Merck KGaA Posted August 15, 2026

Scientist 1 - Virology

Rockville, Maryland, United States FULL_TIME
Manufacturing & CMC

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 Location:  Rockville, Maryland

Shift:

Department:  LS-AS-TG3AVS Virology Services- Scientific Operations

Recruiter:  Genie Hooper

This information is for internals only. Please do not share outside of the organization.

Your Role:

As a Scientist 1- Virology your activities will support assay development through commercial application of new and innovative service offerings within the biosafety testing space. You are responsible for the scientific integrity of technical work performed in the laboratory, and are required to make scientific observations, maintain detailed workbooks/documentation and ensure all documentation fulfills generally accepted professional/industry standards. Requirements also include maintaining a thorough understanding of company testing services, technical principles and applications as they apply to your position.

 

Essential Job Functions:

Performs testing in accordance with SOPs and regulations (cGMP and GLP)

Act as subject matter expert (SME) for specific defined area(s) of the business.

Applies laboratory techniques and skills to complete experiments designed to address a variety of specific problems.

Independently applies basic scientific principles in the design of experiments and the development of assays.

For GLP studies, acts as Study Director.

Makes detailed observations, documents result and performs data analysis.

Operates and maintains lab equipment as required by SOPs and testing procedures.

Utilizes applicable computer programs during testing and routine tasks (i.e. Word, Excel, Oracle, LIMS, BRIQS, etc.).

Communicates deviations/ events, progress and interim results to Study Management.

Leads the completion of event records.

Liaise with Quality Assurance and appropriate cross-functional departmental areas to close the events and corrective actions identified during GxP laboratory testing.

Maintains a working knowledge of lab procedures and assays.

Creates/ revises SOPs, laboratory records and other related documentation as assigned.

Writes technical reports for internal use and collaborates on papers for external use.

Performs training of laboratory personnel as needed/ assigned.

Contribute ideas and suggestions to improve standard laboratory techniques, protocols, processes, and equipment.

Acts as key driver/ champion on project teams.

Complies with company health and safety regulations and procedures.

Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:

Ph.D. in a scientific discipline (e.g., Virology, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.)

-OR-

Master’s Degree in a scientific discipline (e.g., Virology, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.) with 3+ years of scientific/laboratory experience

-OR-

Bachelor’s Degree in a scientific discipline  (e.g., Virology, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.) with 4+ years of scientific/laboratory experience

 

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in cell culture (including mammalian), and aseptic techniques.

GMP and/or GLP experience and understanding of regulatory standards and root cause analysis.

Experience in Virology and working with virus’.

Broad working knowledge of field and experience with scientific laboratory practices, techniques, equipment, materials, and advanced mathematical calculations.

Preferred strong knowledge of laboratory regulations, quality assurance, and compliance standards.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills that have been demonstrated through presentations/seminars, oversight of projects, implementation of new services, etc.

Excellent time management skills

Highly collaborative as well as independent

Demonstrates a high level of initiative and leadership capabilities.

Effective coaching and training skills for complex and highly technical work

Pay Range for this position - $75,000 - $112,000

The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. Position may be eligible for sales or performance-based bonuses. Benefits offered by the Company include health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement contributions, and other perquisites. For more information click here .

The Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. No employee or applicant for employment will be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, gender identity, transgender status, marital status, or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.  This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to all policies and programs relating to recruitment and hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. Any applicant or employee who believes they have been discriminated against by the Company or anyone acting on behalf of the Company must report any concerns to their Human Resources Business Partner, Legal, or Compliance immediately. The Company will not retaliate against any individual because they made a good faith report of discrimination.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Rockville, Maryland, United States
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1793 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 130 biopharma companies.

1793Comparable roles tracked
1703Currently active
130Companies hiring similar roles
47Countries represented

Salary context

526 of 1793 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $75,000/yr – $112,000/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Scientist II – CMC Developmental Sciences · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Technical Operator, Packaging - 2nd Shift · Mylan Technologies, Inc. $37,000/yr – $800,000/yr
Peer group range $0 – $418,500 (median $135,233)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1793 comparable roles

United States894
India117
Germany101
France74
Singapore70
Ireland64

+ 41 more countries

Seniority mix

789 of 1793 peers have a known seniority level

Senior258
Manager203
Associate82
Principal82
Director62
Associate Director61
Senior Director25
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc11
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

6 of 1793 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease4
Oncology1
Rare Disease1

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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.

40%similar
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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.

40%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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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.