Merck Posted September 8, 2026

2027 Future Talent Program - Investigative Toxicology - Intern

West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America FULL_TIME
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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

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.

Nonclinical drug safety (NDS) helps advance high-quality drug candidates into development by defining the non–clinical safety and selectivity of lead compounds. NDS employees evaluate Lead Op candidates and preclinical toxicity of drug development candidates, provide mechanistic understanding of drug-induced toxicity, and assess implications for human safety.

Students intere sted in Immunology, cell and molecular biology, or toxicology will work on developing assays to better assess immune-mediated adverse responses to drug candidates.  Interns will work with scientists in the lab to evaluate the effects of small molecule and/or biologic drug candidates on immune cells, and work to establish in vitro models of immunotoxicity.

Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity and teamwork of people like you. To this end, we strive to create an environment of mutual respect, encouragement and teamwork. As part of our global team, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.

Location: West Point, PA

Education:

Candidates should currently be enrolled in a minimum of a BS/BA in: Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Toxicology, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Chemical/Bio Engineering, Veterinary medicine or related discipline

Preferred:

G.P.A of 3.0 or higher

Strong analytical and communication skills

Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies

Background or coursework in Immunology, cell and molecular biology, or toxicology

Previous cell culture experience not required but considered a plus

Required:

Must be available for a period of 10-12 weeks, beginning June 2027

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:

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

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:

10/9/2026 *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:R413116

Job details

Seniority
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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 87 comparable Intern/Fellow/Postdoc Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 20 biopharma companies.

87Comparable roles tracked
87Currently active
20Companies hiring similar roles
10Countries represented

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.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · 2027 Future Talent Program – Biophysics Intern – Intern · Merck $39,908/yr – $111,111/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor - Lab Lead – Preclinical Imaging CMR · Lilly $129,000/yr – $211,200/yr
Peer group range $75,510 – $170,100 (median $90,600)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 87 comparable roles

United States62
Germany5
Canada4
Belgium3
France3
Switzerland3

+ 4 more countries

Seniority mix

87 of 87 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc63
Associate24

Therapeutic area mix

12 of 87 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology5
Neuroscience3
Immunology3
Cardiovascular / CVRM1

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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.

60%similar
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60%similar
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60%similar
Lilly Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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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.

60%
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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.