Senior Scientist, Discovery Pharmaceutical Sciences (On-site)

MSD; Upper Gwynedd Township (Montgomery County); On-site; USD 117,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Long-term incentive

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc. in West Point, PA is seeking a Senior Scientist to guide drug discovery efforts and interact with Safety Assessment, Process Research, Analytical Chemistry, and Pharmacokinetics teams.

The role emphasizes automation, formulation strategies, and cross-functional collaboration across multiple modalities. You will lead high-throughput experiments, develop novel automation solutions, and tackle challenges in stability and bio-performance of drug candidates for preclinical studies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience OR a Master’s with 3+ years OR a PhD with <1 year experience.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.
• Strong leadership and cross-functional teamwork essential.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct high-throughput automated experiments for preclinical characterization.
• Create and deploy automation capabilities to improve efficiency and predictive sciences.
• Address stability and formulation challenges to improve bio-performance of candidates.
• Identify suitable preclinical formulations for pharmacology and toxicology studies across multiple modalities.

Skills

Automation

Automation Tools

Biotherapeutics

Cross-Functional Teamwork

Data Analysis

Design Automation

Drug Delivery

Drug Formulations

High-Throughput Screening

Pharmacodynamics

Pharmacokinetics

Preclinical Research

Preformulation

Protein Purifications

Vaccine Development

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Automation Workflows

Job description

Job Description

The Discovery Pharmaceutical Science (DPS) group based in West Point, PA is seeking a Senior Scientist.

DPS is a multi‑disciplinary research group that provides drug delivery, solid state, solution chemistry, and formulation tools in Drug Discovery and Early Drug Product Development. In this dynamic role, your support will guide our multi‑disciplinary drug discovery efforts in the therapeutic areas at our West Point site. You will closely interact with other key functions required for the progression of clinical candidate selection including Safety Assessment, Process Research, Analytical Chemistry, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics and Vaccines.

Key responsibilities include:

• Design and conduct high-throughput automated experiments for pre-clinical characterization that support structural property relationships and design for delivery.
• Create and deploy novel automation capabilities to drive continuous improvements in operational efficiency, miniaturization, predictive sciences and machine learning.
• Tackle scientific challenges related to physical/biophysical and chemical/biochemical stability of drug candidates and enhancing bio-performance with enabled formulation strategies.
• Identify suitable oral and parenteral preclinical formulations for pharmacology and toxicology studies across a variety of administration routes and modalities (small molecules, peptides, proteins, vaccines, and biotherapeutics),

Position Qualifications:

Required Experience and Skills:

• Successful candidates will have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 5 years relevant experience OR a master’s degree with a minimum of 3 years relevant experience OR a PhD with less than 1 year of relevant experience. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required. Strong leadership/interpersonal skills and a desire to work in a team environment with cross-functional interactions are also essential.

Preferred Experience and Skills :

• Candidates with experience in pre-clinical / clinical formulation development, physico-chemical characterization, executing and troubleshooting automated workflows across a wide range of modalities are strongly preferred. Candidates with specific experience in vaccines development, delivery of novel modalities and design of experiments, are also preferred.

Required Skills:

Automation, Automation Tools, Biotherapeutics, Cross-Functional Teamwork, Data Analysis, Design Automation, Drug Delivery Technology, Drug Formulations, High-Throughput Screening, Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, Preclinical Research, Preformulation, Protein Purifications, Vaccine Development

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

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

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

09/10/2026

*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.