About this role
Job Description
The Future Talent Program features Cooperative (Co-op) education that lasts up to 6 months and will include one or more projects. These opportunities in our Research Division can provide you with great development and a chance to see if we are the right company for your long-term goals.
Our Research Scientists and Engineers are our inventors. We identify and target steps in disease mechanisms or pathways that could be inhibited or enhanced. Our goal is to isolate a compound that is effective against a disease target. Using innovative thinking, state-of-the-art facilities, and robust scientific methodology we collaborate to discover the next medical breakthrough.
We are seeking candidates for a Co-Op opportunity in our company's Vaccines and Advanced Biotechnologies Process R&D division. Specifically, this candidate would work within West Point’s Biologics Pilot Plant (BPP) GMP clinical manufacturing facility. Under the direction of a project mentor, a successful candidate may work on initiatives within either the automation, process operations, or capital sub-team in the BCMT (Bioprocess Clinical Manufacturing and Technology) department.
Example Projects/Day to Day Work:
Automation: Develop code for process control, monitoring, and visualization. Develop tools to increase efficiency in the automation group and the BCMT department as a whole. Day-to-day work might include writing code, working on GMP change controls and documentation, and equipment/system testing.
Process Operations: Knowledge Management overhaul: review and clean-up SharePoint, implement playbooks for new ways of working, update templates for key deliverables. New equipment qualification support. Day-to-day work might include attending team meetings, GMP manufacturing support, equipment testing, and document generation.
Capital: Equipment specification, installation, testing, and qualification. Day-to-day work may include document generation and field execution of equipment commissioning and qualification.
The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate the ability to convey the results of their work in both verbal and written formats. In addition to the core duties outlined above, the candidate will be expected to comply with all required training and Quality systems, collaborate across multiple functional teams, and maintain focused attention on safety for themselves and their team.
Education Minimum Requirement:
Candidates must be enrolled in a minimum of a BS/BA in: Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Chemistry, Biology, or other relevant discipline.
Required Experience and Skills:
Must have the ability to work independently and as part of a team, self-motivation, adaptability, and a positive attitude.
Must have ability to learn new techniques, perform multiple tasks simultaneously, keep accurate records, follow instructions, and comply with company policies.
Effective organization, interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
Candidates must be available to work full-time for 4-6 months.
Preferred Experience and Skills by Group:
Automation: Programming experience especially python and/or process control (PLC, DeltaV, etc.). Previous GMP, manufacturing, and/or equipment experience. A drive to self-learn technologies with initial guidance.
Process Operations: Proven ability to work in hands-on laboratory or manufacturing setting. Direct experience with cell culture/fermentation and/or downstream purification operations of large molecules (vaccines or biologics).
Capital: Previous GMP, manufacturing, and/or equipment experience. Engineering degree preferred.
To learn more about the PRD team, click: Join Our Process Research & Development Team
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 $39,600.00-$105,500.00 USD
FTP2026
RL2026
PRD
Required Skills:
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:
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.
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U.S. Hybrid Work Model
Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.
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 relocationVISA Sponsorship:
NoTravel Requirements:
No Travel RequiredFlexible Work Arrangements:
Not ApplicableShift:
1st - DayValid Driving License:
NoHazardous Material(s):
n/aJob Posting End Date:
02/12/2026*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:R361981
Other facts
About Merck
At MSD, known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA in the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, 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 foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.msd.com and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
What you'll do
- The successful candidate will work on projects related to automation, process operations, or capital within the Bioprocess Clinical Manufacturing and Technology department. They will be expected to convey results effectively and comply with training and quality systems.
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