Merck Posted August 19, 2026

Associate Principal Scientist, Toxicology/Study Director

West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America FULL_TIME
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Director

Merck is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Job Description

Job Description:

The Nonclinical Drug Safety department is seeking a   motivated and talented   toxicologist   to conduct and/or monitor toxicity studies (GLP and non-GLP) as a Study Director or Study Monitor.  Toxicologists at our Company are integral members and leaders of collaborative cross functional scientific teams, addressing challenges from early discovery to late development. Our toxicologists provide scientific leadership in the design and overall conduct   of in   vivo studies and integrate the findings from all contributing scientists into reports that characterize the safety profile of drug candidates.

Key Responsibilities

Serve as the single point of control (Study Director) on assigned acute through chronic general toxicology studies across all   modalities.  Interact   with technical, veterinary, and scientific staff to ensure that the study   is in compliance with   the protocol, amendments, Standard Operating Procedures, regulations, safety guidelines, and company policies and procedures.

Critically analyze and interpret data. Integrate data from other areas (e.g., clinical pathology, pathology,   toxicokinetics ) in written reports used for regulatory   submissions, and   communicate results within established timelines.

E nsure regulatory rigor, proactive risk identification, and timely study execution .

Demonstrate enterprise mindset and strategic thinking, proactively identifying opportunities, anticipating challenges, and contributing to solutions aligned with   Nonclinical Drug Safety   organizational priorities.

Build strong   collaborative relationships and influences without authority, contributing to an inclusive team environment.

Deliver high-quality results with accountability and agility, translating objectives into action while continuously improving ,   embracing change, and   demonstrating leadership .

As needed, lead and/or participate in method development, inter-group initiatives, and various related scientific projects.

Education

Master ’s degree   with training in toxicology, pharmacology, or related scientific discipline .

Requirements

Minimum of   8   years of relevant experience .

Minimum of 5 years   as a Study Director in pharma, biotech, or at a CRO .

General toxicology   GLP   Study Direct or   experience with varied models, routes of administration, and study designs.

Demonstrated understanding of Good Laboratory Practices (US FDA 21 CFR Part 58)

Strong interest in collaborating with diverse cross-functional teams and communicating openly and often with colleagues .

Strong listening   and leadership   skills

Ability to communicate clearly using verbal and written formats , including presentations

Preferred

GLP Study Director experience with varied modalities (e.g. biologics and small molecule therapeutics)

Familiarity with outsourced study monitoring

Familiarity with ICH safety guidelines

Required Skills:

Animal Studies, Effective Written Communication, Evaluate Information, Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs), Oral Communications, Proactive Thinking, Study Directing, Study Monitoring, Teamwork, Toxicology

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include 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. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits .

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only:  We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only:  We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE  the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:R413396

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 106 comparable Director Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 25 biopharma companies.

106Comparable roles tracked
100Currently active
25Companies hiring similar roles
10Countries represented

Salary context

43 of 106 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject $142,400/yr – $224,100/yr
Peer group range $129,125 – $322,000 (median $222,550)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 106 comparable roles

United States91
China4
United Kingdom3
India2
Spain1
Switzerland1

+ 4 more countries

Seniority mix

106 of 106 peers have a known seniority level

Principal64
Director30
Senior Director12

Therapeutic area mix

20 of 106 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology11
Cardiovascular / CVRM4
Immunology2
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Neuroscience1
Respiratory1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Louisville, Colorado, United States of America Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Director
Same function Same seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Director / Sr / Exec Dir - Applied Intelligence for Discovery (AI4D)
Lilly · San Francisco, California, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Nonclinical Safety, Pathology
Gilead Sciences, Inc. · Foster City, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Bioprocess / Process Development – Pivotal Drug Substance
Amgen Inc. · Cambridge, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Director, Clinical Pharmacology Modelling and Simulation (CPMS) Oncology
GlaxoSmithKline LLC · Upper Providence, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.