Associate Scientist - Postdoctoral Fellow - AI in Infectious Disease Modeling

Job Description

Be a part of the legacy: Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program

Our Research Laboratories' Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program aims to be a best-in-industry program for industrial postdoctoral researchers, designed to provide you with an academic focus in a commercial environment. With the resources, reach, and expertise of a large pharmaceutical company, postdoctoral researchers will be positioned to excel in an institution committed to breakthrough innovation in research and discovery.

Position Overview:

This position is in the vaccine modeling team of the Health Economic and Decision Sciences (HEDS) department withing Biostatistics and Research Decision Sciences (BARDS) at our Research Laboratories. BARDS HEDS provides strategic and analytic modeling expertise to measure and quantify the value of our company's products.

As part of an agile team, the fellow will develop and support a seamless mechanism of coordination and collaboration in a dynamic area of interdisciplinary research. Collaboration with modeling scientists, data scientists, IT partners, subject matter experts and strategically leveraging generative AI to automate model extraction and facilitate rapid, intelligent adaptation across diverse settings, this project will profoundly enhance model transparency, dramatically accelerate deployment, and improve consistency in global health decision-making. This innovative approach promises to transform the efficiency and impact of health economic evaluations in infectious disease preparedness and response.

At BARDS, we value diversity and inclusion in our working environment where employees are enabled to develop and contribute.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Reporting under a Senior Director within the Vaccines team within HEDS, the fellow is expected to:

• Build a robust corpus of health economic infectious disease models using AI-assisted systematic review techniques,

• Utilize advanced LLMs to precisely extract infectious disease model type, structure (states, transitions), and parameters (costs, utilities, probabilities),

• Implement an intelligent AI reasoning layer to evaluate consistency, completeness, and scientific validity across extracted models,

• Employ generative AI to propose new model structures, dynamically guided by disease-specific needs and prior evidence,

• Apply the developed pipeline to critical case studies (e.g., RSV vaccine modeling) and rigorously compare AI-generated models with existing approaches,

• Develop excellent working relationships within partner across our Research Laboratories; ensure effective cross-functional collaboration across teams,

• Collaborate externally and solicit input from appropriate stakeholders and adopt latest techniques from relevant published literature, and

• Disseminate key research findings/methodology via scientific presentations at congresses and publications in scientific journals.

Education Minimum Requirement:

Candidates should currently hold a PhD OR will receive a PhD by start of employment in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or a closely-related quantitative field.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Previous experience with large language models (LLMs), natural language processing (NLP), or machine learning,

• Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++, with experience in model fitting, simulation, and data extraction workflows,

• Previous experience working on interdisciplinary research projects and/or working within interdisciplinary teams,

• Ability to gather, organize, and synthesize complex information in order to draw conclusions and make recommendations,

• Strong creative problem solving skills,

• Strong interpersonal, networking, presentation, and communication skills, and

• Ability to communicate effectively in English in both verbal and written formats.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience in prompt engineering, fine-tuning, or evaluating large language models, and

• Previous experience of health economic modeling and cost-effectiveness analysis for infectious disease.

postdoctoralopportunities

Under New York City, Colorado State, Washington State, and California State law, the Company is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the salary range for this job. 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 salary range:

$75,000.00-$86,000.00

Available benefits include bonus eligibility, health care and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, paid holidays, vacation, and sick days. For Washington State Jobs, a summary of benefits is listed here.

Required Skills:
Adaptability, Adaptability, Analytical Chemistry, Cell Culture Techniques, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Data Analysis, Generative AI, Global Health, Health Economics, Immunoassays, Infectious Disease, Information Technology Consulting, Interdisciplinary Research, In Vivo Mouse Models, Large Language Models (LLMs), Mathematical Biology, Molecular Biology, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Programming Languages, Prompt Engineering, Report Writing, Scientific Presentations, Scientific Writing, siRNA Knockdown {+ 1 more}

Preferred Skills:

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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

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

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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:
Yes

Travel Requirements:
10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid

Shift:
Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
n/a

Job Posting End Date:
06/27/2026
*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.