Principal Scientist, Pharmacokinetics

Job Description

Position description:

Our Company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where our Company has codified its legacy for over a century. Our Company’s success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.

At our Company, we are inspired by the belief that a research-driven enterprise dedicated to scientific excellence can create medicines that save and improve lives. Every employee is building on our proud legacy of scientific breakthrough. Our ability to impact the lives of patients worldwide depends on the integrity, creativity, humility, and scientific acumen of our team. We are creating a varied organization that is inspired by invention and founded on a culture of respect and collaboration. At our Research & Development division in South San Francisco, you’ll have the opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills through collaboration with talented and dedicated colleagues while advancing your career.

The SSF Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, Metabolism and Bioanalytics (PDMB) group is seeking an experienced Principal Scientist to contribute to our Company’s biologics, drug conjugates, and novel modality discovery and development pipeline. The ideal candidate will represent PDMB in project teams across multiple therapeutic areas, including Oncology, Cardiovascular metabolic disease, and Immunology. The candidate will develop a project team specific adaptable PDMB screening funnel and work closely with ADME, discovery bioanalytics and modeling partners to support lead identification/optimization, enable FIH translation, and compile non-clinical packages to support regulatory filing. The candidate will collaborate effectively with cross-functional partners in project teams to facilitate program progression through science-based decision making. The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and possess excellent scientific, interpersonal, and communication skills. Additionally, the candidate will influence DMPK strategy and new capability buildout.

Key Responsibilities of the Principal Scientist:

• Project-team representative and subject matter expert for biologics drug discovery and development, including but not limited to drug conjugates, multi-specific biologics, and novel modalities. Contribute to overall team strategy and lead the formation and execution of team-specific PDMB workflow.

• Design in vitro and in vivo mechanistic and translational studies to evaluate the pharmacokinetic and metabolic properties of therapeutic proteins, such as drug conjugates and other modalities, to influence drug design, lead selection, and drive PK/PD translations.

• Accountable for providing timely and high-quality PDMB data deliverables to teams.

• Author regulatory documents from FIH through registrational filing.

• Partner across multidisciplinary interfaces and provide strategic DMPK guidance and support to drive new drug discovery and development.

• Contribute to departmental scientific initiatives and strategies

• Foster a high-performance culture of innovation, collaboration, engagement, self-accountability, and inclusion.

• Stay abreast of external scientific advancements and contribute to the evaluation and implementation of new technologies and methodologies in DMPK for drug discovery.

Position qualifications:

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Ph.D. in a relevant scientific discipline (e.g., Pharmacokinetics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biology, or related field) with a minimum of 8 years of industry experience.

• MS Degree with a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience.

 

Required Experience and Skills

• Demonstrated team-facing experience leading DMPK efforts in biologics and conjugate discovery teams.

• A proven track record of setting strategies and priorities and managing resources as an independent project-team representative within a highly dynamic and collaborative environment.

• Proficiency in analyzing, interpreting, and providing context around data describing the DMPK and PKPD properties of therapeutic proteins; ability to extract preclinical PKPD/efficacy relationships and translate PKPD in humans.

• Demonstrated ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams and communicate DMPK findings to inform decision-making in drug discovery and development.

• Strong problem-solving and leadership skills, highly motivated and self-driven with a keen interest in staying at the forefront of DMPK science and technology.

• Demonstrated experiences in mentoring and training junior scientists with a mindset of fostering variety and inclusion within the scientific community.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Prior experience with multiple therapeutic modalities (e.g. small molecules, peptides, etc) and/or novel modalities.

• Prior experience evaluating the biodistribution of large molecules in preclinical species.

• In-depth understanding and experience in discovery bioanalytical science, including immunoassay, LC/MS.  

• Demonstrated experience in translatable in vitro cellular models, biophysics/biochemistry assays and/or in vivo models.

• Understanding of modeling principles.

Required Skills:

ADME, Biochemical Analysis, Biophysics, Cross-Functional Teamwork, Detail-Oriented, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), Drug Metabolism, Immunoassays, Innovation, Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), Mentoring Staff, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, PKPD Modeling, Therapeutic Proteins

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

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

$176,200.00 - $277,300.00

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

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

07/22/2026

*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.