Senior Scientist, Synthetic Purification (On-site)

Merck & Co.; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 117,000 - 184,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co. in Rahway, NJ seeks a Senior Scientist to lead chromatographic isolation from analytical to prep scale for APIs and impurities across small molecules, peptides, ADCs, and vaccines.

You will partner with process chemists and analytical scientists to develop efficient purification workflows, enable the development pipeline, and deliver high-purity materials for further testing and scale-up in a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• PhD in Synthetic Chemistry, Natural Product Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry or related field.
• MS with at least 5 years in Biopharmaceutical industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead chromatographic isolation from analytical to prep scale for API and impurities.
• Collaborate with process chemists and analytical scientists to develop purification workflows.
• Deliver high-purity materials and contribute to pipeline deliverables.
• Translate R&D findings into scalable purification strategies.

Skills

Chromatography

Mass spectrometry

Analytical method development

Purification workflows

Scientific writing

External engagement

Education

Ph.D. in Synthetic Chemistry, Natural Product Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry or related field

MS with 5+ years in Biopharmaceutical industry

Tools

UPLC

PDA

MALS

SFC

MS instrumentation

Job description

Job Description

Our Research Scientists are our Inventors. We identify and target steps in disease mechanisms or pathways that could be inhibited or enhanced. Our goal is to use innovative thinking, state-of-the-art facilities, and robust scientific methodology, we collaborate to discover the next medical breakthrough.

As a Senior Scientist in the multiscale separations team within the Separations Sciences team of Analytical Enabling Capabilities, you will work within a highly collaborative team to enable the advancement of the development pipeline. You will be primarily responsible for chromatographic isolation of pharmaceutical API and impurities from analytical scale to semi-prep scale and prep scale, covering the space of small molecules, peptides, conjugate-based modalities as well as emerging modalities in our portfolio. To accelerate the development of new medicines and vaccines, you will partner with process chemists and analytical scientists to deploy efficient and fit-for-purpose chemical isolation methods, to establish innovative purification workflows, and to deliver high purity materials. As a member of our team, you will be joining a diverse group of scientific problem solvers, who are dedicated to creating the life-changing products of tomorrow.

Education Minimum Requirements

• Ph.D. in Synthetic Chemistry, Natural product chemistry, Analytical Chemistry or a related field.
• M.S. with a minimum of 5 years of experience in the Biopharmaceutical industry.

Required Experience and Skills

• Experience in analytical, semi-prep/prep scale chromatography (RPLC, NPLC, SFC), technologies, instrumentation, and workflows, with demonstrated experience in its applications in chiral, achiral isolation of challenging pharmaceutical mixtures to support a variety of pharmaceutical modalities including small molecules, peptides, antibody-drug conjugates and vaccines adjuvants etc.
• Experience in mass spectrometry and its application in MS-directed chromatographic purification.
• Working knowledge of orthogonal detection technologies, including PDA, Multi-angle light scattering, charged aerosol detection etc.
• Creative problem solving in scientific research and development, with proven track‑record of translating R&D problem solving into impactful pipeline deliveries.
• External scientific engagement that may include a combination of publications, industry white paper contributions, presentations at scientific meetings.
• Excellent scientific writing and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Experience working in the bio-pharmaceutical industry as Postdoc or intern is preferred.
• EligibleforERP

Required Skills

Analytical Chemistry, Analytical Method Development, Assay Development, Biopharmaceuticals, Chemical Synthesis, Chemistry, Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry (MS), Method Development, Purification Methods, Small Molecules, Synthetic Chemistry, Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Technical Writing, Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC)

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.

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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Primary location

USA - New Jersey - Rahway

Compensation range

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

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:
$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

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.

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 .

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.

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

Yes

Travel Requirements

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements

Not Applicable

Shift

1st - Day

Valid Driving License

No

Hazardous Material(s)

n/a

Job Posting End Date

11/13/2026

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

R425747