2026 Future Talent Program - Sterile Product Development - Co-op

MSD

103d • $39,600 - $105,500

About The Position

The Future Talent Program features a co-op opportunity that lasts up to 6 months and will include one or more projects. These opportunities in our Research Division can provide you with great development and a chance to see if we are the right company for your long-term goals. Our Company Research Lab’s Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Supply organization is responsible for translating a therapeutic agent into a functional drug product optimized for patients. Sterile and Specialty Products is a multi-disciplinary group that enables sterile drug product and process development through application of pharmaceutical science and drug delivery research for clinical candidates. The Sterile Product Development department located in Rahway (NJ) is seeking two co-ops who will work collaboratively in a team environment to help solve key challenges in formulation development of sterile pharmaceutical products of diverse modalities including small molecules, peptides, biologics, and nucleic acids. We are seeking two full-time co-op candidates with strong academic performance, communication skills, teamwork, and the ability to work in a multi-functional environment. The co-op will participate in departmental and project team meetings to learn a broad perspective on the drug development process in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, the co-op student will have an opportunity to present their research results in both oral and written formats.

Requirements

• Candidates must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor's degree (sophomore, junior, or senior) OR a graduate student pursuing a Master's or PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Candidates must be available to work full-time for 6 months from June to December 2026.
• Candidates must have completed a minimum of two (2) years of study toward a bachelor’s degree by June 2026.

Nice To Haves

• Candidates should have basic laboratory skills and research experience, such as: electronic notebook recording, HPLC, spectroscopy, analytical techniques, and safe lab practices.
• Candidates should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Responsibilities

• Utilization of a variety of physical and chemical characterization techniques to develop an understanding of the physicochemical characteristics of small molecules, proteins, and peptides, and associated formulations.
• Utilization of modeling tools to assess formulation stability and performance.
• Development of small-scale in vitro screening systems to predict formulation performance.
• Planning and executing research related to the design, development and characterization of novel drug delivery approaches for drug candidates.

Benefits

• Equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment.
• Prohibition of 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees