Associate Director Engineering: Electronic Lab Notebook Operations Lead within the Digital Insights team

Job Description

We are a global biopharmaceutical leader with a varied portfolio of prescription medicines, oncology, vaccines and animal health products. We are driven by our purpose to develop and deliver innovative products that save and improve lives. With 69,000 employees operating in more than 140 countries, we offer state of the art laboratories, plants and offices that are designed to inspire our employees as we learn, develop and grow in our careers.  We are proud of our over 125 years of service to humanity and continue to be one of the world’s biggest investors in Research & Development.

We are seeking a Senior Scientist to join our Digital Insights team within the Development Sciences and Clinical Supply (DSCS) Digital Technologies organization. Digital is the multiplier that will allow DSCS to deliver better experiments faster, efficient filing and launch, more robust supply chains and higher-confidence decisions across the portfolio.

The DSCS Digital Technologies organization is responsible for the invention and application of new digital tools/workflows to support scientists across drug substance development, drug product development and analytical development. We aspire to embed digital technologies into the fabric of DSCS culture to drive transformational impact. The tools that we develop are as varied as the teams developing them, and in this Electronic Lab Notebook Operations Lead role, the successful candidate will leverage their experience in software development lifecycle management and operational excellence to lead the operations of an electronic laboratory notebook and a separate archival system to support our company’s pipeline of antibodies, small molecules, peptides, biologics, conjugates, and vaccines. This role will allow the candidate to solve complex operational challenges in supporting the execution of electronic laboratory notebook and related structured data capture systems throughout DSCS.

The candidate will be tasked with collaborating with various stakeholders (IT, quality, colleagues throughout DSCS) to advance new versions of the laboratory notebook system through software development lifecycles, evaluate the operational health and compliance of the system, create and utilize communication plans to inform stakeholders of new features, lead various communities of practice supporting aspects of the system, and design, implement and lead a tiered support model for stakeholders within DSCS. This role sits within the Digital Insights team which is working to digitally enable a decision engine for DSCS, by innovating solutions through strong partnership in the domains of Data Science, Data Analysis, Informatics, Multi-Omics, Predictive Science, and Data Engineering.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain compliant electronic laboratory notebook and a separate archival system through software lifecycle development

• Support audit readiness and represent the business owner as appropriate during audits

• Develop processes to monitor electronic lab notebook health and compliance with local data quality standards and adherence to best practices

• Collaborate with data governance teams to enforce governance policies

• Develop communication plans and utilize appropriate channels to inform stakeholders of new features and changes to existing functionality

• Design, implement and lead a tiered support model for configurational elements within DSCS

• Collaborate with various strategic initiatives throughout the electronic laboratory notebook program and DDT organization

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, Molecular Modeling, Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a closely-related field with at least 3 years of industrial/pharmaceutical or relevant experience

• M.S. in Computer Science, Data Science, Molecular Modeling, Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a closely-related field with at least 5 years of industrial/pharmaceutical or relevant experience

• B.S. in in Computer Science, Data Science, Molecular Modeling, Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a closely-related field with at least 8 years of industrial/pharmaceutical or relevant experience

Required Experience and Skills:

• Experience leading cross-functional interactions

• Experience operating within a regulated environment

• Utilization of dashboards and other data analytics tools

• Excellent communication skills, demonstrated creativity, and effective interpersonal skills

• Ability to deliver complex solutions under compressed timelines in a dynamic environment

• Motivated to learn new skills, willingness to take on new challenges, and scientific curiosity

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience with one or more drug modalities being developed internally such as small molecule, biologics, vaccines, peptides, drug conjugates

• Experience with software development lifecycles

• Experience with operational frameworks

• Prior experience as a business system owner within a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company

• Experience with developing data visualizations (Shiny, Streamlit, Spotfire, Dash, PowerBI, or Tableau)

Required Skills:

Animal Vaccination, Animal Vaccination, Biopharmaceutical Industry, Biopharmaceuticals, Business Management, Change Catalyst, Communication Strategy Development, Computer Science, Customer-Focused, Data Governance, Data Science, Data Visualization, Design Changes, Detail-Oriented, Engineering Principle, Engineering Standards, Estimation and Planning, Identifying Customer Needs, Laboratory Documentation, Manufacturing Scale-Up, Molecular Modeling, Operational Excellence, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Production Optimization, Quality Engineering Analytics {+ 2 more}

Preferred Skills:

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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.

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:

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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.

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The salary range for this role is

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

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:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

07/17/2026

*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.