Scientific Associate Director, Induced Proximity Biology

The businesses of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany•Billerica, MA

5d•$175,000 - $242,000•Onsite

About The Position

EMD Serono is seeking a scientific leader with expertise in cancer biology and functional genomics to lead laboratory efforts and advance target identification, validation, and in vitro assay development, with emphasis on chemical biology and induced proximity. The role owns and drives technical strategy across the Research Unit (RU), combining expert hands-on laboratory research with mentorship of junior colleagues and cross-functional impact across project teams. The position works within the Oncology Research Unit and cross-functionally with the Drug Discovery Technology organization and other experts across the company. It reports to the Head of Target Discovery and Research. The role is onsite in Billerica, Massachusetts, and requires approximately 10% domestic and international travel. The position does not offer work-authorization sponsorship; external applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.

Requirements

PhD in Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Chemical Biology, or a related field.
7–10+ years of industry experience focused on innovation in cancer research.
Evidence of high productivity in the laboratory.
High-level expertise in functional genomics, cell biology, target identification and validation, and data analysis.
Evidence of organizational impact in prior roles through applying innovation and novelty to key scientific problems.
Demonstrated ability to lead a project through both hands-on and cross-functional contributions.
Demonstrated productivity and creativity in academic and industrial settings.
Ability to perform hands-on laboratory research and mentor others in advanced laboratory approaches.
Experience leading across cross-disciplinary project teams and driving adoption of new modalities and approaches.
Strategic thinking and excellent ability to read and apply scientific literature to questions in cancer biology.

Nice To Haves

Prior or current expertise in induced proximity, ideally in a company setting.
Track record of mentoring productive junior scientists with a sense of urgency.
Basic knowledge of applications of artificial intelligence to drug discovery.
Ability to direct overall project strategy at an expert level.
Outstanding critical-thinking, presentation, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

Drive strategy, design, and execution of experiments to nominate new targets and approaches for induced proximity, chemical biology, and functional genomics discovery research in Oncology.
Serve as a hands-on expert and owner of novel approaches to engineer cellular and other model systems to validate and prosecute new targets and chemical modalities.
Drive technical strategy in the Research Unit by developing creative solutions to complex biological problems and promoting innovative methods that extend discovery capabilities.
Mentor and work alongside junior scientists to develop high-quality datasets that support program decision-making.
Serve as an expert partner across multiple Research Unit project teams and with key external stakeholders.
Contribute to broad organizational impact through the evolution of a pipeline of induced-proximity-focused assets.