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Scientist Cell Culture Process Development Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Execute, and analyze process development experiments to maximize understanding of cell culture and ... Science and Technology: Cell Biology, Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Biochemistry Required ...

Monitor multiple manufacturing production runs and ensure all cell culture processes follow ... Apply basic analytical skills and scientific methods to perform straightforward laboratory and ...

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Scientist Cell Culture Process Development information

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How much do scientist cell culture process development jobs pay per hour?

As of Jun 9, 2026, the average hourly pay for scientist cell culture process development in the United States is $38.66, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $28.37 and $46.15 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Scientist in Cell Culture Process Development, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Scientist in Cell Culture Process Development, you need a solid background in cell biology, bioprocess engineering, and hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture, typically supported by an advanced degree in a life science discipline. Familiarity with bioreactor systems, analytical assays, and software for data analysis such as JMP or Prism is often required, along with knowledge of regulatory guidelines. Strong problem-solving skills, meticulous attention to detail, and effective teamwork are standout soft skills for this role. These competencies are crucial for optimizing cell culture processes, ensuring experimental reproducibility, and supporting the development of safe and effective biopharmaceutical products.

What are some common challenges faced by scientists in cell culture process development, and how are they typically addressed?

Scientists in cell culture process development often encounter challenges such as maintaining cell line stability, optimizing growth conditions, and ensuring consistent product yield and quality. These challenges are typically addressed by rigorous experimental design, close monitoring of critical process parameters, and leveraging automation for reproducibility. Collaboration with analytical, quality assurance, and upstream/downstream teams is common to troubleshoot issues and refine processes. Staying updated with the latest bioprocessing technologies and regulatory guidelines also helps in overcoming these hurdles.

What is the difference between Scientist Cell Culture Process Development vs Scientist Bioprocess Development?

AspectScientist Cell Culture Process DevelopmentScientist Bioprocess Development
CredentialsBachelor's/Master's in Life Sciences, Biotechnology, or related fieldsBachelor's/Master's in Chemical/Biological Engineering, Life Sciences
Work EnvironmentLaboratories focused on cell culture, bioreactors, and media optimizationBioprocessing facilities, pilot plants, and manufacturing environments
Industry UsagePrimarily in biotech and pharmaceutical companies developing cell-based therapiesIn biotech, pharma, and contract manufacturing organizations

Scientist Cell Culture Process Development focuses on optimizing and developing cell culture methods, media, and conditions for producing biological products. In contrast, Scientist Bioprocess Development encompasses a broader scope, including scaling up processes, bioreactor design, and process validation. Both roles require similar educational backgrounds but differ in their specific focus areas within biomanufacturing.

What does a Scientist in Cell Culture Process Development do?

A Scientist in Cell Culture Process Development is responsible for designing, optimizing, and scaling up processes to grow cells in laboratory settings, primarily for the production of biologics such as therapeutic proteins, vaccines, or cell-based therapies. They work to improve cell growth conditions, monitor cell health, and develop protocols that can be transferred from the lab to manufacturing scale. Their work is critical to ensuring products are produced efficiently, safely, and with high quality for clinical or commercial use.
More about Scientist Cell Culture Process Development jobs
Infographic showing various Scientist Cell Culture Process Development job openings in the United States as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 50% Full Time, 20% Part Time, and 30% Contract. Highlights an 94% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $80,420 per year, or $38.7 per hour.
Associate Principal Scientist, Upstream Development

Associate Principal Scientist, Upstream Development

Merck & Co.

Rahway, NJ

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 19 days ago


Merck rating

7.8

Company rating: 7.8 out of 10

Based on 50 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

41st of 71 rated pharmaceutical


Job description

Job DescriptionJob Description:- The Biologics Process Research & Development organization within our company's Research Laboratories is responsible for developing the drug substance manufacturing processes for our company's biologics pipeline. We work closely with colleagues in Discovery, Pre-clinical and Early Development to rapidly develop manufacturing processes for biotherapeutics and efficiently manufacture material to supply clinical trials. We are also responsible for commercial process development and development and implementation of new manufacturing technologies.

We work with our partners in our company's Manufacturing Division to commercialize and launch new products. We are seeking a highly motivated and energetic individual to join our Biologics Process Development Department as an Associate Principal Scientist.- Applicant must have effective organizational and multi-tasking skills, demonstrated excellent scientific leadership in Upstream process development, and superior written and oral communications abilities. Evidence of strong cross-functional collaboration, significant external presence with scientific excellence, and interest and abilities for mentoring junior staff are also expected.

