Principal Scientist, DMPK

Merck • Boston, MA

3d • $176,200 - $277,300 • Onsite

About The Position

Our company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where our company has codified its legacy for over a century. Our company success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare. At our company, we are inspired by the belief that a research-driven enterprise dedicated to scientific excellence can create medicines that save and improve lives. Every employee is building on our proud legacy of scientific breakthrough. Our ability to impact the lives of patients worldwide depends on the integrity, creativity, humility and scientific acumen of our team. We are creating a different organization that is inspired by invention and founded on a culture of respect and collaboration. At our company Research Labs (our Research & Development Division) Boston, you’ll have the opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills through collaboration with talented and dedicated colleagues while advancing your career. The Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, Metabolism and Bioanalytics (PDMB) group is seeking a dynamic, strategic thinking and collaborative Principal Scientist (director-level equivalent) to contribute to our company drug discovery and early clinical development efforts. This position will be based at our research labs in Boston, MA. The ideal candidate will lead drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic (DMPK) efforts across multiple modalities such as peptides and protein therapeutics as a project-team representative, regularly interacting with multi-disciplinary discovery teams and partners from other functions within our Research & Development Division. Therapeutic area support will focus on our immunology and oncology portfolios, with the potential to contribute to cardiovascular/metabolic, neuroscience and infectious disease efforts as well. The successful candidate will be expected to represent PDMB on cross-functional teams through strategic design of discovery testing funnels, generation and interpretation of PK and PK/PD data sets and through effective communication at both internal meetings and external conferences.

Requirements

• Ph.D (with 6+ years relevant experience) or Master’s (minimum of 10 years relevant experience) degree in biochemistry, chemistry, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical engineering or related field; Relevant experience to include a record of increasing responsibility and independence in a similar industrial/academic setting
• Demonstrated experience leading peptide and/or protein therapeutic (biologics) DMPK discovery efforts as an independent project-team representative within a highly collaborative environment
• Ability to design, optimize and interpret DMPK-related optimization strategies (discovery testing funnels) as part of a broader research operating plan
• Technical ability to analyze, interpret and provide context around data describing the ADME, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties including use of software such as Phoenix WinNonlin
• Experience contributing to development and execution of translational pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic/efficacy relationships and other useful quantitative pharmacology applications in a discovery setting
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, communication, problem solving and collaborative qualities to deliver high quality results in a fast-paced environment

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience performing translational pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic/efficacy and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) software modeling (e.g., Phoenix WinNonlin, Berkeley Madonna, MATLAB).
• Proven track record supporting immunology or oncology-based programs with experience spanning from early discovery through IND-enabling efforts
• Familiarity with structure-activity relationships aimed at improving pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties
• Experience working within a research-driven pharmaceutical company

Responsibilities

• Project-team representative and subject matter expert on multiple modality DMPK activities within the oncology and immunology therapeutic areas
• Characterization and optimization of the in vitro and in vivo ADME and pharmacokinetic properties of peptide and protein therapeutics
• Design, implementation and analysis of in vitro and in vivo studies to understand the impact of drug disposition on disease biology, pharmacological response (PK/PD) and safety
• Contribute to global DMPK strategy through close collaboration with Discovery and Early Development project teams in Boston (MA), South San Francisco (CA) and West Point (PA) focusing on building highly efficient strategies to identify and optimize drug candidates

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

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