Merck KGaA Posted September 2, 2026

Principal Scientist (all genders) Structural Biology

Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany 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

As a Principal Scientist in the Structural Biology and Biophysics team, R&D Discovery, you will provide scientific leadership in interdisciplinary projects to elucidate structural mode of action and enable structure-based design with a focus on macromolecular complexes of antibodies, multispecifics and molecular degraders. You will strengthen our X-ray crystallography capabilities and, where possible complement our cryo-EM workflows to establish integrated, end-to-end experimental strategies for structural enablement, spanning protein and sample generation, data acquisition, and structural model building. You coordinate CRO/collaboration partner activities for reagents and data generation and drive innovations in structural biology. You clearly explain and communicate scientific findings and proposals to cross-functional teams and stakeholders to support informed and fast decision-making. You will mentor and develop junior scientists in structure biology and drug discovery contributing to a high-performing, collaborative culture.

Who You Are

PhD in Structural Biology or a related field with 10+ years of relevant experience (including biopharma, biotech) and strong track record to design, execute and drive complex structural biology projects.

Deep expertise in high-resolution structure determination of proteins and protein complexes by Xray crystallography (sample generation, data collection & processing, structure refinement with industry-standard software).

Experience working with antigen–antibody and protein degrader complexes, with a deep understanding of structure–function relationships.

Ideally hands-on with single-particle cryo-EM and biophysical (e.g. HDX-MS, SAXS; Refeyn, FIDA, DSF)

Experience with cloud-based/HPC data management and processing; LINUX scripting; AI/ML-based prediction of biomolecular structures.

Effective collaborator and leader in multidisciplinary settings with excellent English communication; skilled in guiding/mentoring scientists, coordinating multi-site work, and managing CROs to balance project demands.

Proven ability to convey complex data clearly to drive decisions; strong publication history or impactful drug discovery contributions (oncology/immunology/neuroscience favored); excellent problem-solving abilities and experience introducing relevant new technologies.

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
Principal
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany
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 467 comparable Principal Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 55 biopharma companies.

467Comparable roles tracked
429Currently active
55Companies hiring similar roles
21Countries represented

Salary context

231 of 467 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 · Senior Animal Behaviorist - Primate · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $322,000 (median $169,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 467 comparable roles

United States348
China22
India17
United Kingdom12
Switzerland10
Germany9

+ 15 more countries

Seniority mix

467 of 467 peers have a known seniority level

Senior235
Principal170
Director62

Therapeutic area mix

61 of 467 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology21
Oncology19
Neuroscience14
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Respiratory1
Gastroenterology1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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
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50%similar
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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.

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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.

60%
Principal Scientist Visual Inspection Steward
Lilly · Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
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Bayer · Wuppertal-Elberfeld, Germany · Principal
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Director, Team Lead, Computational Pathology Products (m/f/d)
AstraZeneca · Munich, Germany · Director
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
45%
Advisor / Senior Advisor, CNS/PNS NAMs – Investigative Toxicology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
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.