Assoc. Director - US Market Engagement - Vaccines & ID (Pneumo)

Job Description

Job Title:  Assoc. Director - US Market Engagement - Vaccines & ID (Pneumo)

Job Description
This role resides within the DHH US Market Engagement Team for Vaccines, operating as part of the US commercial organization. The team provides strategic thought-partnership to US commercial stakeholders by understanding brand strategy, managing analytics requests, and defining associated business requirements aligned to business priorities. The US Market Engagement team quarterbacks demand fulfillment and leads the activation of DHH products and services to enable data-driven decision making across the vaccines portfolio.

The Assoc. Director – US Market Engagement - Vaccines & ID (Pneumo) will be responsible for developing and communicating data-driven, actionable insights that drive deeper customer and market understanding, inform launch and go-to-market strategies, and support in-line brand growth and commercial objectives. The individual will function as a key business-facing analytics partner to US vaccines marketing teams, supporting commercial insights, analytics, and data science needs, while helping to scope, design, and deliver well-defined use cases aligned to business OKRs.

The preferred candidate will have an entrepreneurial and consultative mindset, strong understanding of the healthcare/pharma space (particularly vaccines), and proficiency in advanced analytics, AI, machine learning, NLP, and Agentic AI. They will be comfortable translating complex business questions into analytical problems that require scalable, innovative solutions and will bring forward new ideas and methodologies that enhance the organization’s analytic capabilities. The candidate will need to comprehend the nuances of different product lines, the competitive landscape, and be versed in the Life Science commercial space. 

The individual who will thrive in this role will demonstrate strong leadership, intellectual curiosity, and a growth mindset. Although they will operate as an individual contributor, they will be adept at working in a matrixed environment, dealing with ambiguity, and collaborating across cross-functional teams. Strong communication and storytelling skills are essential to effectively influence stakeholders and drive adoption of data-driven recommendations.

Primary Job Function and Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a key analytics partner to US vaccines marketing, aligning analyses and insights to brand and portfolio priorities/OKRs.

• Work directly with business stakeholders to understand key questions, clarify objectives, and translate them into well-defined analytical use cases.

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

• Enable prioritization and scoping conversations by understanding business demand, requests, and potential use cases.

• Analyze diverse data sources (claims, EMR/EHR, CDC, IQVIA, digital/CRM) to generate clear, actionable insights and recommendations for commercial decisions.

• Propose appropriate analytical approaches and AI/ML/NLP/modeling techniques, demonstrating strong conceptual understanding of methods and trade-offs.

• Collaborate with data scientists, engineers, and other DHH teams (on-shore and off-shore) to deliver best-in-class solutions and ensure business questions are addressed with the right data, methods, and insights.

• Support the design, development, and refinement of AI/ML and NLP solutions (including Agentic AI) by providing business context, requirements, and feedback.

• Synthesize findings into concise stories and visualizations, and present insights to support data-driven decisions.

• Stay current on vaccines market dynamics and advances in analytics, AI, and machine learning, bringing forward new ideas that will enhance analytic capabilities of the organization.

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 preferred.

Required Experience & Skills

• 5+ years of analytics or data science experience in pharma/biotech/healthcare; vaccines experience preferred.

• Proven track record applying advanced statistics, AI, machine learning, NLP, and Agentic AI to solve commercial business problems.

• Proficiency in Python, R studio, SAS, SQL etc. or similar tools for data extraction, feature engineering, and model development.

• Strong experience with patient-level and healthcare data (claims, EMR/EHR, registry, CDC, IQVIA and other secondary sources).

• Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into structured analytical questions and data-driven recommendations.

• Experience supporting products across their lifecycle (development, launch, growth, maturity, and end of life).

• Strong communication and data storytelling skills, including presenting complex findings to senior and non-technical audiences.

• Effective stakeholder management and influence skills within a matrixed, cross-functional environment.

• Solid project and time management capabilities, with experience leading multiple concurrent analytics initiatives and teams.

• Self-directed, adaptable, and curious, with a strong learning mindset in AI/ML, advanced analytics, and evolving healthcare data.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Prior hands-on experience working with healthcare data, especially EMR/EHR, claims data, and various IQVIA data offerings.

• Knowledge and experience of the vaccines business is a plus.

Work location

• Upper Gwynedd, PA (role will be hybrid and chosen candidate is expected to be in the office at least 3 days/week).

Required Skills:

Biopharmaceutical Industry, Brand Growth, Brand Strategy, Business Intelligence (BI), Commercial Analytics, Database Design, Data Engineering, Data Modeling, Data Science, Data Storytelling, Data Visualization, Digital Analytics, Disease Prevention, Go-to-Market Strategies, Machine Learning (ML), Market Access, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Public Health, Software Development, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Waterfall Model

Preferred Skills:

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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:

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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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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:

10/7/2026

*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.