Job Description

The Director of Oral Formulation Sciences will lead a team of scientists and engineers responsible for the formulation and process development of our oral product pipeline. The individual will be accountable for driving program strategy and translating into effective execution from discovery exit through commercial process definition. The individual stands at the vanguard of commercial product development, ensuring that our capabilities, talent, and operating model are developed and maintained to effectively foster a dynamic and complex pipeline. They will help to create an entrepreneurial culture which values diversity in all its forms as a catalyst to innovation and product creation, recognizes the freedom to experiment and fail, is a safe environment to challenge, nurtures a strong sense of belonging, and motivates all to achieve their potential. Critically, the individual will drive a culture of perpetual adherence to safety and compliance standards. A successful candidate should have extensive drug product development experience, an affinity for hands-on problem solving, and excellent leadership and communication skills.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Drives development of new, innovative approaches for product development, experimental designs, execution of experimental plans and data analysis to impact pipeline development and set strategic direction
• Manages, develops, and grows a team of scientists and engineers, tasked with developing and commercializing the company's oral product pipeline
• Collaborates effectively within and across functional areas and possesses advanced knowledge or experience in oral drug product development. The desired individual is someone who will bring knowledge and creativity to the position as well as have the discipline to drive results.
• Maintains awareness of relevant new and current technologies, capabilities, and effectively shares this knowledge with others
• Drives internal capability development by evaluating new drug product technologies and deploying new technologies to develop pipeline assets
• Establishes and manages expense and capital expenditure financial budgets and forecasts
• Recruits and develops staff, through objective setting, rewards and recognition, stretch leadership and/or technical assignments, and learning opportunities that broaden experience
• Sponsors and drives a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences or related scientific field with a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience or B.S. or M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences or related scientific field with a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience

Required Experience and Skills:

• Knowledge of oral drug product formulation and process development
• Sponsors and drives a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written
• Excellent organizational skills to handle multiple priorities
• Track record of independent problem-solving
• Experience with leading complex teams / matrix management

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience leading development projects at an enterprise level
• Experience with leading complex teams / matrix management
• Strong mentoring capabilities to build individuals and teams
• Demonstrated ability to apply the principles of physical/organic chemistry, physical pharmacy, and materials science to solve practical pharmaceutical development problems
• Recognized as a subject matter expert in drug delivery and/or manufacturing technology
• Demonstrated ability to identify, characterize, and solve development challenges
• Desire to build new capabilities through the evaluation of new technologies and optimization of existing technologies
• Ability to engage others to build a strong scientific community and address drug delivery challenges
• Demonstrated understanding of connectivity between clinical development, chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) and commercial marketing, balancing the needs of patients and ensuring successful launch and stable supply of product
• Encourages others to explore alternative ways to view and solve problems in innovative ways to achieve results

Required Skills:
Chemical Engineering, Data Analysis, Drug Delivery, Executive Presence, Financial Acumen, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Innovation, Manufacturing Processes, Mentoring Staff, People Leadership, Pharmaceutical Development, Process Manufacturing, Product Development, Regulatory CMC, Stakeholder Management, Statistical Design of Experiments (DOE), Technology Transfer, Trend Knowledge, Veterinary Medicine

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.

The salary range for this role is
$173,200.00 - $272,600.00

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:
Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
N/A

Job Posting End Date:
06/12/2026
*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.