Senior Scientist applicants have rated the interview process at Merck with 3.1 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 76% positive. To compare, the company-average is 68.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Senior Scientist roles take an average of 52 days to get hired, when considering 89 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Merck overall takes an average of 36 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Merck as a Senior Scientist according to 89 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 19%
One on one interview: 17%
Group panel interview: 15%
Presentation: 15%
Background check: 12%
Skills test: 10%
Personality test: 5%
Drug test: 4%
IQ intelligence test: 3%
Other: 0%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied online. I interviewed at Merck (Rahway, NJ) in Mar 2026
Interview
Easy and fast process. First call with HM, second with HR, and after 4 day onsite inteviews (5 panel interviews each with 2 people, like directors or managers). Lab tour too
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why do I want to leave academia to go into company?
Recruiting process started with a resume screening by the recruiter, followed by an HR interview to discuss background and motivation. The next stage was a hiring manager interview focusing on research experience and project fit. The final stage was a full-day onsite interview that included a one-hour research seminar, technical discussions with team members, and several behavioral interviews with cross-functional stakeholders.
I received email directly from the hiring manager and had 30min initial interivew. They have asked questions like tell me about your crispr screen project. What in vivo techniques do you have? Why industry not academia? Finally questions for me.