Job Description

Associate Principal Scientist, Protein Engineering, Discovery Biologics

We are on a quest for cures and are committed to be the world's premier, most research-intensive biopharmaceutical company. Our teams combine leading drug discovery capabilities and world-class R&D with the purpose of turning breakthrough science into life-changing medicines.

We are seeking an energetic and experienced protein engineer for the role of Associate Principal Scientist in the Boston Discovery Biologics group. They will lead therapeutic construct design for therapeutic programs in therapeutic areas including immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience, and oncology. They will work in the Biologics Production and Engineering team's screening core supporting the high throughput production team initial binder and therapeutic format evaluation, molecular triage, and identification of proof-of-concept therapeutics. The successful candidate will be responsible for generation and iterative refinement of structural models of therapeutic targets leveraging available structural information or creation of structural models leverage emerging computational protein engineering tools. The successful candidate will generate and utilize models of therapeutics bound to targets to guide lead optimization through such as liability correction, humanization, and physiochemical property enhancement as needed. They will serve as a protein engineering representative on therapeutic pipeline programs where they will help shape the strategies for therapeutic discovery and optimization. They will partner with teams across Discovery Biologics to develop scalable, automated solutions from molecular biology to analysis of Biologics.

Our organization is directly integrating computational and wet-lab researchers with state-of-the-art automation to accelerate the discovery, engineering, and characterization of novel biologics in the pre-IND pipeline. They will work closely with Biologic Production and Engineering team members to leverage strengths and identify opportunities to continually expand the team's technical skillsets and enterprise thinking. They will work to support the department's efforts to recruit diverse and highly skilled key talent to the organization and be a champion for diversity and inclusion. We recognize that the diversity in our team is our strength, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Successful candidates must demonstrate inclusive behaviours in working with a diverse group of researchers to drive our core mission.

What you will do:

• Lead construct design for pipeline programs exploring therapeutic formats, valencies, and affinities of input binders including Fab, scfv, VHH, and other biologics formats

• Apply computational protein engineering tools and workflows such as RFDiffusion, ProteinMPNN, and AlphaFold to guide novel therapeutic discovery and lead optimization.

• Generate in silico models of targets, therapeutics, and their complexes to guide protein engineering strategies across the life of pipeline programs.

• Serve as a protein engineering representative on project teams to influence molecular design, screening, and optimization strategies for pipeline programs

• Stay abreast of external advancements in the design and production of biologic therapeutics

• Promote the external reputation of our company's Discovery Biologics

What you will need to be successful in this role:

Qualifications & Experience

• Ph.D. in structural biology, biochemistry, biophysics or related field with 4+ years relevant industry experience, Master's with 8+ years relevant industry experience or Bachelor's with 12+ years of relevant industry experience in biochemistry or related field

• Experience in advancing Biologic therapeutics through discovery pipelines as a protein engineer

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

• Strong presentation, publication, and/or patent record

Required skills:

• Extensive experience applying rational structure-based protein engineering approaches to construct design

• In silico target and/or therapeutic model generation from available structural information and/or predictions to guide therapeutic discovery and development with commonly used programs (e.g. MOE, Schrodinger, AlphaFold)

• Experienced in the lead optimization of antibodies and/or bispecifics via humanization, liability mitigation, and biophysical enhancement.

• Experience working in a matrixed reporting structure supporting multiple pipeline programs

• Hands-on production and characterization experience of therapeutic designs

• Established external reputation through high-impact publications, presentations, and/or scientific community engagement

• Experience in advancing Biologic therapeutics through discovery pipelines as a protein engineer

Preferred skills:

• Extensive hands-on design, production, and characterization experience of complex antigens, protein reagents and Biologic therapeutics modalities beyond monoclonal antibodies

• Familiarity with automated data capture approaches and LIMS integration for production and characterization of biologics

• Biologic pipeline program leadership experience

• Experience in outsourcing and managing external collaborations

• Experience with computational protein engineering approaches for de novo design and optimization of therapeutics

Your role at our company is integral to helping the world meet new breakthroughs that affect generations to come, and we're counting on your skills and inventiveness to help make meaningful contributions to global medical advancement. At our company, we're inventing for life.

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's thinking and approach problems collectively for the common good. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.

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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:

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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.

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U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as "remote".

The salary range for this role is

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. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

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

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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.

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Requisition ID:R376516