Job Description
The Precision Medicine Excellence & Operations Lead is responsible for designing, operationalizing, and continuously improving the systems, frameworks and standards required to deliver diagnostic readiness at scale across tumors, assets, and markets.
This role does not own asset‑level diagnostic decisions. Instead, it enables consistent, high‑quality execution by:
- Leading the Precision Medicine / Diagnostics Capabilities Program and associated maturity framework,
- Orchestrating the Precision Medicine Center of Excellence & Innovation Hub,
- Driving global pathology education and Precision Medicine medical societies strategy,
- Ensuring cross‑asset congress operations and pan‑tumor publications are executed with operational excellence and aligned to capability and readiness goals.
The Excellence & Operations Lead works in close partnership with the Precision Medicine Strategy Implementation Lead, who focuses on global–regional implementation and launch execution. Together, these roles form the backbone of the Precision Medicine operating system, connecting strategy, capabilities, scientific engagement, and country impact.
Responsibilities and Primary Activities
1. Precision Medicine Capabilities Design & Maturity
- Design, implement, and continuously evolve the Precision Medicine / Diagnostics Capabilities Program, ensuring alignment with portfolio priorities and launch timelines.
- Own the capability maturity framework (e.g. IRSAT [Implementation Readiness Self-assessment Tool] or equivalent), providing global readiness intelligence, gap identification, and prioritization of capability investments.
- Define and operationalize country and regional diagnostic readiness models (including archetypes and tiers) in partnership with tumor/asset leads, the Strategy Implementation Lead, and regional stakeholders.
- Develop and maintain standardized tools, templates, and playbooks that can be reused across launches and markets (e.g., readiness dashboards, role profiles, process maps).
2. Precision Medicine Center of Excellence & Innovation Hub
- Lead the Precision Medicine Center of Excellence & Innovation Hub, ensuring it functions as a one‑stop hub for: knowledge capture and reuse, best‑practice identification and dissemination, and codification of lessons learned into standards and operating models.
- Establish systematic feedback loops (e.g., post‑launch retrospectives, “learning labs”) to bring field and regional insights back into global frameworks and tools.
3. Global Pathology Education, Medical Societies & Scientific Ecosystem
- Design and lead a global pathology education strategy that supports diagnostic capability maturation across priority tumors and indications.
- Provide global leadership for the Precision Medicine medical societies strategy, shaping engagement priorities and ensure consistent messaging with key professional societies in pathology, oncology and diagnostics.
- Ensure that education and external engagement activities are insight‑generating, and feed directly into capability and readiness planning.
4. Cross‑Asset Operational Excellence (Congresses & Pan‑Tumor Publications)
- Coordinate cross‑asset congress operations for Precision Medicine‑relevant activities (e.g., playbooks, our research division's debriefs, SL engagements), ensuring operational consistency, efficiency, and alignment with Precision Medicine capability and readiness goals.
- Lead the alignment and operational coordination of pan‑tumor Precision Medicine publications, in collaboration with tumor and asset teams, to ensure that key implementation insights, diagnostic data, and capability learnings are disseminated effectively.
5. Synergies & Interdependencies with the Precision Medicine Strategy Implementation Lead
To ensure a coherent operating system, the Excellence & Operations Lead will:
- Co‑design and co‑own the Diagnostics Capabilities Program with the Strategy Implementation Lead, who drives regional deployment and adoption of program modules.
- Provide the global capability frameworks, readiness models, and tools that the Strategy Implementation Lead tailors and implements across the U.S. and priority ex‑U.S. regions and markets.
- Receive implementation feedback and country insights from the Strategy Implementation Lead and regional stakeholders, and translate them into updated standards, playbooks, and maturity criteria.
- Align on diagnostic KPIs and readiness metrics, with the Excellence & Operations Lead owning the global definitions and analytics, and the Strategy Implementation Lead focusing on regional performance and remediation planning.
Required Qualifications, Skills and Experience
Minimum
- Advanced life sciences degree preferred (M.D., PhD, PharmD, or MSc., with significant scientific/technical experience); equivalent demonstrated scientific and diagnostics credibility accepted.
- Minimum 3 years’ experience in pharmaceutical/biotech industry with substantive Medical Affairs experience and a strong focus on precision medicine, diagnostics, or related capabilities (e.g., biomarker operations, diagnostic partnerships, pathology education).
- Demonstrated experience in capability design and implementation (e.g., frameworks, training programs, maturity models) and/or Center of Excellence / excellence program leadership.
- Proven track record working in global matrix environments, collaborating across Medical Affairs, Market Access, Regulatory, Clinical Development, and Operations.
- Strong experience in program and operations management, including coordination of complex cross‑asset initiatives such as congress operations and publication planning.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and change‑management skills; ability to translate complex capability concepts into practical tools and processes.
- Ability to work effectively across geographies and influence without direct authority.
- Willingness to travel internationally (~20–30%), as required.
Preferred
- Prior experience with diagnostic‑enabled product launches or diagnostics ecosystem partnerships (e.g., CDx, lab networks, pathology or oncology societies).
- Experience leading or contributing to Centers of Excellence, capability programs, or enterprise‑wide transformation initiatives.
- Experience in data/analytics for capability or readiness tracking (e.g., dashboards, KPIs, maturity scoring).
Behavioral Competencies
- Strategic thinker with the ability to design scalable systems and anticipate future capability needs.
- Collaborative, inclusive leader who can drive change and build alignment in complex matrix environments.
- Results‑oriented, with strong project discipline and focus on measurable outcomes (e.g., readiness improvements, capability uplift, increased impact of congresses and publications).
- Demonstrates high integrity, external credibility, and commitment to compliant, patient‑centric Medical Affairs.
**Required Skills: **
Biomarkers, Companion Diagnostics (CDx), Implementation Management, Medical Affairs, Pharmaceutical Medical Affairs, Precision Medicine (PM), Program Execution, Program Implementation, Project Management, Project Management Leadership, Strategic Planning
**Preferred Skills: **
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The salary range for this role is
$190,800.00 - $300,300.00
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
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**Employee Status: **
Regular
Relocation:
Domestic
VISA Sponsorship:
Yes
Travel Requirements:
25%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid
Shift:
Not Indicated
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
n/a
Job Posting End Date:
05/27/2026
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