Merck Posted October 17, 2026

Associate Scientist, Post Doc Fellow- Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics

West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America FULL_TIME
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About this opportunity

Job Description

Job Description

Be a part of the legacy: Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program

Our Research Laboratories’ Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program aims to be a best-in-industry program for industrial postdoctoral researchers, designed to provide you with an academic focus in a commercial environment. With the resources, reach, and expertise of a large pharmaceutical company, postdoctoral researchers will be positioned to excel in an institution committed to breakthrough innovation in research and discovery.

Position Overview:

Scientific Question

Half-life extended or Fc-modified biologics offer important opportunities to improve the prevention and treatment of disease, including in pediatric populations. Translating pharmacokinetic knowledge across populations remains scientifically challenging and requires fit-for-purpose quantitative approaches. The goal of the project is to advance translational pharmacokinetic modeling to support pediatric exposure prediction and dose selection using available nonclinical and clinical data. This project will focus on developing and applying quantitative modeling approaches to address key questions in pediatric drug development. The research will generate broadly applicable scientific insights, strengthen model-informed decision-making, and support the development of long-acting therapeutics.

That’s where you come in…

What is the Position?

As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics, you will work with a collaborative team of scientists in quantitative pharmacology, preclinical ADME, translational PK/PD, and discovery biology. You will develop and apply quantitative pharmacology models to characterize pharmacokinetics, support translation across populations, and inform pediatric development. You will evaluate model assumptions and uncertainty, integrate data from multiple sources, and communicate findings to multidisciplinary research teams. All Postdoctoral Research Fellows work with a dedicated mentor, collaborate with experienced scientists, and are fully integrated into the larger Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics group.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Reviewing and curating relevant nonclinical and clinical pharmacokinetic data from published and internal sources;

Integrating data from multiple sources to support quantitative model development, evaluation, and application;

Developing and qualifying fit-for-purpose pharmacokinetic and translational models to address questions in pediatric drug development;

Evaluating model performance and uncertainty and translating results into recommendations for multidisciplinary project teams;

Present your research at conferences and/or publish in peer-reviewed journals.

Education Requirement:

Must currently hold a Ph.D. OR

Receive a Ph.D. no later than spring 2027

Ph.D. in mathematical biology, systems biology, statistics / biostatistics, mathematics / applied mathematics, computer science, computational biology / chemistry, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, pharmacometrics, chemical / biomedical engineering, or a related field.

Required Experience and Skills:

Experience with pharmacokinetic modeling (e.g., population PK [popPK] modeling, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic [PBPK] modeling);

Proficiency in at least one programming language or pharmacometrics application (e.g., R, MATLAB, Python, NONMEM, Monolix, Phoenix WinNonlin, or other language);

Scientific writing skill, demonstrated by publication record (includes preprints).

Preferred Experience and Skills:

Knowledge of monoclonal antibody pharmacokinetic properties, respiratory viruses, pediatric pharmacology, translational modeling, or biologics drug development;

Experiencing modeling preclinical or clinical pharmacokinetics of monoclonal antibodies;

Experience working in multidisciplinary teams that include clinicians and biologists.

We are a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. Our mission is built on the simple premise that if we “follow the science” that great medicines can make a significant impact to our world. We believe that a research-driven enterprise dedicated to world-class science can succeed by inventing medicine and vaccine innovations that make a difference for patients across the globe.

postdoctoralopportunities

The salary range for this role is: $82,000-$92,000

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

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

Required Skills:

ADME, Data Analysis, Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacology, Programming Languages, Scientific Research, Scientific Writing, Statistical Analysis

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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:

Yes

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

10/26/2026 *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:R421411

Job details

Seniority
Associate
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 180 comparable Associate Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 39 biopharma companies.

180Comparable roles tracked
161Currently active
39Companies hiring similar roles
18Countries represented

Salary context

64 of 180 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 · Lab Associate Flow Cytometry · IQVIA $34,700/yr – $72,300/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor - Isotopic Chemistry · Lilly $153,000/yr – $246,400/yr
Peer group range $53,500 – $199,700 (median $90,200)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 180 comparable roles

United States118
France13
Germany11
Belgium7
United Kingdom6
Switzerland4

+ 12 more countries

Seniority mix

180 of 180 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc83
Associate73
Manager24

Therapeutic area mix

16 of 180 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology8
Neuroscience4
Immunology2
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
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.

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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.

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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.