Merck Posted August 7, 2026

Scientist (2nd Shift) - Pharmaceutical Analytical Sciences (Onsite)

Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America FULL_TIME
Manufacturing & CMC

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 Pharmaceutical Analytical Sciences group has an opening for a second shift Scientist based in Rahway, NJ. Join us and experience our culture first-hand - one of strong ethics & integrity, diversified experiences, exceptional science, and a resounding passion for improving human health through innovative drug delivery technologies and predictive analytical tools. As part of our global team, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.

In your role as Scientist, you will be part of a team of Analytical Chemists working on cross-functional scientific teams to enable novel small molecule, peptide, and oligonucleotide drug development through laboratory-based analytical characterization and statistical data analysis.   

This role is fully onsite during 2nd shift operations (3pm – 11:30pm).

Primary Responsibilities:

Support execution of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) activities such as release and stability testing to support development of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), pharmaceutical formulations, and manufacturing processes using both traditional and advanced analytical tools.

Document the execution, procedure, results, and conclusions of experiments in a detailed and organized manner following ALCOA principles.

Troubleshoot and investigate any challenges associated with the GMP testing through active collaboration with cross-functional project teams and/or Quality stakeholders.

Validate and implement analytical methods to support release and stability testing of clinical materials.

Perform data entry, data review, and author analytical reports or data summaries.

Strong collaboration with fellow Analytical Research & Development colleagues as well as cross-functional partners such as Global Development Quality, Process Chemistry, and Pharmaceutical Operations.

Support compliance audit/inspection activities.

Education Minimum Requirements:

Minimum 3 years relevant industry experience for applicants with a Bachelor of Science degree, or 1 year of relevant industry experience for applicants with a Master of Science degree in Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or other Life Sciences.

 

Required Experience and Skills:

Excellent written and oral communication skills, as well as interpersonal skills, are necessary to qualify for this role.

Candidates will also be required to work in a team environment with cross-functional interactions.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

Though not required, the ideal applicant would have hands-on experience in GMP operations, advanced chromatographic separation science, spectroscopy analysis, dissolution testing, and other analytical techniques.

In addition, experience with Empower, data science, and LCMS are also a plus.

PRD

EligibleforERP

To learn more about the PRD team, click:  Join Our Process Research & Development Team .

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Cross-Functional Teamwork, Data Entry, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Pharmaceutical Industry, Self Motivation, Troubleshooting

Preferred Skills:

Analytical Techniques, API Development, API Testing, Chromatographic Separations, Chromatographic Techniques, Dissolution Testing, Drug Development, Oligonucleotides, Peptides, Small Molecules, Spectroscopic Analysis, Spectroscopy

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 salary range for this role is

$87,300.00 - $137,400.00

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:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

2nd - Evening

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

08/14/2026 *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:R395725

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 1527 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 125 biopharma companies.

1527Comparable roles tracked
1434Currently active
125Companies hiring similar roles
44Countries represented

Salary context

455 of 1527 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $87,300/yr – $137,400/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Scientist II – CMC Developmental Sciences · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Peer group range $0 – $540,400 (median $140,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1527 comparable roles

United States781
India104
Germany74
Singapore67
France64
Ireland54

+ 38 more countries

Seniority mix

705 of 1527 peers have a known seniority level

Senior251
Manager165
Principal79
Associate68
Director64
Associate Director44
Senior Director21
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc8
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

7 of 1527 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease6
Oncology1

Similar opportunities

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.

40%similar
Alexion New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
AstraZeneca Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Alexion New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
40%similar
Lilly Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Associate
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Senior Director
Same function Same country

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.

40%
Scientist II, LC Development, Biologics Analytical Development
Alexion · New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director, Global Regulatory Affairs – Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), Platform Innovation – Synthetic Peptides and Oligonucleotides
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior/Principal Scientist, Bioprocess Purification Development
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior Principal Scientist - Bioanalytical Research
Lilly · Louisville, Colorado, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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.