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2027 Future Talent Program - Patient Data Learning - Co-op

USA - Massachusetts - Cambridge (320 Bent Street)

Actively hiring, first seen by us 2 days ago
Pay
$39,908–111,111/yearAnnual period assumed — pay source
Salary range: The salary range for this role is $39,908 - $111,111 FTP2027
Read the full posting
Work setting
Not stated
Employment
Full-time — employment source
Employment type in the employer’s posting: Full time
From the employer’s posting

Before you apply

New graduates
For current studentsStudents enrolled in a PhD program are highly encouraged to apply
Work authorization
No visa sponsorship

What you’ll work on

Full posting
  • Design and build agent-assisted tools for feasibility assessment of patient phenotypes

  • Customize AI language models to turn research questions into machine-generated queries

  • Create guardrails and evaluations to measure model and agent reliability

  • Help apply these tools to answer feasibility questions

From the employer’s posting
Design and build agent-assisted system or components to support feasibility assessment and early exploration of phenotypes and clinical profiles of patients in EHR-linked biobanks.
Re-use and customize AI language models to turn scientific questions expressed in natural language into machine-generated queries to be evaluated in agentic loops.
Create guardrails and evals to promote and measure the reliability of models and agents.
Assist with the application of these tools and technologies to answer feasibility questions.

What you’ll bring

All qualifications

Preferred experience

  • 12/4/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date.
Qualification wording
12/4/2026*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.
Education & alternatives
Required Education and Skills: - Currently enrolled in a minimum of a Master's degree program in Clinical Informatics, Epidemiology, Computational Medicine, Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, Computer Science with strong interest in biomedical applications, or a related field of study. Students enrolled in a PhD program are highly encouraged to apply. - Computational/software engineering fundamentals sufficient to be able run and tune local LLMs, build local agentic systems, and comfortable with applying or outlining software and agent development practices (version control, packaging, tests & evals).
Apply at Merck

Posting record

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Actively hiringFirst seen by us 2 days ago, still listed, and not a repost of an earlier posting.

Status in our records
Live
First seen by us
Nov 3, 20262 days ago
Recorded sightings
3
Last seen by us
Nov 5, 2026

These dates show when we found the posting. Check the employer’s website to confirm it is still accepting applications.

How this job compares

Pay

Lower than most similar jobs

$39.9K–$111K against $166K–$240K, the middle half of what similar US postings state.

From 1,279 postings in the last year. Stated ranges, not salaries paid.

Time since we first saw it

Day 2

Early. Similar jobs usually come down between day 6 and day 70.

At Merck, jobs usually come down by about day 13.

From 4,481 similar postings that came down, and 221 of Merck’s. Coming down is not always a hire.

Merck is hiring

50 open jobs

Open jobs by the week we first saw them, last 12 weeks.

  • Hiring is picking up
  • Takes jobs down quickly
  • 2% of open jobs were reposted
Hiring record

See how this role fits your experience

Add your resume and we’ll mark which of these tools you already use, and point out anything in the posting that could rule you out.

  • Python
  • R
  • SQL
  • Databricks
Where the posting names them
- Computational/software engineering fundamentals sufficient to be able run and tune local LLMs, build local agentic systems, and comfortable with applying or outlining software and agent development practices (version control, packaging, tests & evals). - Proficiency in Python, SQL, ideally database-agnostic querying such as ibis - Applied knowledge sufficient to query structured EMR/EHR data, for example to create patient features, build cohorts, or report summary statistics, or a demonstrated interest in learning to do so and clinical applications.
Required Skills: Biomedical Applications, Biomedical Informatics, Biomedical Sciences, Clinical Information Systems, Clinical Research, Data Analysis, Database Management, Data Engineering, Data Science, Data Security, Data Visualization, Econometrics, Epidemiologic Methods, Epidemiology, Medical Informatics, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Python (Programming Language), Reliability Analysis, R Package, Software Proficiency, Statistical Methods, Tidyverse (R Package) Preferred Skills:
- Familiarity for the OMOP CDM and medical coding system (ICD, SNOMED, CPT, LOINC, etc.) - Experience with Databricks. - Knowledge of R and tidyverse packages.

Your next step

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About Merck

People
About 75,000 in 2025, about the same as the year before.Annual report (SEC Form 10-K)
Company
Listed as MRK.

Demand for ML Engineer roles

New ML Engineer postings at the employers we follow are up 12% over the last 5 weeks compared with the 5 before.

