Translational Medicine Lead - Infectious Diseases

Merck; Rahway (NJ); Hybrid; USD 260,000 - 410,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck & Co. seeks a Principal Scientist (Clinical Director) in Translational Medicine/Early Clinical Development within Infectious Diseases to lead early clinical strategy from preclinical stages through Phase 2.

The role emphasizes collaboration across Discovery Sciences, pharmacology, regulatory affairs, and global clinical trials operations. The candidate should have MD or MD/PhD and a strong translational research background, with proven leadership in cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• Strong background in basic and/or clinical translational research.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams across therapeutic areas.
• Leadership experience in early clinical development strategies from preclinical through Phase 2.

Responsibilities

• Work with basic science teams on diseases and target validation, including preclinical and early clinical experiments.
• Collaborate with discovery scientists, pharmacologists, toxicologists and others to advance therapeutics from preclinical to clinical development.
• Lead early development team with internal and external staff for design and execution of development strategy.
• Lead clinical pharmacology studies across all phases (I–IV), including formulation changes and DDI studies.
• Support regulatory filing processes with supporting documents and presentations.
• Develop and execute studies to validate clinical biomarkers and related platforms.
• Engage with external scientific community and thought leaders to advance program goals.

Skills

Clinical Research

Early Clinical Development

Infectious Disease

Translational Medicine

Education

MD or MD/PhD

Job description

Merck & Co. seeks a Principal Scientist (Clinical Director) in Translational Medicine/Early Clinical Development within Infectious Diseases to lead early clinical strategy from preclinical stages through Phase 2.

The role emphasizes collaboration across Discovery Sciences, pharmacology, regulatory affairs, and global clinical trials operations. The candidate should have MD or MD/PhD and a strong translational research background, with proven leadership in cross-functional teams.