Merck KGaA Posted August 15, 2026

Director Real World Evidence Scientist (Oncology) (all genders)

Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany FULL_TIME
Biostatistics & Data Science Oncology Director

Merck KGaA 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

Work Your Magic with us!

Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us.

United As One for Patients, our purpose in Healthcare is to help create, improve and prolong lives. We develop medicines, intelligent devices and innovative technologies in therapeutic areas such as Oncology, Neurology and Fertility. Our teams work together across 6 continents with passion and relentless curiosity in order to help patients at every stage of life. Joining our Healthcare team is becoming part of a diverse, inclusive and flexible working culture, presenting great opportunities for personal development and career advancement across the globe.

This position can be filled either in Switzerland (Eysins) or Germany (Darmstadt) in a hybrid format.

Your role

Real-world evidence is reshaping how medicines are developed, approved, and valued, and in this role, you will be at the forefront of that transformation. As a Director Real-World Evidence Scientist in Oncology, you will own and drive the end-to-end RWE strategy for one or more complex, high-priority oncology programs, operating as a recognized scientific authority across the organization and beyond.

You will define and lead the integration of RWE into clinical development and regulatory strategies, working directly with global program teams and cross-functional partners across clinical, regulatory, market access, and commercial functions. You will design, initiate, and oversee non-interventional studies, from protocol development through to study reporting, and ensure the selection of fit-for-purpose real-world data sources that address critical research questions. Your scientific judgment will directly inform decision-making at the most senior levels of the organization.

Beyond program delivery, you will represent the organization in interactions with health authorities, contribute to peer-reviewed publications, and present at international conferences, actively shaping the external scientific landscape. You will also champion methodological innovation, drive process improvements, and serve as a scientific mentor to colleagues within the function, contributing to a culture of rigor, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Who you are

You hold a Master’s degree or PhD in Epidemiology, Public Health, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Biostatistics, or a related discipline, and bring 8 or more years of RWE experience gained in a pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or contract research organization setting.

You have deep expertise in studies based on secondary data use, including claims data, electronic medical records, and registries, across multiple healthcare environments (Europe, US, and/or Asia), as well as experience in primary data collection.

You are proficient in working with federated data networks and familiar with data standards such as OMOP CDM or FHIR, and bring strong methodological skills spanning epidemiology, pharmacology, and pharmacovigilance.

You have a proven track record of leading RWE strategy at a global program level, navigating complex, matrixed organizations and collaborating effectively across clinical development, regulatory affairs, and market access functions.

You bring experience in regulatory and/or payer submissions and interactions, and a thorough understanding of the evolving regulatory environment for RWE.

You communicate with clarity and confidence, translating complex scientific content for diverse audiences, including senior leadership and external stakeholders, and you are fluent in English.

Ideally, you also bring experience with AI/ML applications in RWE (including NLP), patient-reported outcomes (PRO), health technology assessment, and a track record of thought leadership through publications, conference presentations, or advisory roles.

What we offer: We are curious minds that come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe that this variety drives excellence and innovation, strengthening our ability to lead in science and technology. 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!

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
Biostatistics & Data Science
Therapeutic area
Oncology
Location
Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Biostatistics & Data Science role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 44 comparable Director Biostatistics & Data Science roles across 19 biopharma companies.

44Comparable roles tracked
42Currently active
19Companies hiring similar roles
8Countries represented

Salary context

17 of 44 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 Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Principal Computational Statistician · Lilly $66,000/yr – $193,600/yr
Highest disclosed · Scientific Director, Clinical and Real World Evidence · AbbVie $211,000/yr – $400,500/yr
Peer group range $129,800 – $305,750 (median $218,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 44 comparable roles

United States31
Japan4
India3
United Kingdom2
Germany1
Italy1

+ 2 more countries

Seniority mix

44 of 44 peers have a known seniority level

Principal27
Director14
Senior Director3

Therapeutic area mix

5 of 44 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology5

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.

85%similar
Merck Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority
85%similar
AstraZeneca Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority
85%similar
Merck KGaA Billerica, Massachusetts, United States Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority
75%similar
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. Cambridge Crossing, United States Senior Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Adjacent seniority
50%similar
Boehringer Ingelheim Biberach, Germany Principal
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
45%similar
Lilly Director
Same function Same seniority

Open in 2 locations

Indianapolis, United StatesBoston, United States

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.

85%
Director, Oncology Data Science
Merck · Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
85%
Director Real World Evidence Scientist (Oncology)
Merck KGaA · Billerica, Massachusetts, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Director - Statistics
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Director, Biostatistics Hematology
Celgene - Summit (Corp) · Princeton LVL, 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.