Associate Scientist, Bio Process

Merck • Upper Gwynedd Township, PA

3d • $71,900 - $113,200 • Hybrid

About The Position

Applications are sought for an opportunity in the Vaccine and Advanced Biotechnologies Process R&D department (VaxPRD), which is part of our company's Research Labs division, Inc. The individual will support our company's discovery & development efforts for Vaccine programs at West Point, PA. Vaccines and Advanced Biotechnologies Process R&D (VaxPRD) is responsible for the development and clinical manufacturing of Drug Substance (DS) and Drug Product Intermediates (DPI) for the vaccine and advanced therapy pipeline, spanning from preclinical to commercialization stages. We are part of the Process R&D organization, which enables modality-agnostic DS/DP process development and clinical manufacturing for our company's pipeline. Our vaccines upstream process development team develops safe, scalable, robust, cost-effective upstream processes that enable clinical and commercial manufacture of vaccines and adjuvants across all vaccine modalities. Under the direction of the group leader, the individual will be responsible for upstream process development of vaccine candidates. The successful candidate is expected to work with other upstream scientists and engineers, typically focusing on one to two vaccine programs at a time. The candidate must have the ability to work independently and as part of a team, self-motivation, adaptability, and a positive attitude. The candidate must have the ability to learn new techniques, to balance multiple projects, to keep accurate records, to follow instructions, and to comply with company policies. The successful candidate will possess proven ability to work in a hands-on laboratory setting and excellent organization, interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.

Requirements

• Must have a basic scientific understanding of fermentation and cell culture bioprocesses.
• Scientific understanding of cell biology for vaccine production including cell metabolism and molecular biology.
• Technical understanding of bioprocess control and scaling principles.
• Position requires employee to be willing to work with infectious agents and/or pathogens.
• Position requires occasional travel and off-hour/weekend work.

Nice To Haves

• Prior hands-on bioprocess development experience through academic lab or industry internship/co-op, or prior job role
• Prior experience with lab scale (250 mL-200 L) bioreactors
• Prior experience with fermentation bioprocesses (e.g., E. coli, yeast) or mammalian bioprocesses (e.g., CHO, HEK293, Vero)
• Basic data literacy (statistics, data science, and modeling techniques)

Responsibilities

• Execute, and analyze process development experiments to maximize understanding of cell culture and fermentation processes to enable robust vaccine manufacturing.
• Contribute to developing process control methods and process analytical technologies (PAT).
• Conduct laboratory bench work to execute, optimize, and troubleshoot cell culture and fermentation processes (e.g., shake flasks, bench scale and pilot scale bioreactors).
• Apply data analysis and basic data science approaches (e.g., statistics, design of experiments) to design experiments, interpret datasets, and support process understanding and optimization.
• Contribute to the development and scale‑up of upstream processes from lab scale to pilot scale and support technology transfer to manufacturing scale.
• Perform upstream unit operations as needed, including lab scale cell culture, fermentation, centrifugation, filtration, and in-process assays.
• Maintain and coordinate raw material and equipment inventories; ensure equipment is operated and maintained in a safe, compliant manner.
• Prepare clear technical reports and presentations to summarize and communicate experimental results and recommendations in a collaborative team environment.
• Keep accurate, detailed laboratory records; comply with all required training and maintain a strong focus on laboratory/facility safety for self and team members.
• Analyze, summarize, and present experimental results in a collaborative team environment

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays
• vacation
• compassionate and sick days

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level