MS

Associate Principal Scientist, Health Economic and Decision Sciences

MSD Research and Science Full-timeWest Point, PA $156,900.00 - $247,000.00
Posted Oct 20, 2026 · Expires Nov 10, 2026

Quick facts

Pay
$156,900.00 - $247,000.00
Type
Full-time
Location
West Point, PA
Background
PhD
Industry
Research and Science — 82 open jobs
Apply
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Job description

Description
Job Description

We are a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. Our mission is built on the simple premise that if we “follow the science”, great medicines can make a significant impact to our world. And we believe that a research-driven enterprise dedicated to world-class science can succeed by inventing medicine and vaccine innovations that make a difference for patients across the globe.
We have an exciting opportunity for a new Associate Principal Scientist to join our Oncology health economic modeling team in the Health Economic and Decision Sciences group. The preferred location for this role is West Point, PA; although alternate locations may be considered, including Rahway, NJ; Boston, MA; the UK, and Switzerland. Hybrid and flexible work arrangements are possible, consistent with local office and country policies.
The Health Economic and Decision Sciences (HEDS) department is part of our Company’s Biostatistics and Research Decision Sciences (BARDS) organization. BARDS is responsible for strategic design and analysis to enable informed decision making in the discovery, development and delivery of our Company’s innovative products, and is a leader in quantitative scientific methodology and its application to enable the targeting, discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of drugs and vaccines for the benefit of patients and global public health. In collaboration with internal and external partners, the BARDS-HEDS department specifically provides strategic and technical leadership to enable patient access, measure and quantify the value of our Company’s products, inform internal and external decisions, and shape methodology and external health policy and practice. This position will focus on health economic modeling for oncology products.
Role
Under the direction of an HEDS Senior Director, the Associate Principal Scientist provides strategic development and use of industry-leading predictive and economic models to enhance our understanding of disease and to quantify and communicate the value of our oncology products to patients, providers, and payers.

  • Serve as the BARDS HEDS lead for one or more Value and Implementation teams to develop health economic, disease, and predictive models to enable business insights for the product.
  • Utilize discovery, real world evidence, clinical trial and published data, and publicly available information and tools to provide economic and integrated models to answer key questions in all phases of drug and vaccine development – Phase I through loss of data exclusivity.
  • Advance the use of integrated quantitative approaches, focusing on economic, disease, and predictive modeling and simulation in partnership with other internal groups and external organizations.
  • Development and maintenance of health quality global health economic models and tools in-house or in collaboration with external vendors to provide critical business insights and fully demonstrate the value of our company’s products.
  • Support and training of HEDS models and tools to support country/regional team adaptations and communications with external stakeholders.
  • Dissemination of health economic data via presentations at congresses and publications in scientific journals.
  • Work closely with external collaborators (clinical/economic thought leaders, payer/HTA experts, alliance partners) and internal cross-functional teams to ensure that new methodologies, models and advanced analytics are fully utilized for our products.
  • Maintain awareness of external data, modeling methodologies and IT tools to collaborate across relevant internal stakeholders to enhance our Company's capabilities in health economic modeling, simulation, and data visualization.
  • Ensure sharing of work product and relevant best practices across our Company's enterprise.
Education
  • PhD (preferred) or Master’s degree, in Health Economics, Biostatistics, Health Services Research, Actuarial Sciences, Operations Research or a closely related quantitative field
Required Experience And Skills
  • Relevant work experience in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) beyond PhD or Master’s degree
  • Knowledge and experience in economic evaluation of oncology drugs and interventions
  • Expertise and solid hands-on experience in the conceptualization, design, development and dissemination of health economic model approaches to enable internal and external decisions
  • Track record of submissions to Health Technology Assessment bodies and research publications in conferences and peer-reviewed journals
  • Strong interpersonal, organizational and communication skills with ability to interact with individuals from a variety of disciplines
  • Understanding of the market access environment and challenges in the US and key international markets

#eligibleforERP
Required Skills
Data Management, Economic Modeling, Health Economics, Health Economics Evaluation, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Oncology, Researching, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning
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.
Requirements
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 primary location for this posting is:
USA - Pennsylvania - West Point
Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.
The salary range for the primary location of this role is:
$156,900.00 - $247,000.00
This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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.
Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.
Additional location(s) Compensation Information:
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
Yes
Travel Requirements
10%
Flexible Work Arrangements
Hybrid
Shift
Not Indicated
Valid Driving License
No
Hazardous Material(s)
n/a
Job Posting End Date
10/26/2026

  • 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:

R413148

Visa sponsorship record

No public sponsorship records found

We didn't find H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 or green card (PERM) filings under the name MSD in the Department of Labor and USCIS data. That doesn't mean the job can't be sponsored — the company may file under a different legal name, be new to sponsorship, or sponsor a visa that isn't in these datasets (for example H-2B or J-1).

Tip: ask the recruiter early, in writing, which visa they sponsor and whether they cover the legal and filing fees.

Which visas can work for this job

Occupation: Medical Scientists (SOC 19-1042) — estimated from the job title.

  • H-1B cap-exempt employer

    Regular cap-subject employer — a new H-1B needs to win the lottery in March (unless you already hold cap-counted H-1B status).

  • TN (citizens of Canada and Mexico)

    This kind of role may fit the USMCA profession “Scientist (Biologist, Biochemist and others)” — it depends on the actual duties. No lottery, no cap; you need the matching degree or license.

  • E-3 (Australia) and H-1B1 (Chile, Singapore)

    Same degree requirement as H-1B, but no lottery and a separate quota that is rarely filled.

  • O-1 (extraordinary ability)

    For candidates with awards, publications, press, a high salary or critical roles at distinguished organizations. No cap, no lottery; the employer files a petition.

  • STEM OPT extension (F-1 students)

    Requires an E-Verify employer. We didn't find this company in the E-Verify list — ask HR.

Salary vs prevailing wage

Level IV (fully competent)

Medical Scientists · Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD. Annual prevailing wages set by the Department of Labor (OFLC).

L1L2L3L4
LevelPrevailing wageH-1B lottery odds*
Level I$67,829~15%
Level II$95,160~31%
Level III$122,512~46%
Level IV$149,843~61%

This job pays $156,900 a year — that's Level IV (fully competent). In the wage-weighted H-1B lottery a Level IV registration gets 4 entries; estimated selection chance about 61% — better than average.

* Odds are DHS projections for the FY2027 wage-weighted lottery (actual results vary by year and employer). Since the FY2027 cap season the H-1B lottery is weighted by wage level: Level I = 1 entry, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4. The level is set by the offered wage against the prevailing wage for the occupation and worksite. Separately, a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US was announced in 2025; as of September 2026 a federal court ruling keeps it unenforceable while appeals continue — check the current status.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor OFLC disclosure data (H-1B/H-1B1/E-3 LCA, PERM), OFLC prevailing wage data, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, E-Verify participating employers. Data loaded: LCA FY2024–FY2026, PERM, USCIS Data Hub, OFLC wages; updated 2026-10-03. Employers are matched by name, so records of companies with similar names can occasionally be mixed up. This is general information, not legal advice — talk to an immigration attorney about your case.

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