Assoc. Dir , Data Science & Advanced Analytics

Job Description

This role will reside within the DHH US Market Engagement Team for Pharma. This team provided strategic thought-partnership to US commercial stakeholders through understanding brand strategy, co-creating DHH demand and associated business requirements aligned to business priorities. The US Market Engagement team Quarterbacks demand fulfillment and leads the activation of DHH products and services.

The Associate Director, Data Science & Advanced Analytics, will be responsible for developing data-driven insights to inform brand strategy and tactics in support of the pharma portfolio. This role will focus on applying advanced data science to deliver strategic non-product DHH services to US Pharma Business unit such as HCP targeting/segmentation, call planning, campaign measurement & effectiveness etc.

 

Key Responsibilities:

• Translate business needs and priorities to build analytical plans that answer business questions by providing actionable insights. Effectively communicating advanced analytics to stakeholders to inform business decisions.

• Communicate & collaborate effectively with cross functional teams with competencies in market research, forecasting, commercial analytics, data science, customer engagement, data strategy, population health, competitive insights, marketing operations, medical & clinical backgrounds.

• Analyze data across disparate databases/sources (including claims/EMR, DDD, and other sources) to develop insights that inform commercial business strategies.

• Stay current with industry trends and advancements in analytical methodologies to bring new ideas forward (including application of GenAI) that will enhance analytic capabilities of the organization.

• Contribute to innovative experiments, specifically to idea generation, idea incubation and/or experimentation, identifying tangible and measurable criteria to make meaningful improvements to the business processes and strategies.

• Derive actionable business insights from various data sources, develop clear data story, and communicate effectively to business stakeholders.

• Lead and mentor a team of data scientists and business analysts (on-shore and off-shore), providing guidance on best practices in data analytics, modeling and data visualization, through the scope of a project.

The individual in this role will be an independent contributor or lead a small team, supporting commercial insight and analytics needs for US marketing teams.  The person will have demonstrated consistently strong leadership skills, an ability to work objectively and deal well with ambiguity and strong partnership skills. They will empower a growth mindset and inspire a culture of continual learning. This role will require interfacing and collaborating with many teams requiring strong communication skills.

The preferred candidate will have an entrepreneurial spirit, consultative and strategic mindset, experience in immunology and / or ophthalmology. They should have a demonstrated record of producing actionable insights from analytics leveraging digital/technology (AI, agentic etc.). 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. The selected candidate should have a good understanding of US data landscape, commercial analytics capabilities, and technology, including application of GenAI to drive effectiveness. The individual who will thrive in this role will be motivated by developing a deep appreciation of pharma secondary data sources and possess an ability to define and translate objectives and business questions into analytical problems that require advanced and scalable solutions that produce actionable insights.

Education Requirements:   

• BS (or equivalent) in Data Science, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, Statistics, Decision Science, Marketing, Engineering, or Public Health is required.

• MBA, MS or PhD degree is preferred

 

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5+ years of relevant experience delivering complex analytical projects in the pharmaceutical, biotech, consulting, or healthcare industry.

• Knowledge in mining patient medical claims/EMR data as well as other healthcare datasets with a strategic mindset and proven record of being able to produce actionable business insights that drive positive commercial results.

• Self-motivated, proactive mindset, and ability to work independently.

• Story-telling and executive presence with senior leaders.

• Effective interpersonal skills, communication skills, and stakeholder management, including experience collaborating in a matrixed organization and ability to align stakeholders on data-driven decisions.

• Strong business acumen and consultative skills, with proven ability to comprehend business processes and commercial strategies in detail and translate these into detailed business standards/questions that power analytics.

• Effective organizational and project management skills to work effectively across the organization and manage a team of business analysts and data scientists efficiently and effectively.

• Innovative thinking with affinity toward experimentation and appropriate risk-taking, including curiosity about how agentic AI and automation can enhance commercial analytics and insight generation.

• Awareness of the opportunities, limitations, and responsible use of AI (including agentic AI) in a regulated environment (e.g., data privacy, validation of AI-generated outputs).

• Prior hands-on experience working with healthcare data especially EMR/EHR, Claims Data (i.e. IQVIA APLD) and various data offerings.

• Ability to develop efficient programming code and software assets that provide advanced analytical functionality.

• Proven data science experience leveraging advanced statistical methods, Machine Learning/ Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing (NLP) modeling and model evaluation is a plus.

• Knowledge of both machine learning and descriptive algorithms/modeling using such languages as Python, R studio, SAS, SQL etc.

• Understands the business context, challenge, limitation, constraints and goals to effectively match the capability of the statistical and mathematical and M/L approaches to the business, scientific and operational challenge

• Travel may be required <20%.

 

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Preferred: Prior hands-on experience working with healthcare data and leveraging advanced analytics and modeling techniques

• MBA, MS or PhD degree is a plus.

Required Skills:

Brand Strategy, Business Analysis, Business Processes, Business Strategies, Clinical Immunology, Collaborative Communications, Commercial Analytics, Commercial Strategies, Communication, Customer Engagement, Data Science, Demand Management, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing Data Analytics, Market Research, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Python (Programming Language), Requirements Management, Sourcing and Procurement, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking

Preferred Skills:

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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:

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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”.

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

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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:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

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Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

04/7/2026

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