435,594open jobs
15,222companies
62,580added this week
Browse all
Salary
$66k – $148k per year (Estimated)
Location
In office (Cambridge)
Seniority
Junior · 2+ years exp
Employment
Full-Time
Overview
Company
Impact
Profile match
Merck & Co. is an American pharmaceutical company founded in 1891 as the United States arm of the German firm Merck and made independent after the First World War, trading as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Its portfolio is dominated by the immuno-oncology drug Keytruda, alongside vaccines such as Gardasil and Vaxneuvance, hospital acute care products, and a large animal health business covering livestock and companion animals. The company is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and spends a very large share of revenue on research into oncology, infectious disease and cardiometabolic therapies.

Job Description

The Future Talent Program features co-ops that last up to 6 months and will include one or more projects. These opportunities in our Research & Development Division can provide you with great development and a chance to see if we are the right company for your long-term goals.

Our company's Research Lab's Chemical Biology group within Discovery Chemistry is seeking a co-op with a passion for scientific research, strong academic performance, communication skills, and the ability to work on cross-functional teams. We offer opportunities in our state-of-the-art science laboratories to solve fundamental synthetic or biological problems relevant to drug discovery and development, while functioning as a fully integrated member of the company project teams.

Chemical Biology (Cambridge, MA)

Our Company's Chemical Biology (comprising of chemistry, proteomics, and cell pharmacology) focuses on providing novel, high-quality targets and expanding confidence on molecular mechanism of action for our key assets. The candidate will leverage their chemical and biological expertise to solve complex biological problems while working in both chemistry and biology laboratory spaces. The co-op will provide an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge on how our Company's Research Labs (RL) uses key technologies to create a synergistic toolbox for early discovery and beyond.

Key Responsibilities

  • Short, multi-step organic synthesis and chemical diversification to generate novel small molecule libraries

  • Collaborate with team members to troubleshoot and improve experiments

  • Analyze and interpret experimental data, maintaining detailed laboratory records

  • Participate in lab meetings and present research findings

**Please note when applying for this position, the candidate must have consent from PI. If the candidate is selected for an interview, the applicant must be prepared to submit letters of recommendation, a brief research statement and a copy of transcripts.

Required Education & Experience:

  • Candidates must be a currently enrolled graduate student pursuing a Master's or Ph.D. in Chemistry, Chemical Biology, or related field

  • Candidates must have completed at least two years of studies toward a PhD or equivalent degree by June 2027

  • Candidates must be available to work full-time for approximately 6 months beginning in mid-2027

  • Self-motivated, creative scientists with strong critical thinking skills and attention to detail

Preferred Experience & Skills:

  • Some hands-on exposure to mammalian cell culture and standard molecular biology techniques

  • Experience designing, optimizing, and developing novel cell-based assays for phenotypic screening is a plus

  • Have a good understanding of biology concepts and chemical application to perturb biological systems

  • Experience with liquid handlers in a plus

  • Candidates should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher

Please note that this position may be closed before the posted end date or may remain open longer, at the discretion of the company.

Salary range:

The salary range for this role is $39,108 through $111,111.

FTP2027

RL2027

Required Skills:

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. Asa 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

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:

Intern/Co-op (Fixed Term)

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

Yes

Job Posting End Date:

10/9/2026

*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.

Free account
Stop reading job ads. Get the ones that fit.
One free account turns this page into a shortlist built around your stack, your level and your pay.
Match on every job. Stack, seniority, pay and location, scored against your profile.
435,594 open roles. Read straight off company career pages, refreshed every day.
Unlimited applications. Every one you send is tracked in one place, on-site or on a company board.
3 tailored CVs a month. Rewritten for the exact job you are applying to. Included free.
Create a free account
Free forever. No card. Under a minute.

Recommended for you based on this role

Similar stack
Same company
Cambridge
$40k – $111k per year • Remote/Hybrid • Internship • Bachelor's Degree • Rahway
Design
Canva
Marketing
YouTube
LinkedIn
Instagram
Apply
In office • Full-Time • Master's Degree • Cambridge
Apply
$40k – $111k per year • In office • Full-Time • Bachelor's Degree • Boston • South San Francisco
Apply
$40k – $111k per year • In office • Internship • United States
Apply
$76k – $212k per year (Estimated) • In office • Full-Time • Associate's Degree • United States
Apply
$151k – $183k per year • In office • Full-Time • 5+ years exp • Bachelor's Degree • Seattle • Brisbane • Princeton • Cambridge
Python
TypeScript
SQL
Python
FastAPI
Databases
PostgreSQL
Redis
OpenSearch
Amazon Neptune
AI/ML
Copilot
LangGraph
LangChain
Claude
Claude Code
Model Context Protocol
Multimodal AI
AI Agents
LangSmith
Pydantic AI
AWS Bedrock
Gemini
LLM
RAG
OpenAI
Anthropic
OpenAI Codex
OpenAI Agents SDK
Structured Outputs
Context Engineering
Knowledge Graph
LLM Guardrails
Agentic Workflows
Multi-Agent Systems
DevOps
Terraform
AWS CDK
CloudFormation
CI/CD
AWS
Platform Engineering
AWS Fargate
AWS Lambda
Vector
GitHub
Amazon S3
IAM
Apply
In office • Internship • Cambridge
Apply
$66k – $148k per year (Estimated) • In office • Full-Time • 2+ years exp • PhD • Cambridge
Python
Apply
In office • Internship • 2+ years exp • Bachelor's Degree • Cambridge
Apply
$87k – $249k per year (Estimated) • In office • Internship • 2+ years exp • Bachelor's Degree • South San Francisco • Boston • Cambridge
Apply
See all jobs
This is one of many
435,594 more open roles from verified company boards, updated every day.