Senior Scientist, Biology-Discovery

Job Description

Senior Scientist, in vivo Pharmacology

Job description

The Quantitative Biosciences department is seeking a highly motivated and collaborative individual to join the Translational Pharmacology in vivo team based in West Point, PA. The successful candidate will work with a team of experienced scientists to design, develop, and execute in vivo disease models to evaluate and characterize drug candidates. Areas supported include infectious disease, vaccine, neuroscience, and immunology programs. This is primarily an in vivo lab-based and highly collaborative role requiring a high level of in vivo technical expertise to execute complex animal models. The successful candidate should be able to pick up and master new and complex in vivo techniques quickly and demonstrate strong aptitude, initiative, and a high level of scientific curiosity. Strong communication and organization skills are needed to coordinate and execute complex animal studies. The position may require some off-hours and weekend work.

Responsibilities:

• Be a fully integrated team member with hands on execution of in vivo pharmacological studies including animal handling, dosing (e.g. oral gavage, intranasal/intratracheal delivery, IP, IM, s.c. injections), blood sampling (e.g. tail vein bleeds, terminal cardiac puncture), and necropsy of various tissues for processing and histology

• Experience in lung sampling (bronchoalveolar lavage) is a plus

• Hands on execution of various in vitro and ex vivo wet lab activities such as aseptic technique, formulations preparation, bacterial culture, tissue and blood sample processing

• Logistical coordination of studies: scheduling support staff, arranging formulation pickup and sample drop off

• Optimize efficiency and productivity through effective management of workflow

• Help develop and validate new animal models of disease related to drug discovery programs and projects with the ability to adapt, learn, and master new or more complicated in vivo techniques

• Have a good acumen for running in vivo studies, timely production of quality data and accurate record keeping of experimental designs, protocols, and findings

• Demonstrate strong aptitude, initiative, and a high level of scientific curiosity to work collaboratively across multi-disciplinary teams, ensuring timely communication and delivery of high-quality in vivo data to Therapeutic Area program teams

• Remain compliant with all company required trainings and safety regulations

• Some off-hours and weekend work may be required

Education Requirement:

• Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences + 4 years relevant in vivo research experience, or Master’s degree in Biological Sciences + 2 years relevant in vivo research experience, or PhD in Biological Sciences

Required skills

• Experience with animal handling and multiple dosing routes, (i.e., oral gavage, intranasal and intratracheal delivery, intraperitoneal, intramuscular, and subcutaneous injections)

• Proficiency in blood collection methods (i.e., tail vein bleeds, terminal cardiac puncture)

• Experience performing necropsy

• Hands-on experience with in vitro and ex vivo wet lab activities, (i.e., aseptic technique, sample processing)

• Strong organizational skills to support study logistics

• Ability to manage and optimize experimental workflows

• Ability to master new or more complicated in vivo techniques

• Ability to maintain accurate records of experimental designs, protocols, and findings.

• Strong collaboration and communication skills

• Demonstrates ownership and accountability to work independently with minimal supervision

• Commitment to compliance with all required company training and safety regulations

• Flexibility to work occasional off-hours and weekends as needed.

Preferred skills

• Experience in lung sampling (bronchoalveolar lavage)

• Experience in Immunology preferred

• Novel animal model development

• Aptitude and initiative for experimental design and scientific strategy decision making

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Assay Development, Bacterial Culturing, Biochemical Assays, Biological Sciences, Blood Sampling, Cell Culture Techniques, Clinical Immunology, Detail-Oriented, Drug Discovery Process, Drug Target Identification, Flow Cytometry, High Content Screening, Immunoassays, Immunology, Microbiological Cultures, Molecular Biology, Multidisciplinary Collaboration, Neuroanatomy, Neuroscience, Personal Initiative, Protein Purifications, Teamwork, Tissue Cultures, Transcriptomics

Preferred Skills:

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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.

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

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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:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

08/20/2026

*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.