Merck & Co, Inc

Associate Director, Translational PK/PD

Merck & Co, Inc$156K — $247K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's (8+ years), PharmD (6+ years), or Ph.D. (4+ years) in relevant fields such as pharmacokinetics or biological sciences.
  • Hands-on experience with translational PKPD modeling software like Matlab or R.
  • Strong skills in experimental design and quantitative problem-solving.
  • Experience in drug discovery and development across various therapeutic areas.
  • Expertise in critical data analysis and interpretation.

Responsibilities

  • Lead PK/PD modeling in multi-disciplinary teams to inform drug discovery decisions.
  • Integrate data to develop mechanistic modeling platforms for drug pharmacokinetics.
  • Collaborate to design experimental studies and support drug candidate optimization.
  • Design automated workflows for modeling platforms to guide human PK/PD projections.
  • Mentor junior colleagues and provide scientific insights to enhance team capacity.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive healthcare coverage for employees and families.
  • Retirement benefits including a 401(k) plan.
  • Paid holidays and vacation days.
  • Access to compassionate leave and sick days.
Full Job Description

Job Description

The department of Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, Metabolism & Bioanalytics (PDMB) is seeking a curious and collaborative Scientific Associate Director for our growing Translational PK/PD organization. The Translational PK/PD Associate Director is an expert mathematical modeler and scientist who independently designs and executes analyses with minimal supervision, guiding drug discovery strategy with a focus on biologics, protein therapeutics, and peptides.

The Translational PK/PD Scientific Associate Director will:

  • Serve as expert PK/PD modeler in cross-functional teams, to make model-informed decisions about drug discovery, modality selection, and dose prediction across therapeutic areas;

  • Integrate in vitro and in vivo data to build PKPD, PBPK, quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP), or other mechanistic modeling platforms of drug disposition and pharmacology, to support forward/reverse translation for both established and novel therapeutic targets;

  • Collaborate across our PDMB and broader Discovery / Translational organization to design experimental studies and modeling plans, to identify and optimize drug candidates and guide broader translational strategy across programs;

  • Guide the design of automated workflows for implementing modeling platforms, to inform human PK/PD and dose projections;

  • Provide scientific and modeling guidance to junior colleagues.

In addition to the responsibilities described above, the Associate Director will demonstrate excellent leadership and communication skills, building effective partnerships across departments to guide model-informed drug discovery.

NOTE: This role is available in South San Francisco, CA, West Point, PA or Boston, MA based on candidate preference.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

  • Master's (with 8+ years), PharmD (with 6+ yearS) or Ph.D. (with 4+ years) in pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, mathematics, applied mathematics, systems biology, computational biology, chemical/biomedical engineering, statistics/biostatistics or related discipline and experience with increasing responsibility and independence in drug discovery / development, within industry, academia, regulatory or non-profit settings

Required Experience and Skills:

  • Experience performing hands-on translational PKPD modeling using standard modeling software (e.g., Matlab, OSP Suite, Monolix, R), for discovery / development of biologics, protein therapeutics, and/or peptides
  • Expert skills in experimental design, mathematical problem solving, critical data analysis/interpretation, and statistics

Preferred Experience and Skills:

  • Demonstrated experience working in interdisciplinary teams and in collaborative problem scoping/planning

  • Expertise in developing novel translational modeling strategies or automated workflows that rely on PBPK, QSP, or related mechanistic modeling

#EligibleforERP

Required Skills:

Biologics, Biostatistics, Data Analysis, Data Modeling, Data Science, Drug Discovery Process, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, MATLAB, Peptides, Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacotherapeutics, PKPD Modeling, Proteins, Statistical Analysis, Translational Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics (PKPD)

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply

Current Contingent Workers apply

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 if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

The salary range for this role is

$156,900.00 - $247,000.00

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 employees 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 .

You can apply for this role through (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:

09/30/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFOREthe listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

About Merck & Co, Inc

Schering-Plough Corporation is a major U.S.-based manufacturer of pharmaceuticals. It operates in three segments: Prescription Pharmaceuticals, Animal Health, and Consumer Health Care. Schering-Plough develops products targeting on allergy, cancer, hepatitis, cardiovascular, central nervous system, respiratory system, and more.  It was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering as Schering AG in Germany. Schering-Plough manufactured several pharmaceutical drugs, the most well-known of which were the allergy drugs Claritin and Clarinex, an anti-cholesterol drug Vytorin, and a brain tumor drug Temodar. It also developed drugs targeting on central nervous system and the respiratory system. Schering Plough also owned and operated the major foot care brand name Dr. Scholl's and the skin care line Coppertone. These also became a part of the new company. Schering-Plough was a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), a membership which is also maintained by the new Merck.

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Learn more about Merck & Co, Inc
Size
68,000 employees
Market Cap
$282.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
$7 billion
Founded
1668
5 Year Trend
+4.1%
Revenue
$47.9 billion
NASDAQ

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