✦ Luna Orbit — Science & Research

Associate Principal Scientist, Engineering

at Merck

📍 USA - New Jersey - Rahway Hybrid 💰 $142K – $224K USD / year Posted March 19, 2026
Salary $142K – $224K USD / year
Type Full-Time
Experience mid
Exp. Years 8+ years
Education BS and/or MS in Chemical Engineering or related field
Category Science & Research

Seeking an experienced scientist to lead process development activities for small molecule manufacturing, focusing on process characterization, validation, and technology transfer in a biotech/pharmaceutical setting.

  • Develop manufacturing processes
  • Lead process characterization
  • Manage technology transfer
  • Conduct validation studies
  • Mentor junior staff

Role involves process development, characterization, validation, and scale-up of small molecule processes, utilizing statistical design, laboratory experimentation, and cGMP standards.

The ideal candidate is a mid-level process development scientist with 8+ years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotech industries, skilled in process characterization, technology transfer, validation, and statistical design, with strong mentoring and communication skills.

BS and/or MS in Chemical Engineering or related field8+ years of relevant experience in process developmentExperience with process characterizationExperience with technology transferExperience with validationExperience with process scale-upAbility to mentor technical staffStrong communication skills
Lab-based researchCrystallizationRegulatory filingValidation planningInternal/external technical discussionsStatistical design
Process developmentProcess characterizationTechnology transferValidationStatistical design of experimentsLaboratory experimentationcGMPRisk assessmentsDeviation investigationsGood Documentation Practices
Process developmentProcess characterizationTechnology transferValidationStatistical design of experimentsLaboratory experimentationKilo labSmall molecule pipelinecGMPRisk assessmentsDeviation investigationsGood Documentation Practices
collaborationcommunicationmentoringorganizationinterpersonal skillsdata analysisteamwork
Industry Pharmaceuticals / Biotechnology
Job Function Develop and optimize manufacturing processes for small molecules in a biotech/pharmaceutical environment
Role Subtype Process Development Scientist
Tech Domains Science & Research
process developmentprocess characterizationtechnology transfervalidationstatistical design of experimentslaboratory experimentationsmall molecule pipelinecGMPrisk assessmentsdeviation investigationsgood documentation practiceschemical process developmentscale-upregulatory filingvalidation planningtechnical mentorshipsmall moleculerisk assessmentlaboratory researchcrystallizationregulatory

Less than 8 years of relevant experience, No experience with process characterization or validation, Lack of experience in small molecule pipeline, No experience with cGMP or regulatory filings

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