Job Description
Location: NJ, PA, Boston/Cambridge
Job Description:
The Research and Development Sciences (RaDS) value team in our Company's R&D IT brings together product management, engineering, and data science expertise. We enable data, technology and services that accelerate our scientists’ ability to discover and develop innovative medicines that change the course of human health. In the RaDS value team, the Product organization is responsible for implementing capabilities and associated services to advance the drug discovery and development pipeline. Our IT team operates as a business partner proposing ideas and innovative solutions that enable new organizational capabilities. We collaborate internationally to deliver the services and solutions that help everyone to be more productive and enable innovation.
We are seeking a motivated and talented Product Manager to join the RaDS Product organization. The position will report to the Lead of the Disease Biology and PharmTox Product Line. The ideal candidate will partner closely with key business stakeholders, the product, engineering, data science and other IT teams, to leverage advanced computational modeling and simulation tools to support pharmaceutical researchers in predicting drug behavior, improving decision-making, and accelerating the path to market. The goal of this product is to shorten the path from discovery to clinical proof-of-concept while reducing failure risk by making decisions based on mechanistic insight, quantitative prediction, and robust, well-documented evidence. Applications in this area accelerate and de-risk translational research by providing predictive PK/PD/QSP modeling capabilities, utilizing experimental data, bioinformatics, and clinical knowledge to de-risk candidates before first-in-human trials and enable clinical use of biomarkers.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Partner closely with R&D scientists and Business Technology Partners to own, set, and communicate the product vision, strategy, and outcome roadmap, aligned with strategic priorities.
- Deeply understand user needs (scientists, bioinformaticians, data scientists, lab operations) through interviews, shadowing, and usage analytics.
- Map processes and information architecture to identify pain points and automation opportunities.
- Define clear problem statements, requirements, and success metrics; author Product requirements document, user stories, and acceptance criteria
- Drive solution discovery and rapid prototyping with cross-functional teams to evaluate value, usability, feasibility, and business viability.
- Prioritize features and trade-offs using impact, effort, and risk frameworks; manage backlog and release planning
- Manage scientific applications and lead squads to build user-friendly scientific data and technology products; handle risk assessment and vendor engagement as needed.
- Evaluate internal and external tools (e.g., predictive modeling, simulation, target discovery, biomarker tracking); Manage vendor relationships to influence roadmaps and integrate with internal systems and the data lake.
- Partner with product tech leads to ensure seamless integration across the ecosystem and upstream/downstream systems.
- Apply industry standards and ontologies to develop FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) applications, advancing in silico models and AI/ML approaches for drug discovery.
- Create and maintain documentation including SDLC deliverables (GxP and non-GxP), guidelines,
SOPs, training materials, and user communications.
- Support regulatory audits and inspections by collaborating with stakeholders and Quality units to provide documentation and respond to inquiries.
- Coach teams to adopt a customer-centered product mindset; proactively remove roadblocks and escalate issues to maintain momentum.
- Drive adoption using metrics and user feedback; analyze engagement, create reports/visualizations, and run user groups to inform continuous improvement.
- Promote available capabilities to stakeholders, fostering collaboration and integration across teams to avoid silos.
- Develop a cohesive strategy to manage an orthogonal suite of products and applications, maximizing impact while reducing costs and redundancy.
- Diligently manage total cost of ownership
- Monitor the competitive landscape, standards, and emerging technologies in scientific software and data platforms.
- Use data-driven insights (synthesized from research, observations, and usage) to inform decisions and refine strategy.
Skill Sets:
- 5+ years of experience in scientific software development, pharmaceutical sciences, bioinformatics, target discovery, quantitative systems pharmacology, model-based drug development (MBDD), or scientific data management.
- Proven experience leading cross-functional teams to launch and manage software products; define user stories and ensure product development aligns with business requirements.
- Good understanding of MBDD, Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic modeling and pre-clinical development domain and processes.
- Familiarity with bioinformatics pathway analysis tools and systems biology approaches used in scientific software.
- Experience with scientific modeling tools and workflows (COTS, in-house, open source); ability to assess, integrate, and scale them
- Solid grasp of SDLC and Agile practices; comfortable operating in GxP-regulated environments
- Exceptional communicator who bridges science, engineering, and business; customer-centric and effective in a matrixed organization
- Proficient with product and UX tooling (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Mural, Figma, Balsamiq); capable of producing clear documentation and visuals
- Working knowledge of databases, ontologies, and data standards relevant to drug discovery; familiarity with information modeling (e.g., Visio)
- Proven ability to work independently and asynchronously across time zones, with excellent cross-cultural and organizational communication skills.
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and strong in time and project management; excellent written and verbal communication
- Experience leading multidisciplinary squads to develop and onboard scientific applications and tools
Education Minimum Requirement:
- Bachelor's degree with 5+ years of experience or master's with 3+ years, in a scientific or technical discipline such as biology, pharmaceutical sciences, bioinformatics, computer science, biostatistics, biomedical engineering, or chemistry.
Preferred Experience And Skills:
- Experience as a scientist, Informatics Analyst or IT analyst in a drug discovery or development environment, specifically target discovery or quantitative systems pharmacology
- Prior scientific programming experience
- Proficiency with data analytics/mining tools (e.g., R, Python, Perl, MATLAB)
- Familiarity with relational databases (SQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL) and data integration.
- Experience with informatics workflows, pipeline development, and knowledge graphs.
- Knowledge of computational platforms, including high-performance clusters and cloud computing environments.
- Experience supervising and mentoring team members
- Skill in data visualization and dashboards (e.g., Spotfire, R Shiny, Power BI) with the ability to craft compelling data narratives
- Experience working in Agile development environments
Required Skills:
Agile Transformation, Agile Transformation, Biostatistics, Business Case Development, Business Process Analysis, Client-Centric, Data Analytics, Data Insights, Digital Transformation Initiatives, Incident Management, ITIL Service Delivery, IT Infrastructure Management, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), Pathway Analysis, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Process Leadership, Product Management, Rapid Prototyping, Risk Management Framework, Scientific Data Management, Scientific Software Development, Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Systems Biology, Technical Leadership, Translational Research {+ 1 more}
Preferred Skills:
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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:
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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
$139,600.00 - $219,700.00
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
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:
No relocation
VISA Sponsorship:
No
Travel Requirements:
25%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Not Applicable
Shift:
1st - Day
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
n/a
Job Posting End Date:
11/25/2025
- 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:R374287
