Job Description

The Position

We are seeking a Product Management Senior Specialist with deep expertise in the drug discovery and preclinical research process to help build and enhance data products. The ideal candidate will have a strong scientific background with hands-on understanding of the drug design process, will understand the needs of stakeholders and users, particularly Medicinal Chemists and Computational Chemists, and will bridge the gap between scientific requirements and data-driven product development.

What will you do?

• Collaborate closely with Product, Data Science, and Engineering teams to define and develop data products tailored for drug discovery and preclinical research.
• Gather, manage, and prioritize product requirements by engaging with scientific stakeholders to understand user problems, technical constraints, and strategic objectives.
• Define and refine the product backlog; create actionable user stories that reflect the unique workflows and challenges of preclinical drug discovery.
• Act as a user expert, deeply understanding the motivations, pain points, and goals of scientific users.
• Justify and prioritize improvements to existing products, focusing on delivering measurable value to scientific research and operations.
• Develop and maintain technical knowledge and domain expertise in drug discovery, cheminformatics, and data-driven research processes.
• Write clear problem statements and requirements; facilitate solution design with engineering teams.
• Serve as Product Owner on Agile teams or work closely with one to ensure scientific and data needs are met.
• Plan, design, and conduct testing activities; compile critical training and communication content for scientific end-users.
• Analyze data, observations, and research to generate insights that inform product strategy and decision-making.
• Support the Product Manager in defining and executing strategy in collaboration with engineering teams for one or more data products.
• Accept completed user stories, ensuring deliverables meet acceptance criteria and scientific requirements.
• Act as a customer champion, articulating and advocating for the needs of scientific stakeholders.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience Required

• MSc required; PhD preferred in Chemistry, Cheminformatics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Computational Chemistry, Computer Science or related field with a focus on drug discovery
• 2+ years building tools or data assets supporting scientific or data analytics workflows
• 3-5 years working with scientific users (e.g., chemists) to define requirements for data products
• Experience with data analytics or data science capabilities, especially in a scientific context
• Experience building ERDs, logical data models, and source-target mappings for scientific data
• Hands-on experience or working knowledge with data management services (AWS Athena, Glue, S3, Redshift, or similar)
• Proficiency in SQL and scientific data management
• Ability to translate scientific/business problems into actionable requirements and tasks
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and scientific stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple complex projects simultaneously

Nice to have

• Direct experience in pharmaceutical drug discovery and preclinical development
• Domain knowledge or familiarity with cheminformatics, laboratory data, and scientific workflows
• Knowledge of cheminformatics platforms (e.g., Pipeline Pilot, RDKit, OpenEye) and integration with data science tools
• Familiarity with the drug discovery processes, including key endpoints such as potency, selectivity, ADMET properties, and lead optimization strategies
• Familiarity with cheminformatics tools and concepts such as molecular descriptors, fingerprints, QSAR modeling, and chemical database management
• Experience with Machine Learning Platforms (e.g., Sagemaker, DataBricks) in a scientific setting
• Experience working in Agile software development
• Familiarity with cloud-based software and scientific data platforms

What we offer

• Exciting work in a great team, global projects, international environment
• Opportunity to learn and grow professionally within the company globally
• Hybrid working model, flexible role pattern (e.g., even 80% full-time is possible in justified cases)
• Pension and health insurance contributions
• Internal reward system plus referral programme
• 5 weeks annual leave, 5 sick days, 15 days of certified sick leave paid above statutory requirements annually, 40 paid hours annually for volunteering activities, 12 weeks of parental contribution
• Cafeteria for tax free benefits according to your choice (meal vouchers, Lítačka, sport, culture, health, travel, etc.), Multisport Card
• Vodafone, Raiffeisen Bank, Foodora, and Mall.cz discount programmes
• Up-to-date laptop and iPhone
• Parking in the garage, showers, refreshments, massage chairs, library, music corner
• Competitive salary, incentive pay, and many more

Ready to take up the challenge? Apply now!
Know anybody who might be interested? Refer this job!

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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:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Required Skills:

Applied Engineering, Asset Management, Benefits Management, Chemical Biology, Computational Chemistry, Data Science, Drug Discovery Process, Logical Data Modeling, Logic Modeling, Management Process, Management System Development, Multi-Management, Physicochemistry, Product Backlog Management, Product Management, Product Strategies, Requirements Management, Software Product Management, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, System Designs, Systems Software

Preferred Skills:

Job Posting End Date:

08/18/2025

*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.