2027 Future Talent Program - Discovery, Preclinical and Translational Medicine - Intern
About this opportunity
Job Description
The Future Talent Program features internships that last up to 12 weeks and will include one or more projects. These opportunities in our Research and Development Division can provide you with great development and a chance to see if we are the right company for your long-term goals.
The Discovery, Preclinical and Translational Medicine (DPTM) Operations Intern will support laboratory and facility operations across West Point research and development organizations. This role provides exposure to laboratory operations, equipment lifecycle management, compliance programs, capital project execution, process improvement initiatives, and operational analytics that enable efficient, safe, and compliant research activities.
The intern will work closely with DPTM Operations personnel and cross-functional partners to identify opportunities to improve processes, analyze operational data, and support initiatives that enhance the scientist experience.
Key Responsibilities:
Support laboratory operations and facility management activities across research buildings
Assist with equipment lifecycle management activities including onboarding, inventory reviews, data quality improvements, and equipment decommissioning
Develop dashboards, metrics, and analytics to support operational decision-making
Participate in operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives
Support compliance-related programs, documentation reviews, and data integrity efforts
Assist with coordination and tracking of capital projects and facility improvement efforts
Collaborate with cross-functional partners including facilities, engineering, laboratory staff, and other support groups
Prepare presentations, reports, and executive summaries for operational reviews
Identify opportunities to streamline workflows and improve the effectiveness of laboratory support processes
Preferred Project Areas:
The intern may support one or more strategic initiatives, including:
Laboratory equipment lifecycle management
Capital project planning and execution
Compliance and audit readiness activities
Operational metrics and dashboard development
Stockroom and laboratory sustainability initiatives
Process automation and digital transformation projects
Qualifications
Required:
Pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Data Analytics, Business, Operations Management, or a related field
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office applications
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a collaborative team environment
Preferred:
Experience with data analysis and visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, Power Query, etc.)
Interest in laboratory operations, compliance, facilities management, or project management
Demonstrated leadership through academic, extracurricular, or work experiences
Please note that this position may be closed before the posted end date or may remain open longer, at the discretion of the company.
Salary range:
The salary range for this role is $39,108 through $111,111.
FTP2027
RL2027
Required Skills:
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:
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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
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:
Intern/Co-op (Fixed Term)
Relocation:
No relocation
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:
10/16/2026 *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:R412339
Job details
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 87 comparable Intern/Fellow/Postdoc Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 20 biopharma companies.
Salary context
21 of 87 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.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 87 comparable roles
+ 4 more countries
Seniority mix
87 of 87 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
12 of 87 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
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.
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.
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.