Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Protein Engineering

Job Description

Be a part of the legacy: Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program

Our Research Laboratories’ Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program aims to be a best-in-industry program for industrial postdoctoral researchers, designed to provide you with an academic focus in a commercial environment. With the resources, reach, and expertise of a large pharmaceutical company, postdoctoral researchers will be positioned to excel in an institution committed to breakthrough innovation in research and discovery.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Scientist with demonstrated expertise in biochemistry and a strong interest in enzyme engineering and discovery, to join the Protein Engineering Group in our company's Enabling Technologies Division’s Boston laboratories. The successful candidate will leverage state-of-the-art enzyme engineering and discovery technologies to develop novel biosynthetic approaches to access non-canonical amino acids. The postdoctoral fellow will work in close collaboration with scientists across our company to develop and apply these approaches and will share their findings in high-impact, peer-reviewed publications as well as presentations at external conferences.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Identify novel enzymes and biosynthetic pathways for amino-acid biosynthesis

• Develop and advance experimental approaches to efficiently identify and optimize enzyme activity, particularly as it relates to enzymatic carboxylation.

• Develop and execute high throughput screening assays to identify novel enzyme activity, review high-throughput screening data, and utilize statistical approaches to identify variants of interest or patterns.

• Learn and apply state-of-the-art chemistry techniques, including high-throughput and data-rich experimentation (HTE/DRE), to solve problems, gain mechanistic insight, and drive synthetic innovations.

• Network with colleagues across our Company's Chemistry and collaborate with adjacent functional areas, e.g., analytical chemistry and modeling and informatics

• Comply with company data retention and lab safety procedures and complete required trainings.

• Author, contribute to, and review scientifically impactful publications, manuscripts, and presentations

• Contribute to and participate in internal and external scientific symposiums, seminars, and conferences.

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Candidates should currently hold a Ph.D. or will you have completed your PhD within the next year, in biochemistry, organic chemistry, biocatalysis, chemical or biological engineering or a related discipline.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in biochemistry and molecular biology techniques, including construct design, sequencing, PCR, enzymatic assays, and high-throughput screening.

• Experience with UPLC, UPLC-MS, and NMR and familiarity with small-molecule metabolite identification.

• Proven ability to complete research projects, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations

• High motivation and attention to detail, problem-solving, organizational, and troubleshooting skills.

• Ability to both independently and in a team setting design experiments, interpret data, and incorporate data into new designs leading to successful experimental outcomes

• Demonstrate exceptional communication and collaboration skills to effectively communicate their research and collaborate in cross-functional multi-disciplinary teams.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Previous experience with enzyme evolution or biocatalysis.

• Bioinformatics or computational protein modeling experience, particularly as it relates to the identification and understanding of enzyme function is a plus.

• Experience using python, R, or similar for high-throughput data analysis, modeling, or data mining.

• Familiarity with DOE or similar and experience with reaction engineering approaches is also of interest.

MRLpostdoc

We are a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. Our mission is built on the simple premise that if we “follow the science” that great medicines can make a significant impact to our world. We believe that a research-driven enterprise dedicated to world-class science can succeed by inventing medicine and vaccine innovations that make a difference for patients across the globe.

Who we are …

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.

What we look for …

Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are among the intellectually curious, join us—and start making your impact today.

NOTICE FOR INTERNAL APPLICANTS

In accordance with Managers' Policy - Job Posting and Employee Placement, all employees subject to this policy are required to have a minimum of twelve (12) months of service in current position prior to applying for open positions.

If you have been offered a separation benefits package, but have not yet reached your separation date and are offered a position within the salary and geographical parameters as set forth in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) of your separation package, then you are no longer eligible for your separation benefits package. To discuss in more detail, please contact your HRBP or Talent Acquisition Advisor.

Residents of Colorado

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For positions located in the United States and Puerto Rico – Subject to applicable law, all new hires (including internal transfers) must demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or that they qualify for a medical or religious exemption to this vaccination requirement. New hires (including internal transfers) to a position that, as determined by the Company, requires routine collaboration with external stakeholders (such as roles in health services or customer-facing commercial or research-based roles) (“Customer-Facing Role”) who are not vaccinated must qualify for a medical or religious exemption and be in a position that the Company determines can accommodate unvaccinated employees without causing an undue burden to business operations. If, following dialog with the candidate as appropriate, it is determined that the candidate either a) does not qualify for a religious or medical exemption or, b) for candidates applying for Customer-Facing roles, it is determined that allowing the candidate to work without vaccination would cause an undue burden to the Company, the candidate will be ineligible for hire or transfer, or any offer of employment or transfer (if applicable) will be revoked. Please note that notwithstanding the approval of any reasonable accommodation, the Company reserves the right to monitor, modify, or revoke any such accommodation if it is determined, following dialog with the employee, that the accommodation is no longer effective or results in an undue burden to the Company.

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Residents of Colorado:

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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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Requisition ID:R220645