Principal Scientist, Preclinical Pharmacology

Merck • Billerica, MA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Principal Scientist / Lab Head, In Vivo Pharmacology reports to the Head of Preclinical Pharmacology and is accountable for the scientific, strategic, and operational leadership of the in vivo pharmacology function at the Billerica site. This role establishes, validates, and applies disease models — including immunological, neurological and additional therapeutic areas— to enable discovery and translational research across the N&I portfolio. The Lab Head directly manages a team of scientists and serves as the in vivo pharmacology subject-matter expert on cross-functional project teams spanning biology, DMPK, biomarkers, translational medicine, and pathology.

Requirements

• PhD (+6 years ) or MSc (8+ years) in Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Immunology, Biology, or a related life science discipline.
• Substantial drug discovery experience in a pharmaceutical or biotech industry setting required.
• Proven track record as an in vivo pharmacology workstream lead on a cross-functional drug discovery team.
• Familiarity with methods and theory of PK/PD, bioanalysis, imaging, pathology, biomarker strategy, and translational science sufficient to integrate these disciplines into coherent study plans
• Experience with more than one therapeutic modality, such as small molecules, antibodies or other biologics, peptides, oligonucleotides, gene-modulating approaches, or cell-based therapies.
• Strong understanding of reproducibility, data integrity, experimental design, and responsible animal research practices.
• Experience with protein-based and molecular biomarker assays (ELISA, MSD, cytokine/chemokine panels, IHC).
• Experience with IND-enabling study design, execution, and regulatory documentation
• Curious across disciplines and comfortable moving between and across disease areas without overclaiming subject-matter ownership.
• Strong scientific communication skills: ability to present data, write reports, and contribute to publications and regulatory documents.
• Experience managing or mentoring scientists, preferably including technical specialists and matrixed project teams.
• Experience managing CRO partnerships and external academic collaborations.

Nice To Haves

• PhD (+8 years ) or MSc (10+ years) in Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Immunology, Biology, or a related life science discipline.
• Substantial drug discovery experience in a pharmaceutical or biotech industry setting required.
• Deep hands-on expertise in in vivo pharmacology across multiple disease areas, including model development, validation, and application in immunology, neuroscience, and at least one additional therapeutic area including rare diseases, metabolic disease; fertility; renal disease; or other complex chronic disease area
• Prior project leadership experience and/or experience leading cross-functional scientific teams and influencing decisions beyond a single disease area or platform.
• Strong understanding of how model choice affects biological interpretation, translational relevance, exposure–response relationships, target engagement, and program risk.
• Familiarity with methods and theory of PK/PD, bioanalysis, imaging, pathology, biomarker strategy, and translational science sufficient to integrate these disciplines into coherent study plans.
• Experience establishing external collaborations, overseeing CRO work, and evaluating partner-generated data
• Significant experience managing or mentoring scientists, specifically including training on highly specialized techniques, training next generation technical specialists and operating within matrixed project teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, execution, interpretation, and communication of in vivo pharmacology studies in immunology, neuroscience and additional disease areas, delivering actionable scientific recommendations that directly inform N&I program progression decisions.
• Establish, validate, optimize, and troubleshoot fit-for-purpose in vivo disease models — including acute and chronic disease-relevant models — to defined validation milestones and reproducibility criteria.
• Build and apply immunological and/or neurological disease models to evaluate efficacy, target engagement, pharmacodynamic response, and translational relevance of novel therapeutic approaches, delivering study-ready data packages on schedule and in compliance with protocol and quality standards.
• Develop translational in vivo study strategies that connect target biology, pharmacology, PK/PD, biomarkers, and disease-relevant outcomes, enabling evidence-based candidate selection.
• Serve as the in vivo pharmacology subject-matter expert on cross-functional discovery and translational project teams, ensuring in vivo data are correctly interpreted and integrated into program strategy.
• Provide clear scientific recommendations on model selection, study design, endpoints, dosing regimens, and program progression to accelerate candidate advancement.
• Contribute to target validation, candidate selection, mechanism-of-action studies, and translational pharmacology packages supporting IND-enabling decisions.
• Hands on execution of in vivo pharmacology studies in disease models — including dosing via IV, SC, IP, PO, ICV, and IT routes, blood and CSF sampling, tissue collection, and necropsy — delivering study-ready samples on schedule and in compliance with protocol and quality standards.
• Perform and support surgical procedures relevant to broad set of pharmacology assays, including but not limited to surgical models, ICV/IT administration, stereotaxic injections, surgical recovery monitoring, and clinical scoring, to define procedural and welfare standards.
• Support in vivo pharmacology studies by conducting broad, standardized assessments of functional, behavioral, and physiological endpoints across preclinical disease models, enabling robust evaluation of treatment-related effects.
• Support biomarker strategy execution, including fluid, tissue, molecular, inflammatory, and translatable biomarker readouts.
• Manages CRO partnerships and external study execution, extending the laboratory’s capacity and geographic reach, ensuring program timelines are maintained without compromising scientific standards.
• Champions IACUC, AAALAC, and GLP compliance across the in vivo function.
• Directly manages a team of scientists with full accountability for performance management, scientific development, technical, hands-on training and day-to-day operational oversight.
• Maintains the scientific and cultural standards for the in vivo pharmacology function, builds team capability through coaching and structured development planning, and represents the in vivo function at the project team level.

Benefits

• We are committed to creating access and opportunities for all to develop and grow at your own pace.
• Join us in building a culture of inclusion and belonging that impacts millions and empowers everyone to work their magic and champion human progress!
• Apply now and become a part of a team that is dedicated to Sparking Discovery and Elevating Humanity!

What This Job Offers

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