Weekly new ML Engineer postings at the same employers, from the week of August 17 to the week of October 26. The fewest in a week was 625, the most 1,094, and the latest week had 876.
August 17Last week

Each bar is one week of new postings. The darkest bars are the last 5 weeks.

Counted from the hiring pages we’ve followed for at least five weeks, so employers we add don’t look like growth. Updated weekly.

About the role

We file this job under ML Engineer, by the work the posting describes.

ML engineers put machine learning models into products. They write the code that trains, ships, serves and monitors models so a recommendation or prediction works for real users.

Postings ask for strong Python and software engineering, a framework such as PyTorch, cloud services, and more and more often experience with large language models.

A data scientist often works out which model to build; an ML engineer makes it run reliably in production.

US government figures for computer and information research scientists

Median yearly pay, May 2025
$140,300
Expected change, 2025 to 2035
21.8% more jobsagainst 3.5% for all jobs

The government has no code for ML engineers, so these figures are for the closest group, computer and information research scientists.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and Employment Projections (2025 to 2035). Occupation code 15-1221.

Job description

View original posting ↗

Job Description

The Future Talent Program within the Data, AI, and Genome Sciences (DAGS) Department is offering co-op opportunities that last a period of six months. There is one position in the Patient Data Learning group. Candidates can apply for the opportunity to be involved in a computational project designed to enable students to further develop their skills and to evaluate if we are the right company for their long-term goals. We are seeking highly motivated and talented students with computational skills and experience. 

 

Patient Data Learning in Precision Genetics (1 position, Cambridge MA): 

  • Design and build agent-assisted system or components to support feasibility assessment and early exploration of phenotypes and clinical profiles of patients in EHR-linked biobanks. 
  • Re-use and customize AI language models to turn scientific questions expressed in natural language into machine-generated queries to be evaluated in agentic loops. 
  • Create guardrails and evals to promote and measure the reliability of models and agents.   
  • Assist with the application of these tools and technologies to answer feasibility questions. 

 

Required Education and Skills: 

  • Currently enrolled in a minimum of a Master's degree program in Clinical Informatics, Epidemiology, Computational Medicine, Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, Computer Science with strong interest in biomedical applications, or a related field of study. Students enrolled in a PhD program are highly encouraged to apply. 
  • Computational/software engineering fundamentals sufficient to be able run and tune local LLMs, build local agentic systems, and comfortable with applying or outlining software and agent development practices (version control, packaging, tests & evals). 
  • Proficiency in Python, SQL, ideally database-agnostic querying such as ibis 
  • Applied knowledge sufficient to query structured EMR/EHR data, for example to create patient features, build cohorts, or report summary statistics, or a demonstrated interest in learning to do so and clinical applications. 
  • Available to work full-time for 6 months in 2027-2028 as part of a formal co-op program. 
  • Excellent academic achievement and analytical ability. 
  • Demonstrated superior communication and interpersonal skills and must be able to work well in a collaborative team environment. 

 

Preferred Skills and Experience: 

  • General interests/experience in ANY of the fields of clinical informatics, clinical machine learning, computational medicine, natural language processing and LLM research, epidemiology 
  • Good data systems fundamentals, and have at least notions of data engineering and database-agnostic design. 
  • Agent reward systems 
  • Knowledge in statistical methods for epidemiology or econometrics. 
  • Familiarity for the OMOP CDM and medical coding system (ICD, SNOMED, CPT, LOINC, etc.) 
  • Experience with Databricks. 
  • Knowledge of R and tidyverse packages. 

 

Please note that this position may be closed before the posted end date or may remain open longer, at the discretion of the company.


Salary range:

The salary range for this role is $39,908 - $111,111


FTP2027

RL2027

SWE

Required Skills:

Biomedical Applications, Biomedical Informatics, Biomedical Sciences, Clinical Information Systems, Clinical Research, Data Analysis, Database Management, Data Engineering, Data Science, Data Security, Data Visualization, Econometrics, Epidemiologic Methods, Epidemiology, Medical Informatics, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Python (Programming Language), Reliability Analysis, R Package, Software Proficiency, Statistical Methods, Tidyverse (R Package)

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

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:

Intern/Co-op (Fixed Term)

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Not Applicable

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

NA

Job Posting End Date:

12/4/2026

*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.

Source details

View original posting ↗

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Pay
Salary range: The salary range for this role is $39,908 - $111,111 FTP2027
Location & working pattern

USA - Massachusetts - Cambridge (320 Bent Street)

Working pattern and location restrictions need checking in the full posting.

Work authorization
No relocation VISA Sponsorship: No

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