Merck logo

Senior Scientist, Synthetic Purification (On-site)

Merck

Rahway, NJFull-time$117–184K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

Most applications go out cold — see where you stand first. No sign-up to start.

You apply on the employer's site, with no Olive account needed.

Watch jobs like this.

Don't just apply. Show up ready.

Olive works from this exact posting.

At a glance

Compensation
$117–184K/yr
Location
Rahway, NJ
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Visa required • Visa sponsorship

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

The Senior Scientist will join Merck’s multiscale separations team and lead chromatographic isolation of pharmaceutical APIs and impurities from analytical through preparative scales. The role supports small molecules, peptides, conjugate-based and emerging modalities, partnering with process chemists and analytical scientists to develop fit-for-purpose isolation methods, establish purification workflows, and deliver high-purity materials for the development pipeline.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Analytical ChemistryAnalytical Method DevelopmentAssay DevelopmentBiopharmaceuticalsChemical SynthesisChemistryChromatographyMass SpectrometryMethod DevelopmentPurification MethodsSmall MoleculesSynthetic ChemistrySynthetic Organic ChemistryTechnical WritingUltra Performance Liquid ChromatographyRPLCNPLCSFCChiral IsolationAchiral IsolationMS-Directed PurificationOrthogonal DetectionPDA DetectionMulti-Angle Light ScatteringCharged Aerosol DetectionScientific Problem SolvingScientific EngagementScientific Communication

Qualifications

PhD in Synthetic Chemistry or RelatedPhD in Natural Product Chemistry or RelatedPhD in Analytical Chemistry or RelatedMS+5 Years Biopharmaceutical ExperiencePostdoc or Intern Experience

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off

Full job description

Job Description

Our Research Scientists are our Inventors. We identify and target steps in disease mechanisms or pathways that could be inhibited or enhanced. Our goal is to use innovative thinking, state-of-the-art facilities, and robust scientific methodology, we collaborate to discover the next medical breakthrough.

As a Senior Scientist in the multiscale separations team within the Separations Sciences team of Analytical Enabling Capabilities, you will work within a highly collaborative team to enable the advancement of the development pipeline. You will be primarily responsible for chromatographic isolation of pharmaceutical API and impurities from analytical scale to semi-prep scale and prep scale, covering the space of small molecules, peptides, conjugate-based modalities as well as emerging modalities in our portfolio. To accelerate the development of new medicines and vaccines, you will partner with process chemists and analytical scientists to deploy efficient and fit-for-purpose chemical isolation methods, to establish innovative purification workflows, and to deliver high purity materials. As a member of our team, you will be joining a diverse group of scientific problem solvers, who are dedicated to creating the life-changing products of tomorrow.

Education Minimum Requirements:

  • Ph.D. in Synthetic Chemistry, Natural product chemistry, Analytical Chemistry or a related field.

  • M.S. with a minimum of 5 years of experience in the Biopharmaceutical industry.

Required Experience and Skills:

  • Experience in analytical, semi-prep/prep scale chromatography (RPLC, NPLC, SFC), technologies, instrumentation, and workflows, with demonstrated experience in its applications in chiral, achiral isolation of challenging pharmaceutical mixtures to support a variety of pharmaceutical modalities including small molecules, peptides, antibody-drug conjugates and vaccines adjuvants etc.

  • Experience in mass spectrometry and its application in MS-directed chromatographic purification.

  • Working knowledge of orthogonal detection technologies, including PDA, Multi-angle light scattering, charged aerosol detection etc.

  • Creative problem solving in scientific research and development, with proven track-record of translating R&D problem solving into impactful pipeline deliveries.

  • External scientific engagement that may include a combination of publications, industry white paper contributions, presentations at scientific meetings.

  • Excellent scientific writing and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

  • Experience working in the bio-pharmaceutical industry as Postdoc or intern is preferred.

EligibleforERP

Required Skills:

Analytical Chemistry, Analytical Method Development, Assay Development, Biopharmaceuticals, Chemical Synthesis, Chemistry, Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry (MS), Method Development, Purification Methods, Small Molecules, Synthetic Chemistry, Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Technical Writing, Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC)

Preferred Skills:

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)

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 (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

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 primary location for this posting is:

USA - New Jersey - Rahway

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:

$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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 .

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

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:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

Yes

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

11/13/2026

*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: R425747

How this job compares

Set against the 2,115 open Scientist jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 6, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$117–184K/yr
  • New Jersey median$117–160K/yr68 salary ranges
  • US median$103–160K/yr1,081 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $151K, is 10% above the New Jersey median midpoint ($137K) — in the middle half of Scientist salary ranges in New Jersey.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 89 open Scientist jobs in New Jersey and 2,115 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in New Jersey
Experience
This posting asks for at least 5 years of experience; Scientist postings that state a minimum ask for 3 years at the median (1,551 postings).
Education
1,097 of the 2,115 open Scientist jobs (52%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 6, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

Prepare for this role

You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.