Sr. Data Scientist

Merck’s Digital Sciences team, part of the Analytical Enabling Capabilities group within Analytical R&D, is seeking experienced Data Workflow Engineers to support the design and development of data pipelines that enable the discovery and development of novel medicines and vaccines. This team works across diverse projects, from instrument metrology to predictive sciences, supporting drug modalities including small molecules, peptides, biologics, and vaccines. The role requires close collaboration with scientists and IT partners to streamline data workflows, automate electronic notebooks, and build predictive tools that accelerate research.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain data workflows and pipelines in Python.
• Meet with scientists, business clients, and subject matter experts to gather requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
• Collaborate with IT teams to implement, deploy, and support workflows in AWS cloud environments.
• Manage projects, estimate timelines, and deliver work in alignment with business needs.
• Participate in daily standups and team meetings, providing updates on progress, risks, and solutions.
• Present project outcomes and technical solutions to collaborators and stakeholders.
• Continuously improve workflows, identify inefficiencies, and propose innovative solutions for scientific data challenges.

Education

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Computer Science, a related field, or in Chemistry with strong programming expertise.

Experience

• 7–8 years of relevant experience in software development and data workflow design.
• Hands-on experience in AWS services (Lambda, S3, CloudFormation, RDS, ECR).
• Proficiency in Python (3.9+) with packages such as Boto3, Pandas, pyodbc, openpyxl; experience with virtual environments (conda).
• Strong background in ETL, data wrangling, ingestion, and pipeline development.
• Experience with software design, testing, version control (Git/GitHub), and CI/CD (GitHub Actions).
• Solid understanding of relational databases, SQL, and data modeling.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work independently or collaboratively.

Preferred Skills

• Additional AWS services (SQS, DLQ, SNS, EventBridge, API Gateway).
• Python packages such as Cerberus, PyYAML, logging; use of linters, type hints, and regular expressions.
• Familiarity with tools like Dataiku or Trifacta.
• Background in pharmaceutical research IT or experience generating scientific data (analytical, genomics, etc.).

Additional Information

• Location: Onsite 2–3 days per week at the West Point, PA site.
• Number of openings: 2.
• This is not a typical IT role—ideal candidates will have experience working directly with scientists, understanding experimental data, and applying digital solutions to research challenges.