Sr Specialist, Data Science

Merck•North Wales, PA

1d•$129,000 - $203,100•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Specialist, US Market Engagement (USME) will be responsible for developing and communicating data-driven and actionable insights that drive greater customer and market understanding to inform brand strategy, help meet in-line brand growth and commercial objectives. This hybrid role requires the individual to be a key partner to the US Vaccines Marketing Team, supporting analytics execution across the portfolio (Adolescent, Adult, and Ecosystem). This person will be business facing and will “connect the dots” across the broader DHH capability ecosystem, partnering closely with teams in market research, forecasting, payer insights & analytics, data science, data strategy, and data solutions. The preferred candidate should have intellectual curiosity, an entrepreneurial spirit, a consultative mindset, and a strong understanding of healthcare & pharma marketing. The person should be able to identify the data, analytics, and research needs to define, enable, and inform commercial strategies of our brand and business leaders. The candidate will have a growth mindset, embody a culture of continuous learning, and possess strong technical and communication skills.

Requirements

A minimum of a BS (or equivalent) in Marketing, Business Strategy, Business Consulting, Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Decision Science, Economics, Engineering, Public Health, or an equivalent scientific/commercial discipline.
Pharma Analytics: Minimum of 3 plus years of relevant knowledge using data science and/or analytical techniques to deliver measurable impact in the commercial pharma landscape.
Pharma Data Assets: Knowledge in mining medical claims/EMR, social media, etc. data with a strategic/inquisitive mindset and a proven record of being able to produce actionable business insights that drive positive commercial results.
Database & Query Skills: Ability to extract data from various database tables using tools such as SQL, Databricks, Dataiku to develop features and datasets to be used in commercial analysis.
Effective Storytelling: Strong communication skills using effective storytelling grounded on data insights.
Methodological Awareness: Ability to provide guidance and help define tactics and strategies to implement targeting and segmentation schemes using predictive and machine learning models.
Presentation Formulation: Comfort formulating actionable insights and recommendations from commercial analytics into presentations (using PowerPoint etc.) and co-presenting results to various levels of franchise management.
Pharma Industry Knowledge: Proven knowledge of business processes and industry/market trends within the pharmaceutical/healthcare space.
Matrix Navigation: Effective organizational and project management skills to navigate a complex matrix environment and organize/prioritize work efficiently and effectively.
Tech-Forward Mindset: Openness and motivation to build skills in AI, machine learning, and automation (specifically learning how agentic AI and automated pipelines can enhance commercial analytics and reporting).
Business Analysis
Data Analytics
Data Science
Data Visualization
Stakeholder Relationship Management
Strategic Planning
Requirements Management
Innovation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption
Brand Growth
Brand Strategy
Business Intelligence (BI)
Business Strategies
Commercial Analytics
Commercial Strategies
Computer Science
Continuous Learning
Database Design
Data Engineering
Data Modeling
Data Science
Data Visualization
Infectious Disease
Machine Learning (ML)
Market Research
Project Management
Software Development
Stakeholder Relationship Management
Strategic Management
Strategic Planning
Waterfall Model

Nice To Haves

An MBA, Master’s, or Doctorate degree in a highly quantitative or commercial discipline is a plus.

Responsibilities

Thoroughly appreciate the assigned internal stakeholder business needs and priorities to help build analyses promoting business objectives by delivering actionable insights.
Be accountable for ensuring delivery of analyses with high quality standards, timeliness, compliance, and excellent user experience (routinely keeping stakeholders and USME leads updated on progress).
Mine and analyze data leveraging advanced analytical/statistical techniques from disparate databases/sources (claims data/EMR Data/Sales/Distributions and other commercial sources) to drive optimization and improvement of therapy area commercial strategies.
Connect the dots across various commercial capabilities (e.g., dashboards, MMx, MarTech capabilities etc) to synthesize cohesive insights and actively inform platform/capability enhancements that directly align with evolving Marketing team needs.
Demonstrate strong interest, baseline mastery, or a proactive willingness to learn next-generation technologies (specifically Generative AI, agentic workflows, and LLMs). Actively identify, pilot, and champion the integration of AI-driven automation to streamline routine reporting, automate data narratives, and drive efficiency within a regulated environment (complying with data privacy and compliance guidelines).
Convey new trends and analytical methodologies being implemented/considered within the company ecosystem and bring new ideas forward that enhance the analytic capabilities of the organization. Contribute directly to innovative experiments, idea generation, and incubation, identifying tangible and measurable criteria to improve business processes and strategies.
Effectively convey analyses and positively influence stakeholders, supporting the USME team by translating data into actionable commercial stories and co-presenting performance readouts to marketing leadership.