Merck KGaA Posted October 21, 2026

Associate Scientist 2 - Virus Production

Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom Full time
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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.

Your Role:

We have an exciting Associate Scientist 2 position available at our Stirling site. In this role, you will support GMP virus production execution while gaining valuable experience. You’ll work alongside experienced scientists, providing scientific support and contributing to continuous improvement efforts across operations.

Key Responsibilities:

Assist in scheduling GMP virus productions to meet global demand.

Support the Responsible Scientist in ensuring compliance with GxP standards.

Provide technical support and guidance to lab staff.

Monitor virus stock levels and assist in the release processes.

Help investigate deviations and nonconformances with scientific detail.

Maintain and revise SOPs, risk assessments, and lab documentation.

Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and departmental projects.

Support audits and assist in the resolution of findings.

Participate in training and coaching of laboratory personnel.

Ensure availability of consumables and reagents prior to virus initiation.

Review production data for accuracy and compliance.

Stay updated with SOPs and regulations (cGMP and GLP).

Perform other duties as assigned.

Who You Are:

BSc Degree in a Biological Science with 1+ years biologial industry lab experience OR a MSc degree in a biological Science.

Aseptic technique and cell culture experience are desirable.

Basic technical knowledge in virus production/ virology or related areas is desirable.

Familiarity with GMP/GLP environments is desirable.

Strong communication and time management skills.

Proficient in relevant software tools, including Labware LIMS.

Effective coaching and training abilities.

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
Associate
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
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 765 comparable Associate Manufacturing & CMC roles across 93 biopharma companies.

765Comparable roles tracked
708Currently active
93Companies hiring similar roles
39Countries represented

Salary context

165 of 765 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 · Warehouse Associate I (M-F 11am-7:30pm) · AbbVie $16/hr – $29/hr (≈ $33,280–$60,320/yr)
Highest disclosed · Regional Manager - Megasys · Merck KGaA $220,000/yr – $250,000/yr
Peer group range $46,800 – $235,000 (median $137,700)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 765 comparable roles

United States394
India56
France55
Germany39
Ireland28
Belgium22

+ 33 more countries

Seniority mix

765 of 765 peers have a known seniority level

Manager366
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc243
Associate156

Therapeutic area mix

15 of 765 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease11
Rare Disease3
Immunology1

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
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd Oxford, United Kingdom Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd Oxford, United Kingdom Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd Oxford, United Kingdom Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
50%similar
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd Oxford, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
Perrigo Braunton, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
CSL Behring UK Ltd Maidenhead, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country

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.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Manufacturing & CMC job in the United Kingdom, and choose locations and companies.

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%
(Fixed-Term) Manufacturing Associate I
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd · Oxford, United Kingdom · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
(Fixed-Term) Manufacturing Associate
Moderna Biotech Manufacturing UK Ltd · Oxford, United Kingdom · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
50%
Enterprise Manager, EMEA Trade Compliance
CSL Behring UK Ltd · Maidenhead, United Kingdom · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
50%
Production Manager (Preston, GB, PR4 2DQ)
STADA Arzneimittel · Preston, United Kingdom · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent 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.