Merck
Senior Principal Scientist, Pharmacokinetics
USA - California - South San Francisco (Grand Ave) · Principal · Contract
Sponsorship not specified$194k-$306kDetected 67 days ago
A/B TestingHRISPharmacologyResearchAnimal StudiesLeadershipCommunicationCollaborationMentoringPublic Speaking
Stay score
odds of building a lasting career here
60Sponsors, lottery-bound
Cap-exempt (no lottery)0
Sponsors this role85
Entry-level history0
PERM / green-card track0
Lottery odds (Level IV)94
Fits your clock70
Sponsors, but it's cap-subject — you still face the weighted lottery (~61% per draw at Level IV). Good if you win; have a cap-exempt backup on your list.
Lottery odds assume a STEM candidate.
Personalize to your clock →H-1B wage level
the lottery is wage-weighted — each level is one more entry
Level I$90,8751 entry
Level II$115,2322 entries
Level III$139,6103 entries
Level IV$163,9664 entries
This range already reaches Level IV — the maximum four lottery entries.
DOL prevailing wage, 2026-27 wage year · Biochemists and Biophysicists (19-1021) · Bakersfield-Delano, CA. Wage level is derived by USCIS from the offered wage, occupation and worksite; the occupation shown is inferred from the job title.
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About the role
- The South San Francisco DMPK organization is seeking an accomplished and highly collaborative Senior Principal Scientist to provide scientific leadership across drug conjugate discovery and development programs, support strategic portfolio decisions, and advance DMPK capabilities for emerging modalities. This individual will partner closely with discovery biology, translational sciences, clinical development, bioanalytical, toxicology, chemistry, and program teams to enable data-driven decision making from early discovery through clinical candidate nomination and FIH execution.
- The successful candidate will provide scientific leadership for conjugate DMPK strategy, oversee LM ADME experimentation strategy and capabilities, contribute to portfolio management and prioritization, serve as a program representative in high priority programs and manage a team of principal investigators and biologics scientific experts. The candidate will drive efforts to strengthen DMPK capabilities by tracking advances in conjugates, ADME, PK/PD, bioanalysis, and emerging modalities, while collaborating with internal and external partners to deliver high-impact data packages.
- The South San Francisco DMPK organization is seeking an accomplished and highly collaborative Senior Principal Scientist to provide scientific leadership across drug conjugate discovery and development programs, support strategic portfolio decisions, and advance DMPK capabilities for emerging modalities.
Responsibilities
- Lead the development and implementation of fit-for-purpose DMPK screening funnels and translational plans to support lead optimization, candidate selection, human dose projection, and regulatory packages.
- Directly manage and develop a group of investigators and scientific experts, setting clear scientific expectations, enabling effective prioritization and execution, and fostering continued growth of technical and leadership capabilities.
- Collaborate effectively with internal teams, external partners, and contract research organizations to ensure efficient delivery of high-impact DMPK data packages.
Requirements
- Required Experience and
- Education:
- Master's (with 15+ years) or Ph.D. (with 12+ years) in pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacology, bioengineering, chemistry, biochemistry, biological sciences, or a related discipline with significant experience in DMPK, ADME, translational pharmacology, or biologics/conjugate drug development.
- Required Experience and Skills:
- Extensive experience in DMPK, ADME, pharmacokinetics, translational science, or related disciplines, with a strong record of scientific impact in discovery and/or development programs.
- Deep scientific expertise in ADME, PK, PK/PD, bioanalysis, and translational interpretation, with demonstrated ability to apply these disciplines to complex modalities such as drug conjugates, biologics, or other novel therapeutic platforms.
- Proven ability to design, interpret, and integrate in vitro and in vivo data to enable program progression, candidate selection, human PK projection, dose selection, and regulatory strategy.
- Demonstrated experience serving as a DMPK representative or scientific leader on cross-functional project teams and influencing program strategy through clear, data-driven recommendations.
- Strong understanding of nonclinical-to-clinical translation, IND-enabling requirements, and the role of DMPK data in regulatory submissions and clinical development planning.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex scientific concepts clearly to technical, cross-functional, and senior leadership audiences.
- Strong collaboration, mentoring, and talent development skills, with a commitment to building an inclusive, high-performing scientific culture.
Nice to have
- Preferred Experience and Skills:
- Preferred Skills:
Skills
- Experience with small molecule ADME drug discovery applicable to conjugate discovery and development.
- Current Employees apply HERE
- Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
- US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:
Compensation
- The salary range for this role is
Company info
- Author, review, and present high-quality scientific documents, nonclinical packages as part of regulatory submissions, project updates, and decision-making materials for internal and external stakeholders.
Equal opportunity
- Employment laws, visit:
- EEOC Know Your Rights
- EEOC GINA Supplement
- We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's thinking and approach problems collectively.
Visa & Work Authorization
- VISA Sponsorship:
This listing is sourced directly from Merck's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.