Merck Posted September 6, 2026

Senior Scientist, Engineering- Analytical Container Closure Integrity (CCI)

West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America FULL_TIME
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Merck 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

Job Description

The Center for Packaging & Device Analytics (CPDA), within our Manufacturing Division, is responsible for physical, analytical & material science to support production and commercialization of product packaging and drug-delivery medical device/combination-products (MDCPs), such as auto-injectors and pre-filled syringes. We are an interdisciplinary engineering science Center of Excellence that supports the entire global-human-health portfolio and closely partner with various Packaging or Device Technology engineering groups, packaging sites, and partner analytical groups. The CPDA is located at our Company’s large research and manufacturing West Point, PA location, where our packaging & device laboratories are established.

Container closure integrity (CCI) is a critical quality & performance attribute across sterile packaging and components, such as vials, pouches, syringes, cartridges or bulk containers.

The CPDA is seeking a Sr. Scientist/Engineer who, as an individual contributor, would enjoy focusing on CCI analytical and technical contributions to our packaging and medical device-combination product programs in both late-stage development and supporting global manufacturing. Projects are diverse and typically include some of the following: (1) characterization of new package or device components to inform selection or optimization; (2) CCI method development & validation; (3) method transfers/lifecycle support; (4) in-depth technical support to resolve packaging and device CCI analytical and manufacturing investigations; and, (5) growing CCI analytical technologies/ capabilities within the CPDA. To excel in the role, one must be creative and skillful in problem solving and applied experimental physical science, be a highly effective communicator (written and verbal) & collaborator on cross functional teams, and, have interest in both long-term strategic technology advancement and personal growth.

Required Education, Experience, and Skills:

Education Requirement (minimum): 

BS, MS or PhD in Mechanical, Chemical or Biomedical Engineering or associated scientific discipline, such as physical chemistry.

Required Experience:

BS/MS with minimum of 5 years or relevant experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or medical device industries or PhD.

Familiarity and some experience with CCI testing in either an industrial or academic context.

Preferred Experience and Skills: 

Advanced proficiency and understanding of all common CCI technologies, such as dye ingress, high voltage leak detection, vacuum and pressure decay, laser headspace, and tracer gas analysis.

Hands-on CCI test method development, validation, and troubleshooting for packaging and/or medical device products.

Understanding/familiarity with USP , ISO-13485, and relevant industry standards.

Required Skills:

Analytical Method Development, Analytical Thinking, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Combination Products, Container Closure Integrity Testing (CCIT), Materials Science, Medical Devices, Method Development, Package Testing, Pharmaceutical Industry

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The primary location for this posting is:

USA - Pennsylvania - West Point

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:

$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits .

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

San Francisco Residents Only:  We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only:  We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

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:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

10/27/2026 *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:R414576

Job details

Seniority
Senior
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 439 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 52 biopharma companies.

439Comparable roles tracked
398Currently active
52Companies hiring similar roles
18Countries represented

Salary context

221 of 439 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
Highest disclosed · Senior Principal Scientist, Quantitative Biosciences · Merck $214,100/yr – $337,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $275,550 (median $165,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 439 comparable roles

United States331
China15
India13
United Kingdom13
Switzerland10
Belgium9

+ 12 more countries

Seniority mix

439 of 439 peers have a known seniority level

Senior226
Principal171
Associate Director42

Therapeutic area mix

48 of 439 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology15
Neuroscience14
Oncology14
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Gastroenterology1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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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.

60%similar
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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.