In this role, the successful candidate will work closely with a highly motivated team of Scientists and Engineers in the Upstream Process Development area and contribute to CMC development of our company's pipeline, playing an active role in the design, development, and optimization of cell culture processes and the transfer of processes to clinical and commercial manufacturing sites. She/He will also participate in developing and refining strategies related to next-generation processes through technology development initiatives for assets in early and late-stage clinical development.- Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Participates in and/or leads upstream process development of first-in-human and commercial processes by efficiently developing high yield, robust, and scalable cell culture processes. Responsible for process development, process characterization, and regulatory filing activities to ensure a smooth and clear path to successful PPQs and BLAs for the company's pipeline.

Partner with colleagues in Discovery, Cell Line, Downstream Process Development, Analytical Sciences, and Manufacturing to develop integrated clinical and commercial process and manufacturing solutions that achieve quality by design targets with robust control strategies. Advancing the upstream platform processes through creative process improvement initiatives to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. Collaborate with academia, industry partners, and vendors to drive development, innovation, and adoption of new process technologies.

Keep up to date with the external patent and literature environment; actively present and publish externally and pursue patenting strategies. MINIMUM EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:- Ph.D. with 4+ years' experience or Master's with 8+ years' experience or a bachelor's with 12 years of experience in chemical engineering, Bioengineering, Biological Engineering, or a related field REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS: Technical background and hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture and fed-batch processes to produce recombinant proteins.

Scientific understanding and working knowledge of CHO cell biology, metabolism, cell culture media and engineering principles for large scale recombinant protein production systems. Working knowledge of statistical methods (design of experiment, multivariate data analysis) and tools (SIMCA, JMP, etc.). Understanding of cell culture bioreactors including microbioreactors, bench-scale and pilot-scale bioreactors, and bioreactor scale-up principles from laboratory to large scale.

Proven track record of accomplishments in upstream process and technology development with a strong scientific publication and presentation track record. Ability to direct the planning, execution, analysis, and documentation of all stages of cell culture process development. Plan, execute, analyze, and communicate complex and critical data in a highly organized manner.

Excellent verbal, written communication, and interpersonal skills. Ability to work effectively in cross-functional and matrixed team environment; collaborate with both internal and external partners including vendors. Demonstrated ability for taking initiative, creativity, and innovation in problem solving.

Productivity and efficiency working in the laboratory. Ability to deliver complex objective under aggressive timelines. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS: Experience with cell culture media development.

Experience with high throughput microbioreactor systems and advanced in situ analytics for process monitoring and control. Experience with state-of-the-art cell culture processes including intensified inoculum/fed-batch and perfusion process development. Background in data science approaches related to cell culture and predictive modeling, e.g.

metabolic flux (MFA) analysis, omics, machine learning; computational fluid dynamics, and experience integrating PAT efforts. Experience with late-stage commercial process development, technology transfer, scale-down model qualification, and process characterization. Knowledge of biologics CMC development cycle and scale-up/down in addition to tech transfer to GMP manufacturing site.

Required Skills: Biodesign, Biodesign, Biological Engineering, Cell Cultures, Cell Line Development, Cell Physiology, Chemical Engineering, Clinical Trials, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Detail-Oriented, Downstream Process Development, Drug Delivery Technology, Drug Development, Expression Vectors, Interpersonal Relationships, Leading Project Teams, Mammalian Cell, Mammalian Cell Culture, Manufacturing Processes, Molecular Biology, Operational Efficiency, Pharmaceutical Formulations, Pharmaceutical Process Development, Physical Characterization, Stable Cell Lines {+ 1 more}Preferred Skills: Current Employees apply HERE Current Contingent Workers apply HERE US and Puerto Rico Residents Only: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.- For more information about personal rights under the U.S.

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.Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts The salary range for this role is $142,400.00 - $224,100.00This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting.

An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.- Available benefits include 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. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits .You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: -We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance Los Angeles Residents Only: -We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully-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.-Employee Status: RegularRelocation:DomesticVISA Sponsorship:Yes Travel Requirements: 10%Flexible Work Arrangements:Not ApplicableShift:Not IndicatedValid Driving License:NoHazardous Material(s):n/aJob Posting End Date:06/20/2026 *A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE -the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:R399014 Salary: . Date posted: 05/21/2026


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