Associate Principal Scientist, Immunology Discovery

Job Description

The Associate Principal Scientist will lead translational discovery activities through strong expertise in immune cell biology, human disease models, assay development, and data interpretation. The candidate will use primary immune cell systems, ex vivo patient samples, co-culture models, tissue analyses, and multi-omics datasets to build decision-enabling translational packages.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, execute, analyze, and interpret translational experiments to validate therapeutic targets in immunology, inflammation, and autoimmunity.

• Develop disease-relevant in vitro, ex vivo, co-culture, and patient-derived tissue models.

• Integrate mechanistic, pharmacology, transcriptomic, spatial, and biomarker data to connect target biology with disease pathophysiology and mechanism of action.

• Generate decision-enabling data packages to support target prioritization, candidate progression, biomarker hypotheses, and patient selection.

• Apply deep immunology expertise to design fit-for-purpose experiments and address key scientific questions.

• Introduce innovative translational models, technologies, and analytical platforms.

• Represent the function on project teams and communicate plans, progress, risks, and recommendations clearly.

• Collaborate with discovery biology, translational medicine, biomarker sciences, data science, pharmacology, clinical development, academia, and CRO partners.

• Mentor junior scientists through scientific guidance, experimental oversight, and data interpretation support.

• Promote scientific rigor, high-quality documentation, inclusion, and a one-team mindset.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Bachelor's (with 13+ years), Master's (with 9+ years) or Ph.D. (with 5+ years) in immunology, cell biology, molecular biology, translational science, biomedical sciences or related discipline and relevant experience.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Strong foundation in immunology, inflammation, autoimmunity, or related immune-mediated disease biology.

• Demonstrated ability to independently design, troubleshoot, and interpret complex biological experiments.

• Hands-on experience with primary cell culture, immune-cell assays, co-culture systems, tissue models, or ex vivo human sample platforms.

• Ability to analyze biological, biochemical, immunological, and translational assay data and design follow-up studies.

• Clear communication of complex science to multidisciplinary audiences.

• Effective collaboration across functions and ability to contribute to multiple projects in a matrixed environment.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience developing translational models of inflammatory or autoimmune disease, immune-cell activation, tissue inflammation, or immune-mediated pathology.

• Expertise with flow cytometry, cytokine profiling, imaging, multiplex tissue analysis, spatial biology, transcriptomics, or related platforms.

• Experience integrating human datasets with experimental models to define mechanism of action, pharmacodynamic biomarkers, responder hypotheses, or combination strategies.

• Experience supporting drug discovery from target validation through candidate nomination or early clinical translation.

• Familiarity with immune-mediated diseases such as IBD, rheumatoid arthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriatic disease, lupus, asthma, or atopic dermatitis.

• Experience leading external collaborations or coordinating CRO work.

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Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

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The salary range for this role is

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

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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. 

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