Data Science Specialist (Hybrid - NJ or PA)

Job Description

We are on a mission to revolutionize the way our company leverages cutting-edge advancements in data science and generative AI with our industry-leading technology stack. If you're passionate about driving innovation through the latest advancements in AI and making the enterprise future-ready for the next wave of AI and generative AI advancements, then this opportunity is for you!

You will join the Data Science Platforms team in our Chief Technology Office (CTO) Division and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our AI/ML technology landscape. Reporting to Associate Director, this position is responsible for contributing to the company's top initiatives to leverage and productionize AI/ML at scale.

The ideal candidate is someone with a passion for AI/ML/generative AI  and an understanding of platforms enabling these technologies, along with a readiness to learn and experiment with emerging advancements.

In this role, you will/your responsibilities will be…

• Evaluate Cutting edge capabilities : be an early adopter of recent advancements and evaluate these for our company needs

• Data Preparation and Feature Engineering: Lead data cleaning, preprocessing, and feature engineering efforts to enhance model accuracy and reliability.

• Advanced Data Analysis: Conduct in-depth exploratory data analysis to uncover actionable insights and inform strategic business decisions.

• Model Development and Optimization: Design, develop, and optimize machine learning models, ensuring they meet performance and scalability requirements.

• Documentation and Best Practices: Build and Maintain comprehensive documentation of methodologies, processes, and model performance, while promoting best practices within the team.

• Deployment and Monitoring: Oversee the deployment and monitoring of machine learning and GenAI applications in production, ensuring they deliver measurable business value.

• Stakeholder Communication: Present findings and insights to stakeholders to drive broader adoption

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to deliver impactful solutions.

Required Education

• High School Diploma Required

Required Experience

• 3+ years of experience in data science, analytics, or a related field, with a strong focus on model development and deployment.

• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, with experience in data manipulation libraries (e.g., pandas, NumPy).

• Strong expertise in machine learning libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch) and advanced model evaluation techniques.

• Proven Experiences in Working with generative AI use cases (e.g. - RAG application , GenAi based Chatbots ,  Agentic AI workflows) . 

Preferred Experience

• Familiarity with cloud services (e.g., AWS) and their application in data science projects.

• Relevant experience working with data science platforms like Dataiku or databricks for building and deploying data science projects .

• Experience with MLOps tools and practices for deploying and managing machine learning models.

MSJR

#eligibleforerp

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

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The Company is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range for this job in certain states and cities within the United States. Final determinations with respect to salary will take into account a number of factors, which may include, but not be limited to the primary work location and the chosen candidate’s relevant skills, experience, and education.

Expected US salary range:

$104,200.00 - $163,900.00

Available benefits include bonus eligibility, long term incentive if applicable, health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, and sick days. A summary of benefits is listed here.

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:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Required Skills:

Application Deployment, Data Analytics, Data Manipulation, Data Science, Generative AI, Machine Learning, Model Development, Pandas (Software), Python (Programming Language), PyTorch, R Programming, Scikit-Learn, Tensorflow

Preferred Skills:

Job Posting End Date:

05/30/2025

*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.