Senior Scientist, Biomarker Assay & NGS Innovation

Merck; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 106,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Comprehensive benefits

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Merck in Boston leads biomarker discovery within Neuroscience, focusing on designing and executing biomarker strategies across preclinical to early clinical stages. This lab-based role develops and automates high-dimensional assays to support Go/No-Go decisions and patient stratification for neurodegenerative and pain programs.

The Senior Scientist will drive assay development, biomarker qualification, and data package generation, collaborating with data scientists and cross-functional teams

Qualifications

• Master’s in molecular biology, Biochemistry, Neuroscience, Immunology, Neurology, or related STEM fields with minimum 6 years of relevant industry experience OR PhD in molecular biology, Biochemistry, Neuroscience, Immunology, Neurology, or related STEM fields with hands-on relevant experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in biomarker assay development and implementation in large scale human cohorts and samples from in vivo/in vitro studies.
• Extensive, hands-on expertise in developing de novo ultra-sensitive, multiplexed immunoassays (e.g. O-link), coupled with direct practical experience in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) workflows.
• Proven hands-on expertise in programming and implementing laboratory automation tools and liquid handlers to scale high-throughput immunoassay and/or NGS-based datasets generation.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and thrive in a highly collaborative and cross-functional environment.
• Demonstrated experience with clinical assay validation parameters (accuracy, precision, reproducibility) and regulatory guidelines (FDA/ICH) for biomarker qualification.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design, execute and deliver high-quality biomarker datasets from observational human and preclinical samples in support of pipeline programs in Neuroscience at our company.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and lead the design, development, and qualification of fit-for-purpose biomarker methods, including ultra-sensitive immunoassays and high-plex NGS-based platforms.
• Partner with data scientists to ensure automated workflows yield high-fidelity data for mixed-effects modeling and multi-omics integration.
• Work on-site in the lab and summarize data and status of results with internal and external partners.
• Participate and contribute to the generation of data packages that enable governance decisions for pipeline programs.
• Lead in identifying, piloting, and automating novel high-throughput methodologies for biomarker discovery (robotic handling, flow-cytometry, single cell sequencing, EVs).

Skills

Assay Development

Bioassay Development

Biomarker Development

Biomarker Discovery

Biomarker Identification

Biomarkers

Disease Models

Drug Discovery Research

Flow Cytometry

High-Throughput Screening

Immunoassays

In Vitro Assays

In Vivo Models

Molecular Biology Techniques

Neurodegeneration

NGS

Next Generation Sequencing

Omics

Preclinical Research

Protein Purifications

RNA-Seq

Scientific Writing

Education

Master's degree or PhD in a relevant STEM field

Tools

O-link

NGS workflows

Robotic liquid handling

Single-cell sequencing

Job description

Merck in Boston leads biomarker discovery within Neuroscience, focusing on designing and executing biomarker strategies across preclinical to early clinical stages. This lab-based role develops and automates high-dimensional assays to support Go/No-Go decisions and patient stratification for neurodegenerative and pain programs.

The Senior Scientist will drive assay development, biomarker qualification, and data package generation, collaborating with data scientists and cross-functional teams