Job Description
Our company's South San Francisco research laboratory is seeking a highly motivated, energetic, and skilled Senior Scientist (R3) with a strong in-vitro background in biology, biochemistry, or pharmacology to join the Cardio-Metabolic Disease (CMD) department. This is a hands-on, lab-facing role, providing in-vitro expertise to metabolic and endocrine disease-related exploratory and pipeline programs, with flexible skill sets to meet our current and future needs.
The individual will independently design, execute, analyze, and interpret complex in-vitro studies to support target identification, validation, and therapeutic development. The successful candidate will also possess a strong sense of intellectual curiosity to expand their technical expertise at the bench, as well as effective written and interpersonal communication skills to explain complex experiments and biological concepts to a broader scientific team.
Key Responsibilities:
Design, perform, troubleshoot, document, analyze, and interpret in-vitro experiments, with minimal supervision, to support and/or lead multiple exploratory activities and pipeline projects.
Develop and validate complex in-vitro models and establish sets of in-vitro assays, suitable for the mechanistic investigation of potential targets, as well as evaluation of therapeutic candidates, for metabolic and endocrine diseases.
Work independently in executing tightly controlled experiments and presenting high-quality data to multi-disciplinary project teams.
Identify and implement opportunities to reduce timelines, improve throughput, and increase operational efficiency.
Stay current with emerging scientific and technological advances relevant to metabolic and endocrine diseases.
Contribute to the internal and external scientific visibility of the Obesity and Metabolism Group through presentations, publications, and scientific engagement.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Education:
Bachelor’s (with 7+ years), or Master’s (with 4+ years) in Biology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, or related discipline with the indicated years of relevant industry experience.
Required Experience and Skills:
Experience in more than one of the following areas: target identification, target validation, quantitative assay development, metabolic diseases, neuro-endocrine diseases.
Expertise in working with more than one type of disease-relevant human primary cell or cell line (e.g. adipocytes, hepatocytes, myocytes, osteocytes, endocrine cells) in both routine and complex assay systems.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities while maintaining scientific rigor and attention to detail.
Professional level of communication of data, with skills in collaboration and cross-functional partnership.
Deep scientific curiosity and analytical mindset with a drive to understand biology and mechanism of action, while aligning their work with project goals and business needs.
Preferred Experience and Skills:
Experience working with GPCR targets, and developing quantitative, 96-well and 384-well plate cell-based assays.
Mastered several standard biochemistry and molecular biology techniques (e.g. mRNA isolation, qRT-PCR, ELISA, HTRF, AphaLISA, Our company, western-blotting).
Expertise in developing metabolic disease-relevant in-vitro phenotypic and functional assays (e.g. calcium flux, cAMP/IP1 accumulation, beta-arrestin, receptor dimerization, glucose uptake, lipid uptake, lipolysis, Seahorse, high-content imaging through cell-painting or immunofluorescence staining).
Vast experience in titrating various modes of target modulation (e.g. small molecules, peptides, antibodies, antibody-peptide conjugates, siRNA, viral-vectors).
Demonstrated ability to employ AI agents and LLMs for hypothesis generation, literature synthesis, experimental design, complex data analysis, or competitive intelligence.
#EligibleforERP
Required Skills:
Assay Development, Biochemical Assays, Cell Culture Techniques, Drug Target Identification, High Content Screening, Immunoassays, Immunology, Metabolic Diseases, Molecular Biology, Neuroendocrinology, Primary Cell Culture, Protein Purifications, Quantitative Assay, Target Validation
Preferred Skills:
G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), High-Throughput Screening
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Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
The salary range for this role is
$131,400.00 - $206,800.00
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
VISA Sponsorship:
Yes
Travel Requirements:
No Travel Required
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Not Applicable
Shift:
Not Indicated
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
BSL2, OEB4, OEB5, bloodborne pathogens
Job Posting End Date:
08/31/2026
*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.
