Scientist, Process R&D and Scale-up (Custom Synthesis), Merck KGaA, Bengaluru
Job Description
Merck KGaA is hiring a process R&D chemist in Bengaluru. The Scientist will scale up organic syntheses from the lab to the kilo lab and pilot plant. The team is the custom synthesis R&D group at Jigani. This Merck is the German science company, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt. It is a different company from US-based Merck & Co (MSD).
At a glance
- Position: Scientist, Process R&D (requisition 303896), full time, with shift work
- Team: India Jigani R&D, Custom Synthesis, in Merck’s Life Science business
- Where: Jigani, Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Experience: 3 to 10 years; the ad also asks for 6 to 10 years in a pharma CRO or specialty chemicals
- Posted: 21 September 2026
- Apply: open until filled (re-checked 16 November 2026)
What the Merck process R&D chemist will do
- Develop processes for custom synthesis projects and scale them up
- Run reactions from 1 L to 50 L, with work-up and purification
- Make products in the kilo lab and pilot plant, including small-scale catalogue products
- Characterise products by IR, NMR, HPLC, GC and mass spectrometry
- Plan and schedule production of products
- Improve processes and solve problems when a batch goes wrong
- Transfer processes from the lab to the pilot plant
Why this role matters
Scale-up chemists are always in demand. Few people can take a reaction from a round-bottom flask to a 50 L reactor safely. This role trains you in pyrophoric and moisture-sensitive chemistry at scale. These skills carry over to pharma CROs, API makers and specialty chemical firms.
What Merck is looking for
- An MSc in organic chemistry or industrial chemistry
- 3 to 10 years of experience. A second section of the ad asks for 6 to 10 years in a pharma CRO or the specialty chemical industry, so expect more weight on the higher figure
- Hands-on process R&D, scale-up, pilot plant and kilo lab work
- Pyrophoric and moisture-sensitive reactions and reagents at 20 L scale
- Organic synthesis, reaction mechanisms, asymmetric synthesis, catalysis and ligand chemistry
- Purification by high-vacuum distillation, recrystallisation and column chromatography
- Good documentation practice, and experience of GMP or ISO audits
- Basic Word and Excel, and the ability to run reactions on your own in shifts
Nice to have
- Lean Six Sigma
- SAP
Pay and location
The posting gives no salary. It is a full-time job at Merck’s Jigani site near Bengaluru. The ad says the job involves shift work.
How to apply
Apply through the official Merck job posting. Merck’s posting does not give a closing date, so the role is open until filled; ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 16 November 2026. Check the posting for location and work-authorisation details before you apply.
See all our industry R&D jobs, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Merck KGaA
Official advertisement: careers.merckgroup.com
How to prepare for this application
- List your scale-up record. Name the reactions, the batch sizes and the yields you reached.
- Prepare a safety story. Explain how you handled n-BuLi, sodium hydride or a similar reagent at scale.
- Know your purification. Be ready to explain when you pick distillation over a column.
- Revise asymmetric catalysis. Expect questions on chiral ligands and how to measure ee.
- Talk about audits. Describe a GMP or ISO audit you faced and what you changed after it.
About Merck KGaA
Merck KGaA is a German science and technology company based in Darmstadt. It was founded in 1668. It works in healthcare, life science and electronics. In the US and Canada its life science business is known as MilliporeSigma.
