2025 University Recruiting - Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics Co-op

Job Description

The Future Talent Program features Cooperative (Co-op) education that lasts up to 6 months and will include one or more projects. These opportunities in our Research and Development Division can provide you with great development and a chance to see if we are the right company for your long-term goals

Our company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. With a legacy spanning over a century, our company's success is driven by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.

The Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) group provides issue-driven in vitro Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) data to guide lead candidate optimization and development efforts.  The DMPK group at South San Francisco is seeking a 2025 Co-Op to optimize the in vitro immunogenicity evaluation platform to facilitate the drug candidate selection.

Learning opportunities for the prospective Co-Op are:

• Involvement in the development and execution of cell-based assays for biopharmaceuticals

• Evaluation of alternative protocols, using flow cytometry, fluorospot or other technologies

• Exploring cell depletion methods to improve assay sensitivity

• Assessment of automation steps to streamline the assay workflow

In addition to laboratory skills, the Co-Op will have the opportunity to be engaged in scientific discussion and interpretation of data. The student will have an opportunity to present their research results in both oral and written formats. There is a possibility that the work could lead to future publications.

We are seeking Co-Op candidates at all levels with strong academic performance, communication skills, teamwork, and the ability to work in a multi- functional environment. The laboratory activities are representative of the collaborative efforts between PPDM groups and Discovery, giving the co-op an excellent landscape view of the work in the pharmaceutical industry.

Location: South San Francisco

This is a full-time Co-Op position. Housing subsidy is not available as part of this program.

Required Education:

• Candidates should be a currently enrolled graduate student pursuing a master’s or PhD in Immunology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, or related field.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Candidates must be available to work full-time for up to 6 months in 2025.

• The candidate should have at least one year of experience in laboratory skills such as cell culture, aseptic technique, immunoassay and flow cytometry.

• The candidate should have extensive scientific knowledge in cell/molecular biology or immunology.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Ability to develop new experimental protocols and thoroughly document experiments.

• Trained in literature search and data presentation.

• Strong interpersonal, communication, problem solving, and collaboration skills. 

Your learning opportunity at our company is integral to helping the world meet new breakthroughs that affect generations to come, and we’re counting on your skills and inventiveness to help make meaningful contributions to global medical advancement.

Under New York City, Colorado State, Washington State, and California State law, the Company is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range for this job. Final determinations with respect to salary will take into account a number of factors, which may include, but not be limited to the primary work location and the chosen candidate’s relevant skills, experience, and education.

Expected salary range:

$39,600.00-$105,500.00 

FTP2025

MRL2025

Employees working in roles that the Company determines require routine collaboration with external stakeholders, such as customer-facing commercial, or research-based roles, will be expected to comply not only with Company policy but also with policies established by such external stakeholders (for example, a requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to access a facility or meet with stakeholders).  Please understand that, as permitted by applicable law, if you have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and an essential function of your job is to call on external stakeholders who require vaccination to enter their premises or engage in face-to-face meetings, then your employment may pose an undue burden to business operations, in which case you may not be offered employment, or your employment could be terminated. Please also note that, where permitted by applicable law, the Company reserves the right to require COVID-19 vaccinations for positions, such as in Global Employee Health, where the Company determines in its discretion that the nature of the role presents an increased risk of disease transmission.

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U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, generally Tuesday, Wednesday and either Monday or Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.  This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

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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. 

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