Senior Scientist, DSCS Digital Technologies - Laboratory Automation (Hybrid)

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Scientist to join our DSCS Digital Technologies (DDT) organization, within Development Sciences and Clinical Supply (DSCS), located in either Rahway, NJ or West Point, PA.

Primary Responsibilities:

We are a global biopharmaceutical leader with a portfolio of prescription medicines, oncology, vaccines and animal health products. We are driven by our purpose to develop and deliver innovative products that save and improve lives. With 69,000 employees operating in more than 140 countries, we offer state-of-the-art laboratories, plants and offices that are designed to inspire our employees as we learn, develop and grow in our careers.  We are proud of our over 125 years of service to humanity and continue to be one of the world’s biggest investors in Research & Development.

In the Development Sciences and Clinical Supply (DSCS) organization, we believe digital is the force multiplier that enables faster experiments, smarter decisions, more robust supply chains, and is ultimately redefining how we bring medicines to patients.

Within DSCS, the DSCS Digital Technologies (DDT) team is building the next generation of data-rich, connected lab environments—where hardware, software, and AI-driven tools work together to accelerate pharmaceutical development. Our goal is simple but ambitious: embed advanced digital capabilities into the DNA of how we work. We believe this future starts with a strong foundation of laboratory tools: innovative robotics, process analytical technology (PAT), high-throughput technologies, reliable instrumentation, and integrated systems that seamlessly transition data from the physical labs to the digital world. We believe innovation is fueled by teams that come together to build technologies that truly impact how our scientists conduct research. We’re looking for a Senior Scientist to help make this vision real.

In this role, the chosen candidate will work with a team of scientists tasked with identifying, developing, and deploying digital and data-rich technologies aimed at improving the manner in which process, product, and analytical understanding is gathered. The tools that we develop are as the team developing them, and in this Senior Scientist role, the chosen candidate will leverage digital technologies to enable chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) activities across our company's small molecule, biologics, and vaccines portfolio.

The chosen candidate will leverage digital technologies, hardware integration approaches, and benchtop automation capabilities - focusing on applications within the PAT community - to help advance our scientific research. This includes, but is not limited to, developing custom automation technologies to enable implementation of PAT, delivering solutions for integrating analytical instrumentation and sensors, developing software capabilities across process and product hardware, leveraging state-of-the-art robotics to automate pharmaceutical processes, applying creative data science approaches to enable PAT realization, and inventing innovative data-rich, PAT-focused approaches for pharmaceutical development across modalities and scales. As such, the chosen candidate should have a robust background in analytical technologies, benchtop laboratory automation, and physical and digital integration of PAT tools, with an emphasis on developing creative new solutions to enable the next generation of pharmaceutical processes, product, and methods.

How You’ll Make an Impact

• Design the lab of the future by developing technologies that integrate robotics, analytical instrumentation, and software into cohesive, high-performing solutions
• Deliver world-renowned science by partnering with researchers to understand experimental needs and convert them into scalable digital workflows
• Work at the intersection of multiple disciplines, collaborating with experts in automation, data science, modeling, IT, and the CMC community at large
• Lead high-impact projects from concept through deployment, working across teams and stakeholders to deliver meaningful outcomes
• Continuously improve existing digital technologies and automation platforms to enhance performance, usability, and reliability
• Empower others by providing hands-on partnership, support, troubleshooting, and training to scientists using these technologies

Education Minimum Requirement:

• A Ph.D. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering (i.e., Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical), Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Material Science or a closely-related field (expected graduation by the end of 2026)
• A M.S. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering (i.e., Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical), Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Material Science or a closely-related field with at least 2 years of relevant experience
• A B.S. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering (i.e., Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical), Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Material Science or a closely-related field with at least 4 years of relevant experience

 

Required Experience and Skills:

• Highly-motivated and technology-centric scientist that is passionate about modernizing our company's development practices across biologics, vaccines, and small molecule modalities.

• Background and experience in data-rich technologies in a laboratory setting, including process analytical technology (PAT), benchtop automation, analytical instrumentation and hardware integrations, and software enablement

• Demonstrated scientific ability through publications and presentations in scientific conferences.
• Excellent communication skills, demonstrated creativity, and effective interpersonal skills.
• Ability to deliver complex solutions under compressed timelines in a dynamic environment.
• Ability to work in a team environment with cross-functional interactions.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Background in leveraging a broad range of laboratory automation tools, including development and application of technologies to integrate systems and hardware

• Expertise in process analytical technology (PAT), including designing and deploying integrated sensors and integrating analytical instrumentation – both physically and digitally – in a manner that directly interfaces with a chemical system being analyzed

• Experience in new technology research, including a demonstrated track record of identifying, developing, and deploying digital and data-rich methodologies.

• Collaborative research efforts that are praised by the broader scientific community and are exemplary of a multidisciplinary group.
• Evidence of cross-functional collaboration in an academic or industrial setting.
• Motivated to learn new skills, willingness to take on new challenges, and scientific curiosity.

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Required Skills:

Analytical Instrumentation, Automation, Automation Technology, Biochemistry, Biopharmaceuticals, Data Analysis, Innovative Thinking, Laboratory Automation, Laboratory Techniques, Pharmaceutical Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Process Analytical Technology (PAT), Process Optimization

Preferred Skills:

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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.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

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.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

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:

Hybrid

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

07/8/2026

*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.