Early Commercial Team Director

Job Description

Our company in the United States and Canada, is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. Today, we are building a new kind of healthcare company – one that is ready to help create a healthier future for all of us.

Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill and teamwork of an individual like you. To this end, we strive to create an environment of mutual respect, encouragement, and teamwork. As part of our global team, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.

Our company Pharmaceuticals is a world leader in providing medicines to treat and prevent diseases around the world. Our vision is to make a difference in the lives of people globally through our innovative medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products. We aspire to be the best healthcare company in the world and provide leading innovations and solutions for tomorrow.

We are currently recruiting for Director – Early Commercial Team. The position will be based in Rahway, NJ.

This position will require outstanding leadership in pipeline portfolio management. This will include but not be limited to the following:

• Lead asset prioritization process in collaboration with clinical development.
• Constructs to create a high quality, balanced, sustainable portfolio.
• Drive analytics and management dialogue to determine optimal portfolio investments choices, including providing executive level synthesis of final recommendations.
• Drive insights and recommendations about portfolio through the governance process to review near-term and long-term health of portfolio.
• Help develop frameworks to guide disease area strategy in collaboration with Commercial Teams and R&D teams.
• Contribute to diagnostic strategy, pricing & reimbursement plans.
• Coordinate detailed competition tracking to inform planning assumptions, strategy, and positioning of assets.
• Create and implement internal and external communications.

Primary Responsibilities:

The candidate will have demonstrated ability to identify solutions within complex organization and markets and leading sub-teams in support of key pipeline strategy areas. Effective cross-functional leader with proven ability to create plans to accelerate drug development. Work effectively with cross-functional partners including research and development, medical affairs, regulatory affairs, manufacturing, market access, BD&L, market analytics, international and domestic operations, legal, scientific communications, professional education, training and development, health care compliance, among others to successfully navigate the internal and external environments and deliver value to our customers. Provide commercial input on activities including product development, target product profile development, global regulatory filing strategy, market research, demand, forecasting, BD&L activities, and agency partner management. Provide leadership, support, and expertise to commercial organizations. Work with manufacturing and business planning to manage demand forecast process.

 Education Requirement:

• Minimum of a master’s degree required; PhD preferred.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 5+ years’ pharmaceutical business experience.  
• Demonstrated leadership experience in development of pipeline strategy & marketing. 
• Strong leadership, problem solving, teamwork, analytical, written/verbal communication, and presentation skills. 
• Experience with collaboration, influencing without authority and working successfully with cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in pipeline portfolio.  
• Oncology experience.

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Communication Strategy Development, Data Analysis, Global Strategy Development, Market Access Strategies, Market Research, Oncology Marketing, Product Management, Scientific Knowledge, Strategic Thinking, Teamwork

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.

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 - New Jersey - Rahway

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:

$190,800.00 - $300,300.00

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:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

11/21/2026

*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.