Principal Scientist, Environmental & Process Safety Engineering Full-time

Environmental & Process Safety Engineering Position

The Environmental & Process Safety Engineering (EPSE) group within the Chemical Engineering Research & Development department (CERD), part of the Process Research and Development (PR&D) organization, is seeking highly motivated individuals who are looking for an opportunity to work in a fast-paced job that provides a high degree of technical responsibility. This position will lead and carry out independent work conceiving, designing, planning, and implementing advanced small scale laboratory studies aimed at characterizing the hazards associated with the process and materials used to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and intermediates at all scales, from the laboratory to commercial manufacturing. Specific areas include thermal hazard assessment and potential for gas generation with a variety of calorimeters such as SuperCRC, Insight, EZMax and RC1, and modeling for scale-up. This role is a leadership role within EPSE and is an on-site position located in our Rahway, NJ location.

This position requires expertise in laboratory instruments and techniques, managing the workflow of requests for testing and guidance, organizing collaboration to complete testing and issuing reports to document results. The individual in this position is expected to interpret and apply safety and environmental regulations and make scientific contributions to research programs of major importance to our Company's Research and Manufacturing Divisions. This position is seeking an individual who is a subject matter expert in the specific field of chemical process safety testing including scaleup experience from the laboratory to a pilot plant and/or a commercial site. As such, a deep understanding/exposure of organic chemistry and chemical engineering principles, and exposure to process safety and/or small molecule API scale-up is required.

A high level of innovation and creativity are necessary to adapt to evolving technologies and tools. Also, a high level of self-initiative, attention to detail, and ownership along with the ability to plan and organize activities is expected. Successful candidates will be required to communicate regularly, clearly, and with confidence as they discuss technical problems, provide oversight to laboratory, pilot plant and commercial manufacturing operations, and interface with cross-functional colleagues such as chemistry, chemical engineering, facility and/or site EHS to influence process development and drive a safer process design.

This leadership role for EPSE function is a scientific supervisor for several chemists and chemical engineers. This individual is expected to lead multiple projects simultaneously in EPSE to define commercial process by working with chemists and chemical engineers within PR&D in addition to other EPSE technology development assignments. As such, demonstrated multitasking skills are essential.

Position Qualifications

The position requires either a BS and/or MS in Chemistry or Chemical/Biochemical Engineering (or comparable) from an accredited college/university plus at least 11 years of relevant work experience in process development, or a PhD in Chemistry or Chemical/Biochemical Engineering (or comparable) from an accredited college/university with at least 6 years of relevant work experience post PhD defense.

Required Experience and Skills:

For BS/MS candidates, at least 11 years of relevant work experience post-graduation – OR – for PhD candidates with at least 6 years of relevant work experience post PhD defense, where relevant work experience would include the following:

• Experience performing laboratory-based research/process development in process safety.
• Experience with process scale-up and/or technology transfer, moving from laboratory to pilot plant or production scale.
• Highly effective communication and collaboration skills.
• Good organizational, interpersonal, writing, multitasking, and time management skills.
• Project management experience.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience with thermal analysis techniques including differential scanning and reaction calorimetry.
• Experience with evaluating process safety including risks of thermal decomposition, gas generation, vent sizing, static/conductivity, or dust explosivity; industrial hygiene risk assessments.
• Experience with process and/or process safety modeling.
• Experience with in-situ or off-line analytical techniques such as FTIR, Raman, and/or GC/HPLC
• Scientific supervisory experience

Required Skills:

Accountability, Chemical Engineering, Chemical Technology, Clinical Manufacturing, Creativity, Cross-Functional Teamwork, Decision Making, Detail-Oriented, Downstream Processing, Driving Continuous Improvement, Environmental Engineering, Fast-Paced Environments, Industrial Hygiene, Innovation, Laboratory Techniques, Machine Learning (ML), Manufacturing Scale-Up, Mentorship, Organic Chemistry, Process Characterization, Process Control, Process Design, Process Optimization, Process Safety

Preferred Skills:

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. 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.

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.