Senior Principal Scientist, Clinical Operations - Immunology

Merck Merck · Pharma · USA - Pennsylvania - North Wales (Upper Gwynedd), USA - California - San Diego (Science Park Road), USA - New Jersey - Rahway

Senior Principal Scientist role at Merck focused on providing strategic, scientific, and operational leadership for complex clinical development programs in Immunology. The role involves leading global cross-functional teams, ensuring operational feasibility and quality, collaborating with stakeholders, and contributing to resource planning and process improvements. Experience in managing direct reports, conducting global trials, and regulatory filings is required. While the company uses AI tools, this role's core craft is clinical operations and drug development, not AI/ML model building.

What you'd actually do

  1. Overarching responsibility and oversight of clinical program execution, providing innovative ideas to achieve organizational objectives.
  2. Lead and direct teams to support key program planning and execution elements (e.g., program level overviews; sr. management, and governance meetings; regulatory agency interactions; advisory meeting meeting preparation). Serves as an escalation point for issues and promotes cross-function solutions.
  3. Apply expertise to maximize operational feasibility and efficiency. Ensure consistency and quality across assigned portfolio.
  4. Serve as the operational representative on the Product Development’s Clinical Subteam.
  5. Contributes to resource planning and staffing (hiring and/or project onboarding; management of clinical scientists and/or study managers; may include management of program leads).

Skills

Required

  • Adaptability
  • Business Development
  • Clinical Development
  • Clinical Programs
  • Clinical Research
  • Clinical Trials Monitoring
  • Cross-Functional Teamwork
  • Data Management
  • Drug Regulatory Affairs
  • Early Clinical Development
  • Ethical Standards
  • Exercises Judgment
  • Global Clinical Studies
  • Immunology
  • Innovation
  • Life Science
  • Medical Care
  • Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
  • Oncology Drug Development
  • Patient Safety
  • Process Improvements
  • Project Management
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Regulatory Submissions
  • GCP and ICH regulations
  • managing people, programs & processes
  • leading meetings and influencing peers and direct reports in a matrix environment
  • Advanced problem solving, conflict resolution, and critical thinking skills
  • project management
  • time management/organizational skills
  • Build team capabilities through proactive coaching
  • Provide guidance to team members/colleagues for functional area deliverables with emphasis on consistent application of Therapeutic Area or program specific requirements
  • Strong communication skills with advanced oral and written English skills
  • Advanced computer/database skills

Nice to have

  • Experience managing direct reports
  • Experience in conducting autoimmune and/or immune mediated diseases in gastroenterologic, rheumatologic and dermatologic diseases including but not limited to ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, etc.
  • Conducted global phase I-V trials, inclusive.
  • Experience with CoPilot, MS Forms, and Power Automate

What the JD emphasized

  • Expert knowledge of GCP and ICH regulations
  • Demonstrated ability to drive and manage highly complex clinical program(s)
  • Experience in regulatory filings