Flexible Merck Foundation Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Our Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning (AI/ML) capabilities are critical accelerators to our mission to deliver new medicines that save and improve lives. Core to the Data, AI, and Genome Sciences (DAGS) function is an AI/ML‑first approach to improving target and biomarker discovery, validation and selection and elucidating complex disease mechanisms.

As Associate Director, AI/ML Engineering, you will build state‑of‑the‑art AI/ML tools and pipelines to accelerate scientific discovery and will be part of a cross‑functional team of computational biologists, bioinformaticians, data scientists, software engineers, and other AI/ML engineers.

• Lead the design, development, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of reusable software components that can be integrated into reliable/scalable AI/ML workflows, tools, and applications.
• Collaborate in a highly‑matrix environment to identify research questions, scope data requirements, and develop appropriate AI/ML solutions.
• Provide tactical and strategic technical support for AI/ML Researchers and Data Scientists.
• Stay up‑to‑date with the latest advancements in AI/ML research and operations to proactively propose innovative approaches aligned with industry standards that enhance our internal capabilities.

• PhD in Computer Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genetics/Genomics, or a related STEM field with 4+ years post‑graduate academic medical or industry experience.
• Masters with 7+ years of experience.
• Bachelors with 11+ years of experience.

• Candidates must be an Engineer with a passion to focus relentlessly on the enablement of their teammates with best‑in‑class tools and pipelines in a fast‑paced industry environment.
• Candidates must have excellent communication/interpersonal skills and a team‑focused collaborative mindset to provide technical support to code‑heavy AI/ML Engineers and Data Scientists and to collaborate more broadly in a multi‑disciplinary department.
• Candidate must be a self‑starter and be able to lead projects independently.
• Candidates must have experience with Python, Torch, AWS, MLFlow, Docker, GitHub, and GitHub Actions CI/CD workflows.
• Candidates must have experience building/deploying/scaling novel AI/ML pipelines, particularly transformer‑based Foundation Models and representation learning to support downstream tasks.
• Candidates must have experience with the full SDLC of maintaining Python Packages and Docker images following modern DevSecOps best practices.
• Willingness to learn from others and to teach others.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work collaboratively in multi‑disciplinary team.
• Interest in life sciences problems and how agentic Co‑scientist environments can accelerate discovery.
• Experience with multi‑omics and imaging data is nice to have.
• Experience with Claude Code, Databricks, and GCP is nice to have.

• Agile SDLC
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Biological Sciences
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration
• Database Design
• Data Engineering
• Data Modeling
• Data Science
• Data Visualization
• Foundation Models
• GitHub Actions
• Life Science
• Machine Learning (ML)
• Machine Learning Algorithms
• Python Software Development
• PyTorch
• Software Development
• Stakeholder Relationship Management
• Teamwork
• Transformer Model
• Willingness to Learn

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Databricks Platform
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for Machine Learning
• Imaging Analysis
• Omics

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Salary range for this role: $159,600.00 – $251,200.00.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits, including medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits for employee and family, retirement benefits including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days.

Employment Status: Regular

Relocation: Domestic

Visa Sponsorship: Yes

Travel Requirements: No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid

Shift: Not Indicated

Valid Driving License: No

Hazardous Materials: N/A

Job Posting End Date: 08/07/2026