Senior Scientist, Data Science (PDMB)

Job Description

Are you passionate about applying cutting-edge AI/ML to transform drug discovery? The Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, Metabolism, and Bioanalytics (PDMB) department of our company Research Laboratories is seeking an AI/ML expert to help reimagine how PDMB assesses and optimizes drug candidates. You will join a dynamic Data Science team accelerating discovery through advanced analytics, predictive modeling, and decision-support tools.

In this role, you will invent, build, and deploy novel AI/ML approaches to identify and optimize drug candidates with balanced efficacy, safety, and developability profiles. You'll collaborate closely with principal investigators and lab-based scientists to refine experimental designs, generate testable hypotheses, and deliver intuitive visualizations and models at the intersection of translational PK/PD, ADME, bioanalytics, and data science.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and deploy AI/ML models (e.g., active learning, Bayesian optimization, multi-objective optimization) to improve decision-making in preclinical and early development.
• Build robust data pipelines to capture, integrate, curate, and visualize multimodal data (in vitro, in vivo, in silico; PK/PD, ADME, omics, imaging) to enable reproducible analysis at scale.
• Partner with IT data engineers/architects to design scalable, secure data and model infrastructure (data lakes, feature stores, MLOps) aligned with PDMB scientific needs.
• Inform project strategy by guiding experimental design, assay selection, and candidate optimization; communicate model insights, uncertainty, and trade-offs to cross-functional teams.
• Translate complex analytics into actionable recommendations and easy-to-use tools/dashboards for scientists and project leaders.
• Stay current on emerging methods (e.g., foundation models, generative design, causal inference) and evaluate their applicability to PDMB problems.

NOTE: This position is available in SSF, CA; Boston/Cambridge, MA; Rahway, NJ or West Point, PA based on candidate preference.

Qualifications:

Education:

• Ph.D. (or Ph.D. candidate with expected graduation date by March 31, 2026) in Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computational Chemistry, Chemical Informatics, Engineering or related fields with relevant experience.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Proven track record of research with first-coauthor publications at top-notch peer-reviewed journals or conferences
• Strong foundation in statistics and machine learning, including model development, validation, and performance/uncertainty assessment.
• Experience working with high-dimensional, heterogeneous datasets; grounding in data quality, curation, and feature engineering.
• Ability to communicate complex analyses clearly to non-experts and to collaborate effectively in interdisciplinary teams.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Domain knowledge in chemistry, molecular biology, and/or biochemistry; familiarity with PK/PD and ADME concepts.
• Experience with deep learning or generative models for molecular design, QSAR, property prediction, or LLM on scientific text.
• Experience with cloud platforms and data/ML services (AWS/Azure/GCP), containers (Docker), workflow orchestration (Airflow, Prefect), and MLOps (MLflow, SageMaker).
• Ability to influence and enable scientific teams to adopt data-driven methods and positive change.

#EligibleforERP

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:

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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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U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as remote".

The salary range for this role is
$156,500.00 - $246,300.00

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/International

VISA Sponsorship:
Yes

Travel Requirements:
10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid

Shift:
1st - Day

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
N/A

Required Skills:
ADME, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Biochemistry, Chemistry, Data Analysis, Datasets, Deep Learning, Heterogeneous Computing, High Dimensional Data, Machine Learning, Model Development, Molecular Biology, PKPD Modeling, Statistics, Validation

Preferred Skills:

Job Posting End Date:
09/24/2025
*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:R365901