Skip to main contentA logo with &quat;the muse&quat; in dark blue text.

Associate Principal Scientist, Custom Automation in Data-Rich Experimentation

AT Merck
Merck

Associate Principal Scientist, Custom Automation in Data-Rich Experimentation

Spring House, PA

Job Description

We are seeking an Associate Principal Scientist to join our Data-Rich Experimentation (DRE) organization, within Process Research & Developing Enabling Technologies (PR&D ET), located in West Point, PA.

Primary Responsibilities:

In this role, the chosen candidate will work with a team of scientists tasked with identifying, developing, and deploying data-rich technologies aimed at improving the manner in which process understanding is gathered. The tools that we develop are as diverse as the team developing them, and in this Associate Principal Scientist role, the chosen candidate will leverage automation technologies to enable our process research and development efforts across our Company's small molecule, biologics, and vaccines portfolio.

Want more jobs like this?

Get Software Engineering jobs in Spring House, PA delivered to your inbox every week.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.


Our DRE organization is responsible for the invention and application of new data-rich tools to support the scientists across process research and development at our Company. We aspire to embed data-intense technologies into the fabric of our Company's process development culture. This Associate Principal Scientist role is a scientific position tasked with solving complex process research and development challenges in an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment via invention, development, and application of innovative laboratory automation tools. Ultimately, using cutting-edge automation and integrated systems and hardware capabilities, we aim to elucidate a deeper understanding of our processes across diverse medicines and vaccines.

In this Associate Principal Scientist role, the chosen candidate will leverage laboratory automation capabilities to help advance process-focused scientific research. This includes, but is not limited to, developing custom automation technologies to enable process development, delivering solutions for integrating diverse hardware and software capabilities across process and analytical equipment and instrumentation, leveraging state-of-the-art robotics to automate mechanical systems, sensors, and other laboratory tools, and inventing innovative automation approaches to enable process development across modalities (i.e., small molecules, biologics, and vaccines) and scales (i.e., high-throughput scale, laboratory scale, and commercial scale). As such, the chosen candidate should have a robust background in automation technologies, with an emphasis on developing creative new solutions to enable the next generation of pharmaceutical processes.

In addition to a passion for automation, the chosen candidate should have excellent interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills. The chosen candidate should embrace and model our core values of diversity and inclusion, including fostering a supportive culture where all can thrive. The chosen candidate should be able to effectively collaborate in a dynamic, integrated, and multidisciplinary team environment. The chosen candidate should demonstrate a clear ability to perform impactful scientific innovation in a team-oriented manner that builds trusted partnerships across vast stakeholder networks. The chosen candidate should have a demonstrated ability to publish and present research, including an established track record of interaction with the broader academic community. The chosen candidate will join a diverse group of scientific problem solvers who are dedicated to creating the life-changing medicines and vaccines of tomorrow.

Education Minimum Requirement:

  • A Ph.D. in Engineering (i.e., Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical), Mechatronics, Robotics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences or a closely-related field with at least 3 years of relevant experience
  • A M.S. in Engineering (i.e., Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical), Mechatronics, Robotics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences or a closely-related field with at least 5 years of relevant experience
  • A B.S. in in Engineering (i.e., Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical), Mechatronics, Robotics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences or a closely-related field with at least 7 years of relevant experience

Required Experience and Skills:

  • Background and experience in laboratory automation tools and technologies.
  • Highly-motivated and technology-centric scientist that is passionate about modernizing our Company's process development practices across biologics, vaccines, and small molecule modalities.
  • 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 custom automation tools, including development and application of technologies to integrate diverse systems and hardware
  • Expertise in robotics and mechatronics, including designing and deploying integrated sensors, mechanical systems, instrumentation, and process- and analytical-focused equipment
  • Experience in new technology research, including a demonstrated track record of identifying, developing, and deploying data-rich tools and 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.

NOTICE FOR INTERNAL APPLICANTS

In accordance with Managers' Policy - Job Posting and Employee Placement, all employees subject to this policy are required to have a minimum of twelve (12) months of service in current position prior to applying for open positions.

If you have been offered a separation benefits package, but have not yet reached your separation date and are offered a position within the salary and geographical parameters as set forth in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) of your separation package, then you are no longer eligible for your separation benefits package. To discuss in more detail, please contact your HRBP or Talent Acquisition Advisor.

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.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas 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

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".

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:
Yes

Travel Requirements:
10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:
Not Applicable

Shift:
Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
n/a

Job Posting End Date:
10/18/2024
*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.

Job Posting End Date:10/18/2024

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:R310046

Client-provided location(s): West Point, PA, USA
Job ID: Merck-1478187921
Employment Type: Full Time