Merck KGaA Posted October 24, 2026

R&D Scientist

Branchburg, New Jersey, United States 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!  Start your next chapter and join EMD Electronics.

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.

Everything we do in EMD Electronics is to help us deliver on our purpose of being the company behind the companies, advancing digital living. We are dedicated to being the trusted supplier of high-tech materials, services and specialty chemicals for the electronics, automotive and cosmetics industries. We foster a global collaborative organization made up of individuals who have the passion to win, obsess about the customer, are relentlessly curious and act with urgency. Together, we push the boundaries of science to make more possible for our customers.

This role does not offer sponsorship for work authorization. External applicants must be eligible to work in the US.

Your Role

The R&D Scientist will work on the I-line Thick Film Photoresist (TFR) R&D team, focusing on research and development of TFR formulations for advanced IC packaging applications.

Design and conduct innovative polymer/PAG synthesis and characterization of new materials

Develop new platforms and optimize formulations to improve the performance of targeted products

Communicate and present the research test results with the team and department manager in weekly meetings and monthly reports with scientific logic and conclusion

Proactively seek and provide ideas to address technical issues. As assigned by manager, participate in customer meetings and prepare updated files for customers

Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:

PhD in organic chemistry, polymer chemistry or other materials science field and 1+ years of experience in polymer synthesis and characterization

OR

Master’s degree in organic chemistry, polymer chemistry or other materials science field and 3+ years of experience in polymer synthesis and characterization

Preferred Qualifications:

Working experience in photochemistry or semiconductor related applications

Excellent communication and collaboration ability with senior chemists, managers and technicians

Ability to discuss and present results in a logical manner and propose next steps

Working understanding of IC packaging technology and principles of photoresist application/theory, as well as resist related chemistry

Experience operating FAB and resist processing and testing equipment, such as lithographic exposure tools, coating & development tracks, SEM etc.

Experience working with chemical vendors and IC customers

Salary range for this position: $90,400 - $135,700 annually

The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. Position may be eligible for sales or performance-based bonuses. Benefits offered by the Company include health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement contributions, and other perquisites. For more information click  here .

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
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Branchburg, New Jersey, United States
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 914 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 88 biopharma companies.

914Comparable roles tracked
849Currently active
88Companies hiring similar roles
31Countries represented

Salary context

359 of 914 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $90,400/yr – $135,700/yr
Highest disclosed · Vice President, Therapeutics Immunology · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $0 – $381,150 (median $155,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 914 comparable roles

United States630
China43
Germany35
Switzerland32
United Kingdom30
France27

+ 25 more countries

Seniority mix

661 of 914 peers have a known seniority level

Senior225
Principal148
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc70
Director61
Associate60
Associate Director32
Manager27
Senior Director23
Executive/VP15

Therapeutic area mix

120 of 914 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology51
Oncology38
Neuroscience16
Cardiovascular / CVRM9
Respiratory3
Rare Disease2
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

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.

40%similar
AstraZeneca Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Executive/VP
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Groton, United States Senior
Same function Same country
40%similar
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Groton, United States Senior
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40%similar
Roche Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
Same function 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 Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research job in the United States, 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.

40%
Executive Director, Global Product Lead, Immunology Research and Development
AstraZeneca · Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior Scientist Mass Spectrometrist
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company · Groton, United States · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior Principal Research Scientist Engineering
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior Scientist II – ADC Reaction Engineer
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Senior
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.