Scientist, Immunology Discovery

Scientist Position

Our company, a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products, is committed to bringing life changing therapies to patients in need. With a patient-focused approach harnessing cutting-edge precision medicine, it is our mission to transform the landscape of inflammatory and auto immune diseases. Immunology Discovery leads and supports our company's pipeline programs encompassing early target discovery and validation, drug discovery, and translational sciences, including bioinformatics, chemical biology, antibody discovery, and clinical development. These efforts are performed in collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams at our company.

Immunology Discovery is currently seeking a motivated, and detail-oriented Scientist with a background in biology research and drug discovery to support internal discovery efforts at our Research Division in San Diego, CA. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing and executing in vitro assays, analyzing data, and writing reports to support research programs in the immunology therapeutic area.

Responsibilities:

• Work independently and as part of a team to support the early development of novel therapeutics for inflammatory and auto immune diseases
• Design and perform cell-based functional assays (cell lines, primary cells) and biochemical assays with a wide range of methodologies to support target validation, antibody drug screening, mechanism of action studies, biomarker identification in the preclinical and IND-enabling space
• Analyze, critically interpret data, and utilize findings for assay development and optimization
• Keep meticulous records of experiments performed, maintain lab notebook entries, and share results with project teams as required
• Collaborate closely with members within the department and across functional teams in support of research projects/programs at different stages.

  Qualifications:

  Education:

  • Bachelor’s (with 3+ years) or Master’s in Biology, Biochemistry, or related life sciences field with relevant experience

    Required Experience and Skills:

    • Strong cell culture skills including mammalian cell lines and human primary cells (PBMCs)
    • Experience developing ex-vivo cell-based assays to assess immune responses from primary cells or cell lines
    • Proficiency in optimizing and executing immunoassays (Meso Scale Discovery, ELISA, others) to measure analytes in serum, plasma, supernatant or cell lysates
    • Experience in multi-color flow cytometry to immunophenotype human cells to assess immune response or cell signaling pathways
    • Strong data analytical and problem-solving skills, with proficiency in standard scientific software used for data analysis (Excel, Prism (GraphPad), FlowJo)
    • Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to function and communicate effectively in a multi-disciplinary environment and thrive in a team environment

      Preferred Experience and Skills :

      • Experience in spectral flow cytometry
      • Experience with molecular/ cell biology techniques such as CRISPR, RT-PCR, cell transfection, cell line generation
      • Basic understanding of immunology
      • Understanding of the drug discovery process with prior industry experience

        Required Skills:

        Biochemistry, Cell-Based Assays, Cell Biology, Cell Cultures, Cell Culture Techniques, Cell Signaling, Data Analysis, ELISA Techniques, Ex Vivo Assays, Flow Cytometry, Immunoassays, Immunophenotyping, Mammalian Cell Lines, Meso Scale Discovery

        Preferred Skills:

        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.