UX Lead, External and Scientific Engagement

Job Description

Our company's Information Technology organization partners with colleagues across the business to help serve our patients and customers around the world. Our IT team operates as a business partner proposing ideas and innovative solutions that enable new organizational capabilities. We collaborate internationally to deliver the services and solutions that help everyone to be more productive and enable innovation.

We are looking for a proficient UX Lead who is passionate about creating intuitive, seamless and delightful user experiences by conducting research, working with cross-functional teams, and fostering strong relationships with our product teams and business partners.  This position will play a critical role in developing and executing qualitative and quantitative research approaches and translating them into insights that motivate user-centric design decisions.  

As UX Lead for the External and Scientific Engagement (ESE) Product Line, this position defines the UX strategy and ensures a consistent and high-quality user experience across all digital products within the product line. Responsibilities include guiding the digital experience design process, applying expertise and best practices to produce effective solutions that increase user satisfaction, engagement, and productivity. The ESE Product Line partners with the Value & Implementation organization, focused on advancing technologies for medical affairs and outcomes research, and forms part of the Digital Development Capabilities Value Team within the Clinical Development and Digital Solutions organization.

Responsibilities

• Develop and align UX strategy with business objectives

• Plan and implement user research strategies and methodologies

• Prepare research plans, discussion guides, and workshop materials

• Manage and prioritize UI/UX requests for the ESE Product Line

• Create schedules and allocate resources for prioritized UX activities

• Mentor other UX designers and researchers

• Conduct user research and usability testing, including heuristic evaluations, UI reviews, and user testing sessions

• Convert findings into recommendations and insights, summarize data, and present results

• Maintain and advocate for user-centered design standards

• Lead design thinking workshops and focus group sessions as necessary

• Create personas, storyboards, wireframes, prototypes, user flows, and visual mock-ups using current tools and processes

• Collaborate with product managers, engineers, and business stakeholders to develop user stories and ensure design meets requirements

• Participate in test planning and execution to verify that results meet business and non-functional requirements

• Work with product and engineering teams to create minimally viable products, analyze user feedback, and iterate designs

• Gather user feedback consistently to support data-driven product decisions

• Drive product design from concept to implementation

 

Required Experience and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Graphic Design, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Anthropology, Information Technology, Information Architecture, or related field

• At least five years' relevant experience in UX design and research

• Ability to lead user research studies end-to-end, including planning, moderating sessions, analyzing data, documenting findings, and presenting results

• Communication and presentation skills suitable for diverse audiences, including leadership, product managers, and developers

• Strong organizational skills, able to prioritize tasks, work independently, and meet tight deadlines

• Ability to establish credibility and trust

• Effective stakeholder collaboration and strategic partnership in product decisions

• Commitment to user-centric product development

• Expertise in various research methodologies, including contextual interviews, field studies, focus groups, design thinking, card sorting, surveys, and usability testing

• In-depth knowledge of user-centered design principles

• Experience with wireframing, prototyping, and visual design

• Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, Sketch, Figma, and Mural

• Willingness to share knowledge and learn continuously

 

Preferred Qualifications

• General or specialized UX certifications in research, user experience, and design

• Prior experience in life sciences or pharmaceutical industry

• Experience supporting cross-functional initiatives involving AI/ML, automation, and emerging technologies

Required Skills:

Anthropology, Business Analysis, Client Counseling, Clinical Development, Communication, Create User Stories, Cultural Anthropology, Customer Experience Design, Emerging Technologies, Focus Groups, Graphic Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Information Architectures, Knowledge Management, Methods and Tools, Researching, Social Psychology, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, Teaching, User Experience (UX), User Experience Analysis, User Experience Evaluation, User Research, Waterfall Model

Preferred Skills:

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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):

Job Posting End Date:

12/31/2025

*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.

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