Are you enthusiastic and driven to create and lead execution of combination product testing strategies for innovative combination products?
Join our company’s Device Development & Technology (DD&T) Team, which focuses on the design, development, and commercialization of novel biologic/drug/vaccine-device combination products for safe and effective delivery to their intended sites of action. The DD&T Team oversees the development of the device constituent within our pipeline of combination products, spanning various therapeutic areas and routes of administration, including inhalation, implantation, and injection.
The Associate Principal Scientist will provide end‑to‑end technical and project leadership for the definition, integration, and execution of comprehensive testing strategies in support of the overall control strategy for drug–device combination products. This role has a primary focus on design verification while encompassing the full spectrum of testing activities, including test method development and validation, analytical transfers, incoming testing, in-process, release testing, and testing readiness to enable successful clinical introduction and commercialization.
This position plays a critical leadership role across the product lifecycle, partnering with cross‑functional teams and suppliers to ensure testing strategies are aligned with development, manufacturing, regulatory, and quality objectives. In addition to design verification, the Associate Principal Scientist will contribute to and support key validation activities such as drug product manufacturing processes and combination product final assembly process validations, ensuring robust and compliant execution from development through commercial launch.
As a matrixed project leader, the incumbent will collaborate extensively with stakeholders within and outside of Device Development & Technology, effectively coordinating teams, timelines, and deliverables to drive testing strategy implementation and execution. Success in this role requires the ability to engage and influence at all organizational levels, translating technical requirements into executable plans that support clinical readiness, regulatory submissions, and market approvals.
The role requires deep technical expertise across drug and device development, including design controls, risk management, manufacturing process development and validation, materials, molding technologies, design verification, and design validation. Leveraging this foundation, the Associate Principal Scientist will develop and execute integrated testing strategies that ensure product quality, compliance, and readiness throughout the end‑to‑end development and commercialization lifecycle of combination products.
Collaborative Development, Combination Products, Commercialization, Design Controls, Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), Design Verification Testing, Device Development, Human Factor Engineering, Manufacturing Processes, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Testing, Medical Device Quality Systems, Method Validation, Product Risk Management, Project Leadership, Quality Management Systems (QMS), Release Testing, Self Motivation, Testing Methodology, Test Method Validation, Test Procedure Development, Troubleshooting
Current Employees apply [HERE](https://wd5.myworkday.com/msd/d/task/1422$6687.htmld)
Current Contingent Workers apply [HERE](https://wd5.myworkday.com/msd/d/task/1422$4020.htmld)
Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please [click here](https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/aCdfqL) 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](https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights_10_20.pdf)
[EEOC GINA Supplement](https://www.eeoc.gov/gina-genetic-information-nondiscrimination)
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](https://www.msdprivacy.com/us/en/CCPA-notice/)
The salary range for this role is
$142,400.00 - $224,100.00
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](https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits).
You can apply for this role through [https://jobs.merck.com/us/en](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 place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.
Employee Status:
Regular
Relocation:
Domestic
VISA Sponsorship:
Yes
Travel Requirements:
25%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Not Applicable
Shift:
Not Indicated
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
n/a
Job Posting End Date:
07/25/2026
***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. **
Our company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where we have codified our legacy for over a century. Our success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.
Read More
[View a country's privacy page or submit a request.](https://www.msdprivacy.com/
