Virology (HIV) Community MSL / Regional Medical Scientific Associate Director - West Region

Location: San Francisco, California, United StatesSalary: $173,200.00 - $272,600.00Company: MerckPosted: 2026-08-07Job DescriptionAt our company, we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company. We are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We are seeking a dedicated and knowledgeable Virology (HIV) Community MSL / Regional Medical Scientific Director to join our team. This remote position will be based in CA covering the West Region (CA, OR, WA, UT, NV, AZ, CO, HI) . If you are passionate about making a difference in the field of Virology and HIV, we invite you to apply and be part of our mission to save and improve lives around the world.ResponsibilitiesWork within the Medical Affairs organization to identify, establish, and manage collaborative professional relationships with community-based scientific leaders (SLs) and healthcare providers.Conduct peer-level scientific discussions and maintain a reliable presence to ensure SLs have a Medical Affairs contact within our company.Engage in proactive non-product discussions regarding scientific issues to understand real-world prevention gaps, persistent disparities, and barriers to uptake across various care settings.Facilitate appropriate scientific exchange of information with SLs, including integration of scientific knowledge with actionable insights to inform our Company's research, development and strategies.Communicate external stakeholder opinions, insights, and feedback on new data, clinical trends, and the evolving HIV treatment and prevention landscape to Medical Affairs HQ teams.Represent R&D at scientific meetings and congresses to understand the sentiment of the consumer and contribute to R&D debriefs, insight discussions, and post-congress reports.Develop and execute territory plans in alignment with global Virology strategy.Support data generation activities when requested by R&D leadership, including our company's Investigator Study Program (MISP).Identify potential investigators for participation in phase II-IV clinical development programs and provide scientific support for R&D sponsored trials as needed.Demonstrate and maintain in-depth knowledge of the assigned disease and therapeutic area(s) through educational efforts.Fully comply with all company policies and applicable laws, regulations, and ethical standards.QualificationsRequiredA doctorate degree or advanced practice professional (PhD, PharmD, NP/PA, etc.) relevant to Virology and requirements of the position.A minimum of 3 years prior experience in the biotech/pharmaceutical or healthcare environment.A minimum of 3 years of clinical and/or research experience in Virology/HIV or related therapeutic area.Excellent interpersonal, communication, networking, and presentation skills.Ability to travel up to 50% of the time overnight and reside in the coverage region.Deep therapeutic competency; abreast of trends and new information in Virology.Ability to network and partner with important external scientific leaders and healthcare providers.Ability to consolidate and understand complex data sets, plan and/or execute data analyses, summarize or synthesize data, and objectively interpret results.Knowledge of national and society treatment guidelines, clinical research processes, FDA regulations, and OIG, HIPAA, and other ethical guidelines, laws, and regulations relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.Must be able to organize, prioritize, and work effectively in a constantly changing environment.PreferredAwareness of the unmet needs and implementation barriers of priority populations that receive services within community-based and non-medical spaces.Prior working experience within the coverage region and established relationships with HIV community stakeholders, especially in the HIV prevention space.Demonstrable effective leadership skills.Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).Headquarters located in Upper Gwynedd, PA; however, the position will work remotely; candidate should reside within the coverage region.Required Skills:Clinical Research, External Collaboration, Health Outreach, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Implementation Science, Medical Affairs, Medical Virology, Pharmaceutical Medical Affairs, Professional Networking, Scientific Communications, Stakeholder EngagementPreferred Skills: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.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 ( salary range for this role is$173,200.00 - $272,600.00This 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 .San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance OrdinanceLos 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 OrdinanceEmployee Status:RegularRelocation:No relocationVISA Sponsorship:NoTravel Requirements:75%Flexible Work Arrangements:RemoteShift:Not IndicatedValid Driving License:YesHazardous Material(s):n/aJob Posting End Date:08/8/2026***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:R405715#J-18808-Ljbffr