Assoc. Director - US Vaccines & ID - Market Engagement

Job Description

Associate Director, US Market Engagement - Vaccines and Infectious Disease

This role sits within the DHH US Market Engagement Team for Vaccines & Infectious Disease, a core part of the US Commercial organization.  The Associate Director, US Market Engagement Lead will be responsible for developing and communicating data-driven and actionable insights that drive greater customer and market understanding to shape and operationalize launch strategies, helping meet in-line brand growth and commercial objectives.

The preferred candidate will be the first point of contact for key marketing stakeholders’ digital, data, and analytics needs; they will be responsible for prioritization of business demand and orchestration of insights across the broader digital human health organization.  This person will “connect the dots” across the broader DHH capability ecosystem, partnering closely with teams in market research, forecasting, payer insights & analytics, data science, data strategy, and data solutions.

In partnership with the Advanced Analytics team members, the candidate will identify, introduce, and operationalize cutting edge methodologies and will be responsible for helping to build scalable, compliant, and auditable AI-assisted launch workflows that improve speed, consistency, and cross-functional alignment while partnering across teams.  The person will have a growth mindset and embody a culture of continuous learning.

The preferred candidate should have intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurial spirit, consultative mindset, a strong understanding of healthcare & pharma marketing and will serve as a thought partner to the Market Engagement and Advanced Analytics leaders.  The person should be able to identify the data, analytics and research needs to define, enable, and inform commercial strategies of our brand and business leaders, working across brands at various lifecycle stages. Effective communication skills are essential for a candidate to be successful in this role.

Primary Job Function and Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and interpret market maps to identify competitive landscapes and whitespace opportunities

• Conduct targeting and segmentation analyses to optimize HCP and patient outreach strategies

• Analyze launch performance metrics (e.g., uptake curves, prescription trends, market share shifts)

• Help define and operationalize AI-assisted launch workflows that support planning, execution, and performance management

• Partner with technical and business teams to pilot AI-enabled workflows that improve launch coordination, insight synthesis, and issue escalation.

• Thoroughly appreciate the assigned internal stakeholder business needs and priorities to help build analyses promoting business objectives by delivering actionable insights

• Be accountable for ensuring delivery of analyses with high quality standards, timeliness, compliance, and excellent user experience (routinely keep client base updated on progress)

• Mine and analyze data leveraging advanced analytical/statistical techniques from disparate databases/sources (claims data/EMR Data and other sources) to drive optimization and improvement of therapy area commercial business strategies

• Effectively convey and positively influence stakeholders

Minimum required education:

A minimum of BS (or equivalent) in Marketing, Business Strategy, Business Consulting, Data Science, Computer Science or an equivalent scientific/commercial discipline. MBA or Master’s or Doctorate degree in Decision Science, Marketing, Engineering, Public Health, Biological Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy, Mathematics, Economy, Statistics, Computer Science, Medical Sciences is preferred.

Required Experience & Skills:

• Minimum of 5+ years of relevant knowledge using data science and/or analytical techniques to deliver measurable impact in commercial pharma landscape. 

• Experience in launch strategy, portfolio analytics, or global/US commercialization for a specialty or vaccine asset

• Agentic proficiency with LLMs (Claude, Gemini, or similar); adept at designing, executing, and refining AI-driven workflows for real-world applications

• Knowledge in developing both machine learning and descriptive algorithms/modeling using such languages as Python, R etc.

• Knowledge in mining medical claims/EMR, social media, etc. data with a strategic/inquisitive mindset and proven record of being able to produce actionable business insights that drive positive commercial results

• Strong communication skills using effective storytelling grounded on data insights

• Comfortable with formulating actionable insights and recommendations from commercial analytics into presentations (using PowerPoint, PowerBI, etc.) and presenting results to various levels of franchise management

• Motivational and ethical stakeholder management and communication skills, along with the ability to convey appropriately and confidently with colleagues from different backgrounds and seniority levels

• Effective organizational skills, with ability to navigate a complex matrix environment and organize/prioritize work efficiently and effectively

Work location: Upper Gwynedd, PA or Rahway, NJ (role will be hybrid and chosen candidate is expected to be in the office at least 3 days/week).

Required Skills:

Biological Sciences, Brand Growth, Business Intelligence (BI), Business Strategies, Commercial Strategies, Computer Science, Database Design, Data Engineering, Data Modeling, Data Science, Data Visualization, Digital Analytics, Machine Learning (ML), Market Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, Prioritization, Python (Programming Language), Social Media, Software Development, Stakeholder Communications, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Waterfall Model

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

$156,900.00 - $247,000.00

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 https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (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:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

07/2/2026

*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.