan

Paid holidays

Job summary

Merck in South San Francisco seeks a Senior Principal Scientist to lead DMPK strategy for drug conjugates and emerging modalities. You will collaborate across discovery biology, translational sciences, clinical development, and toxicology to enable data-driven decisions from early discovery through clinical nomination and FIH execution.

The role requires deep DMPK/ADME expertise, translational PK/PD, and strong leadership to guide program decisions and regulatory strategies.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in DMPK/ADME with strong scientific impact on discovery and/or development programs.
• Deep expertise in ADME, PK/PKPD, bioanalysis, and translational interpretation across modalities.
• Ability to integrate in vitro/in vivo data to enable dose projection and regulatory strategy.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership for DMPK strategy in drug conjugates and novel modalities.
• Represent DMPK on cross-functional teams to guide program decisions.
• Lead fit-for-purpose DMPK screening funnels and translational plans for lead optimization and human dose projection.
• Oversee LM ADME experimentation strategy and capabilities.
• Contribute to portfolio management by identifying DMPK opportunities and risks.
• Author/review nonclinical packages for regulatory submissions and updates.
• Mentor and develop investigators and scientific experts.
• Monitor external advances in conjugates, ADME, and translational PK/PD.

Skills

DMPK

ADME

PK/PD

Bioanalysis

Pharmacokinetics

Pharmacology

Drug Metabolism

In Vitro Assays

Pipelines & Translation

Portfolio Management

Scientific Leadership

Talent Development

Translational PKPD

Education

Master’s (15+ years) or Ph.D. (12+ years) in pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, or related field

Job description

Job Description The South San Francisco DMPK organization is seeking an accomplished and highly collaborative Senior Principal Scientist to provide scientific leadership across drug conjugate discovery and development programs, support strategic portfolio decisions, and advance DMPK capabilities for emerging modalities. This individual will partner closely with discovery biology, translational sciences, clinical development, bioanalytical, toxicology, chemistry, and program teams to enable data-driven decision making from early discovery through clinical candidate nomination and FIH execution. The successful candidate will provide scientific leadership for conjugate DMPK strategy, oversee LM ADME experimentation strategy and capabilities, contribute to portfolio management and prioritization, serve as a program representative in high priority programs and manage a team of principal investigators and biologics scientific experts. The candidate will drive efforts to strengthen DMPK capabilities by tracking advances in conjugates, ADME, PK/PD, bioanalysis, and emerging modalities, while collaborating with internal and external partners to deliver high-impact data packages.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership for DMPK strategy supporting drug conjugates and related novel modalities.
• Represent DMPK on cross-functional discovery and development teams, integrating ADME, PK, PK/PD, bioanalytical, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical pharmacology perspectives to guide program decisions.
• Lead the development and implementation of fit-for-purpose DMPK screening funnels and translational plans to support lead optimization, candidate selection, human dose projection, and regulatory packages.
• Provide scientific oversight for LM ADME experimentation strategy and capabilities.
• Contribute to portfolio management by identifying DMPK-related opportunities, liabilities, resource needs, and decision points across programs.
• Author, review, and present high-quality scientific documents, nonclinical packages as part of regulatory submissions, project updates, and decision-making materials for internal and external stakeholders.
• Directly manage and develop a group of investigators and scientific experts, setting clear scientific expectations, enabling effective prioritization and execution, and fostering continued growth of technical and leadership capabilities.
• Monitor external scientific advances in conjugates, ADME, translational PK/PD, bioanalysis, and emerging modalities, and integrate relevant innovations into internal strategy.
• Collaborate effectively with internal teams, external partners, and contract research organizations to ensure efficient delivery of high-impact DMPK data packages.

Qualifications

Education

• Master's (with 15+ years) or Ph.D. (with 12+ years) in pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacology, bioengineering, chemistry, biochemistry, biological sciences, or a related discipline with significant experience in DMPK, ADME, translational pharmacology, or biologics/conjugate drug development.

Required Experience And Skills

• Extensive experience in DMPK, ADME, pharmacokinetics, translational science, or related disciplines, with a strong record of scientific impact in discovery and/or development programs.
• Deep scientific expertise in ADME, PK, PK/PD, bioanalysis, and translational interpretation, with demonstrated ability to apply these disciplines to complex modalities such as drug conjugates, biologics, or other novel therapeutic platforms.
• Proven ability to design, interpret, and integrate in vitro and in vivo data to enable program progression, candidate selection, human PK projection, dose selection, and regulatory strategy.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a DMPK representative or scientific leader on cross-functional project teams and influencing program strategy through clear, data-driven recommendations.
• Strong understanding of nonclinical-to-clinical translation, IND-enabling requirements, and the role of DMPK data in regulatory submissions and clinical development planning.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex scientific concepts clearly to technical, cross-functional, and senior leadership audiences.
• Strong collaboration, mentoring, and talent development skills, with a commitment to building an inclusive, high-performing scientific culture.

Preferred Experience And Skills

• Track record of scientific leadership, including shaping strategy, solving complex problems, leading matrixed teams, and driving decisions in a fast-paced portfolio environment.
• Experience with small molecule ADME drug discovery applicable to conjugate discovery and development.
• Familiarity with model-informed drug discovery and development approaches, including translational PK/PD, PBPK, population PK, exposure-response, or human dose projection.
• Demonstrated external scientific visibility through publications, conference presentations, consortia participation, or cross-industry engagement.

Required Skills

ADME, Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC), Biologics, DMPK, Drug Metabolism, In Vitro Assays, People Management, Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacology, Portfolio Management, Scientific Leadership, Talent Development, Translational Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics (PKPD)

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.

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:
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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.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $194,100.00 - $305,600.00

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.

Residents

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

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status

Regular

Relocation

Domestic/International

VISA Sponsorship

Yes

Travel Requirements

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements

Not Applicable

Shift

1st - Day

Valid Driving License

No

Hazardous Material(s)

N/A

Job Posting End Date

09/30/2026

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

R410391