Merck Posted August 12, 2026

Senior Specialist, Engineering- Validation

Elkton, Virginia, United States of America FULL_TIME
Manufacturing & CMC Senior

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

Primary Responsibilities

Providing a leadership and technical supportive role in the areas of Steam Sterilization, Dry Heat Depyrogenation, Steam Decontamination, Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide Decontamination, Controlled Temperature Unit Temperature Mapping and Warehouse Temperature Mapping Performance Qualification Validation activities (but not limited to); Scheduling and executing PQ Validation activities

Scheduling and managing PQ protocol close-outs

Performing technical investigations and analyses

Driving to and recommending corrective actions and seeing them through to successful/sustainable implementation

Reviewing procedural revisions to be compliant with regulatory expectations

Data analysis and Second Person Review

Troubleshooting activities associated with all aspects of PQ execution

Final report and procedure writing and review

Change control evaluation / implementation

QMS evaluation / alignment

SME presentation to regulatory inspectors

Directly interfacing with Project / IPT customers to manage pinches / challenges

Maintain team accomplishment metrics and present as needed

Manage of team of Contractors and / or P1 and P2 employees (including but not limited too) Justifying appropriate team headcount

Authoring job postings / conducting interviews / evaluating candidates as needed

Assigning / Assisting with prioritization of work responsibilities

Evaluating performance and providing regular feedback

Sponsoring employee growth and developmental opportunities through routine 1:1 developmental coaching

Participating in Year End assessment activities as applicable

Sponsoring the team to achieve Safety and Quality compliance excellence

Multiple opportunities will be provided to stream-line team performance and effectiveness

Multiple opportunities will be provided to grow as both a SME and people manager

Education Minimum Requirement:

Bachelor or Master degree in, biology, biochemistry, biochemical engineering, biological systems engineering, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, integrated science or related life science or engineering discipline

Required Experience and Skills

Minimum five (5) years of pharmaceutical manufacturing industry

Working in a cGMP environment

Effective problem-solving skills and a hands-on approach to problem solving, with a bias toward going to see problems for oneself in the field

Excellent technical, organizational, interpersonal, collaborative, and verbal/written communication

Ability to examine an issue from diverse perspectives (safety, compliance, maintenance, automation, equipment, process, and people) in order to best understand and resolve it

Enthusiasm, confidence and initiative-taking ability needed for continuous learning and its applications

Willingness to work as a contributing member of a dynamic team of individuals

Experience acting as a team leader

Knowledge and/or experience in: CTU/WH qualification / validation; Dry Heat Depyrogenation qualification / validation; Steam Sterilization / Sanitization qualification / validation; VHP Decontamination qualification / validation

Required Skills:

Biochemistry, Biopharmaceutical Industry, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Steam Sterilization, Sterilization, Sterilization Validation, Temperature Mapping, Validation

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

$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

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:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

08/25/2026 *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:R411172

Job details

Seniority
Senior
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Elkton, Virginia, United States of America
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 373 comparable Senior Manufacturing & CMC roles across 53 biopharma companies.

373Comparable roles tracked
344Currently active
53Companies hiring similar roles
20Countries represented

Salary context

174 of 373 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 $117,000/yr – $184,200/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Scientist II – CMC Developmental Sciences · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Peer group range $0 – $222,900 (median $141,813)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 373 comparable roles

United States267
India37
Ireland10
Singapore10
Netherlands7
Switzerland6

+ 14 more countries

Seniority mix

373 of 373 peers have a known seniority level

Senior250
Principal79
Associate Director44

Therapeutic area mix

0 of 373 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

No peers with a known therapeutic area yet.

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 Diego, California, United States of America Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Seagen Inc Washington – Bothell, United States Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Pfizer Groton, United States Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country

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%
Sr. Scientist - Lab Automation Scientist
Lilly · San Diego, California, United States of America · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Scientist, Process Development
Pfizer · Groton, United States · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Scientist, Biologics Purification II
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Electrical Engineer, Combination Product Development
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Senior
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.