Senior Scientist, Protein and Structural Chemistry, Discovery Chemistry Full-time

Structural Biologist Position

Are you ready to embark on an exhilarating career journey that combines innovation, collaboration, and impactful scientific discovery? At our company, a global leader in pharmaceuticals renowned for excellence and groundbreaking research, we are committed to improving lives through innovative medicines, vaccines, and animal health products.

Protein and Structural Chemistry (PSC), a team in Discovery Chemistry (DC), supports protein structural determination from Discovery to Development, agnostic to therapeutic modality including small molecule, peptide, and macromolecules. Furthermore, we elucidate the structural basis of mechanisms of action and perform analyses to support formulation development. PSC is a team of approximately 40 structural biologists who collaborate closely with medicinal and computational chemists, informaticians, mass spectrometrists, biophysicists, protein scientists, and pharmacologists to leverage state-of-the-art capabilities to drive drug design and development.

We are seeking a creative, self-motivated structural biologist with exceptional interpersonal and problem-solving skills to join our growing PSC group. The successful candidate must have expertise in cryo-electron tomography (CryoET), and either X-ray crystallography, Cryo-EM or microED, and will be responsible for all aspects of the experimental process from sample preparation and data collection through data processing, structure determination, and the effective communication of structural analyses with key stakeholders. The position requires active interaction with the external scientific community, including presentations at external meetings and publication in peer reviewed journals. The successful candidate is expected to foster and contribute to a workforce where colleagues and partners feel comfortable bringing their unique perspectives to work.

This position will be located in our newly renovated labs and office spaces within our vibrant research campus in Rahway, New Jersey, our company's headquarters. Our new labs are equipped with three state-of-the-art microscopes including an Arctis FIB-SEM for preparation of samples for cryo-electron tomography, a Glacios, a Krios G4, instrumentation for Cryo-EM grid preparation, access to multiple synchrotrons around the world and frequent, regular access to the IMCA-CAT beamline, and crystallization equipment and automation.

Productive and collaborative interactions with other members of our cross-functional department are required in this role. Inclusive and collaborative use of internal expertise and resources will be essential to success.

There is an expectation for periodic travel.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Ph.D. in structural biology, biochemistry, cell biology or related field.
• Demonstrated experience in a broad range of activities for CryoET, including sample preparation, cryo-FIB-milling, data collection, subtomogram averaging and segmentation workflows.
• Demonstrated experience in another structural biology technique such as X-ray crystallography (including either crystallization screening and optimization, crystal harvesting, data collection, and structure determination for X-ray crystallography) or CryoEM (including grid sample preparation data collection, data processing and structure determination) or microED (including sample preparation, data collection, data processing and structure determination).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills to facilitate team progress and ensure clarity on program status for therapeutic team and management are required.
• Demonstrated strong organizational abilities with a proven track record of managing timelines effectively.
• Ability to design and manage a research project.
• Ability to prepare and publish peer-reviewed research.

Optional Experience and Skills:

• Experience with cell culture and growth of cells on cryoEM grids.
• Experience with processing and imaging tissue samples.
• Experience with cryo-correlated light and electron microscopy (cryoCLEM) workflows for the identification of features of interest and targeted lamellae preparation.
• Experience using gold labeling to identify regions of interest in cryoET samples.
• Experience with structure determination of protein complexes bound to therapeutic molecules.

Required Skills: Accountability, Adaptability, Analytical Method Development, Animal Vaccination, Biogeochemistry, Cell Cultures, Chemical Proteomics, Chemical Synthesis, Chemometrics, Chromatography, Crystallography, Data-Driven Decision Making, Flow Cytometry, Immunochemistry, Immunology, Innovation, Machine Learning (ML), Mammalian Cell Culture, Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics, Microbiology, Motivation Management, Process Analytical Technology (PAT), Project Reviews, Protein Chromatography {+ 4 more}

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. As 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:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement

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 $117,000.00 – $184,200.00. 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.

Regular

Domestic

Yes

No Travel Required

Not Applicable

Not Indicated

No

N/A

02/15/2026

*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.