Senior Scientist, Chemistry
Merck
August 20, 2026
On-site
South San Francisco, CA
Clinical Research and Development
Specific Responsibilities:
- Act as an expert in the laboratory, executing on program and chemistry strategy.
- Develop and use innovative synthetic/medicinal chemistry and/or chemical biology problem-solving skills with analysis of data sets to build structure-activity relationships.
- Design, synthesize, purify, and characterize drug candidates and/or chemical probes in target identification/validation, hit-to-lead, and lead optimization programs.
- Provide scientific mentoring and technical training of team members.
- Establish an external scientific presence, including authoring significant publications and presentations.
Education:
- B.S. in chemistry/medicinal chemistry/related field with 7 years’ experience; or M.S. with 4 years’ experience; or Ph.D. (received by Summer 2027).
Requirements:
- Extensive organic synthesis experience emphasizing methodology/catalysis, total synthesis, and/or physical organic chemistry.
- Ability to solve complex problems.
Required Skills:
- Analytical Chemistry; Analytical Method Development; Chemical Proteomics; Chromatography; Laboratory Techniques; Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics; Organic Chemistry; Process Analytical Technology (PAT); Scientific Research/Literacy; Spectroscopy; Synthetic Chemistry.
Application Instructions:
- Apply via https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (deadline stated on the posting).
- Act as an expert in the laboratory, executing on program and chemistry strategy.
- Develop and use innovative synthetic/medicinal chemistry and/or chemical biology problem-solving skills with analysis of data sets to build structure-activity relationships.
- Design, synthesize, purify, and characterize drug candidates and/or chemical probes in target identification/validation, hit-to-lead, and lead optimization programs.
- Provide scientific mentoring and technical training of team members.
- Establish an external scientific presence, including authoring significant publications and presentations.
Education:
- B.S. in chemistry/medicinal chemistry/related field with 7 years’ experience; or M.S. with 4 years’ experience; or Ph.D. (received by Summer 2027).
Requirements:
- Extensive organic synthesis experience emphasizing methodology/catalysis, total synthesis, and/or physical organic chemistry.
- Ability to solve complex problems.
Required Skills:
- Analytical Chemistry; Analytical Method Development; Chemical Proteomics; Chromatography; Laboratory Techniques; Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics; Organic Chemistry; Process Analytical Technology (PAT); Scientific Research/Literacy; Spectroscopy; Synthetic Chemistry.
Application Instructions:
- Apply via https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (deadline stated on the posting).