Merck KGaA Posted September 18, 2026

Senior Project Manager

Burlington, Massachusetts, United States FULL_TIME
Notify me about similar jobs

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 Location:  Burlington, Massachusetts

Shift:

Department:  LS-PS-SOA PS Project Management Office

Recruiter:  Stefanie Fried

This information is for internals only. Please do not share outside of the organization.

Role must be located in Burlington/Bedford MA

Your Role:

The Senior Project Manager will lead the execution of strategic initiatives from planning through implementation and value realization. Acting as a trusted partner to franchise, commercial and functional stakeholders, the role will combine enterprise thinking, business acumen, ISCO knowledge and strong project leadership to deliver measurable outcomes aligned with PS priorities.

Key responsibilities:

Lead cross-functional initiatives, including scope definition, implementation planning, milestone management, performance tracking and value realization.

Navigate a complex matrix to build alignment and effective collaboration across Business Franchises, Commercial, Strategy, Controlling, Business Leadership & ISCO functions

Serve as a constructive challenger, promoting fact-based decisions, innovative thinking and disciplined problem solving.

Develop executive-level presentations and updates that communicate progress, risks, scenarios, trade-offs, recommendations and decisions required.

Translate project data, business inputs and operational information into actionable insights.

Build trusted stakeholder relationships and maintain alignment between project priorities, governance and business objectives.

Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in Engineering, Business, Operations or a related field.

5-7+ years of relevant industry experience in project management, operations, product management or related business leadership.

Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives in a complex matrixed organizational environment.

Strong business acumen, including financial analysis, ROI drivers, KPI management and value delivery.

Experience creating and presenting clear, compelling materials for senior management and executive audiences.

Preferred Qualifications:

Master's degree, MBA or PhD.

PMP or Lean Six Sigma certification

Ability to synthesize complex information quickly, identify implications and translate findings into actionable plans.

Excellent interpersonal, communication, facilitation and influencing skills, including alignment without direct authority.

Strong analytical mindset and structured problem-solving capability.

Creative, independent and proactive working style with sound, fact-based judgment.

Ability to manage stakeholder expectations and remain focused on business outcomes in a fast-paced environment.

Pay Range for this position: $119,700- $179,500. 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 .

The Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. No employee or applicant for employment will be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, gender identity, transgender status, marital status, or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.  This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to all policies and programs relating to recruitment and hiring, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment. Any applicant or employee who believes they have been discriminated against by the Company or anyone acting on behalf of the Company must report any concerns to their Human Resources Business Partner, Legal, or Compliance immediately. The Company will not retaliate against any individual because they made a good faith report of discrimination.

Job details

Seniority
Manager
Function
BD&L & Strategic Planning
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Burlington, Massachusetts, United States
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active BD&L & Strategic Planning role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 49 comparable Manager BD&L & Strategic Planning roles across 21 biopharma companies.

49Comparable roles tracked
45Currently active
21Companies hiring similar roles
13Countries represented

Salary context

19 of 49 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 $119,700/yr – $179,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Associate, GOglobal Graduate Program · Merck KGaA $72,100/yr – $126,800/yr
Highest disclosed · External Innovation, Associate Director · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $170,400/yr – $255,600/yr
Peer group range $99,450 – $213,000 (median $157,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 49 comparable roles

United States20
China11
Germany6
Mexico2
Singapore2
Japan1

+ 7 more countries

Seniority mix

49 of 49 peers have a known seniority level

Manager36
Associate Director11
Associate2

Therapeutic area mix

7 of 49 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Dermatology & Aesthetics6
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.

60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Amgen Inc. Thousand Oaks, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie Baton Rouge, LA Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country

Open in 3 locations

San Francisco, United StatesPortsmouth, United StatesGreensboro, United States
60%similar
Merck KGaA Burlington, Massachusetts, United States Manager
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck KGaA Burlington, Massachusetts, United States Manager
Same function Same 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.

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%
Manager, Corporate Strategy
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Tarrytown, United States · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Business Development Manager, Facial Aesthetics
AbbVie · San Francisco, CA · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Business Project Manager - Acquisition Integration - Bio-Techne
Merck KGaA · Burlington, Massachusetts, United States · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Business Development Manager, Facial Aesthetics
AbbVie · Greensboro, NC · Manager
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.