Manufacturing Leadership Development Program - Associate Specialist, Engineering

Job Description

CALLING FUTURE MANUFACTURING LEADERS

The Manufacturing Leadership Development Program (MLDP) is our flagship global manufacturing graduate program. Our simple objective is to identify, hire, and develop our future Manufacturing Leaders.

If you are passionate about launching a career in manufacturing, then we are eager to engage with you, focus on your development, and bring greater value to our patients worldwide.

Over the 3-year rotation program, we will invest in your development, giving you exposure and experience across our business and preparing you for a role in leadership. The program will provide experiential and formal learning opportunities to build the technical foundation needed by our future leaders. You will receive coaching from senior leaders, exposure to real manufacturing challenges, and training from industry leading scientists and engineers. You will contribute to significant projects and make key decisions that directly impact how we make pharmaceuticals and deliver them to our patients globally.

We hire a small number of members each year for this program, and we work hard to ensure that we truly select candidates with the greatest potential to lead. To help assess if you fit the profile, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Are you motivated to be part of our Company’s flagship future talent program?

• Are you geographically mobile and able to complete a potential international rotation?

• Are you willing to travel to different sites over the first three years of employment?

• Are you excited by digital advancements and developing fundamental technical knowledge?

If the answer is "YES" to all these questions, we want to get to know you.

The Manufacturing Leadership Development Program has two primary goals:

• Provide candidates who have a bachelor's or master's degree level in the required fields listed below with a broad perspective of the core manufacturing functions of our company’s pharmaceutical, biological, animal health and vaccine products.

• Develop talent for future leadership positions of increasing responsibility within the Manufacturing Division through focused development in key leadership and technical skills.

The program enables successful candidates to experience three (3) rotations over a three-year period with each rotation lasting one (1) year. A minimum of two (2) rotations will feature technically focused roles within the operations, technical operations, or quality organizations. Employees are assigned to rotations based on critical business needs. In addition to their rotation assignments and competency development programming, employees receive mentoring from peers and senior leaders during their assignment. Rotation members should expect to work at 2-3 different high impact sites during their tenure in the program and should have flexibility to move where assigned.

Within the rotation, some domestic and international business travel may be available or required. An international rotation assignment is not guaranteed.

The program is designed to strengthen the candidates' skills through a targeted learning curriculum, designed to enhance a wide variety of competencies including but not limited to:

• Continuous improvement/Problem solving

• Technical support

• Lean Manufacturing

• Quality/Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

• Managing and optimizing internal and external partnerships

• Strategic Thinking

• Decision-Making

• Financial Acumen

• End-to-end supply chain

The successful candidate is:

• Interested in participating in a broad range of work experiences across the manufacturing division.

• Able to work independently, in teams, and lead teams.

• Adaptable to new roles, responsibilities, and situations.

• Motivated to cultivate their leadership skills along with their technical, business, and commercial skills by applying their knowledge within manufacturing.

• Committed to both their own career development as well as bringing their best to our company

CANDIDATES WILL BE REQUIRED TO TAKE A PRE-INTERVIEW ONLINE ASSESSMENT WHICH WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY 30-40 MINUTES TO COMPLETE. CANDIDATES WILL NEED TO COMPLETE THIS ASSESSMENT WITHIN 3 DAYS OF RECEIPT.

Education:

BS or MS in one of the following:

• Bioengineering

• Biomedical Engineering

• Biotechnology

• Chemical Engineering

• Industrial Engineering

• Mechanical Engineering

• Biochemistry

• Chemistry

• Microbiology

• Packaging

Required Experience and Skills:

• Candidate must have graduated from a college by the program start date: On or around August 1, 2027.

• Candidate must be eligible to work in the US without sponsorship.

• Candidate must be willing to be assigned to different roles and different sites over the first three years of employment.

• Ability to travel and willingness to be assigned to any company site in the US or other company sites including countries ex-US based on business needs.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Candidate has demonstrated leadership experience in field of study, extracurricular activity, previous internship or undergraduate research, military or prior work experience.

• Experience in manufacturing.

• Candidate should possess superior communication and interpersonal skills, a team-player with the ability to work independently and collaboratively within and across teams.

• Strong technical background.

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Biopharmaceutical Operations, Data Analysis, Engineering Principle, Experimentation, Leadership, Process Optimization, Teamwork, Technical Communication, Technical Problem-Solving

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

$71,900.00 - $113,200.00

This 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

You can apply for this role through (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:

Regular

Relocation:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

50%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

10/2/2026

*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.