Specialist – Clinical Research Associate (CRA)
Requisition ID: R398007
Employer: Merck & Co., Inc. (also known as MSD)
Region: Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America & Asia Pacific
Application Deadline: May 30, 2026
Job Overview
The Clinical Research Associate (Specialist level) is responsible for site monitoring and clinical trial oversight activities. The role ensures that clinical studies are conducted in compliance with ICH-GCP guidelines, sponsor SOPs, local regulations, and study protocols.
The CRA plays a key role in protecting patient safety, ensuring data integrity, and maintaining high-quality site performance throughout all phases of a clinical trial.
Key Responsibilities
A. Site Management & Relationship Building
Develop and maintain strong relationships with clinical trial sites
Ensure continuity of site engagement across all trial phases
Support site readiness and ongoing performance management
Contribute to site selection and feasibility/validation activities
B. Clinical Monitoring (On-site & Remote)
Conduct remote and on-site monitoring visits including:
Site initiation visits (SIV)
Monitoring visits (MV)
Validation visits
Close-out visits
Ensure data collected at site is:
Accurate
Complete
Unbiased
Protect subject rights, safety, and well-being
C. Protocol Compliance & Quality Oversight
Ensure strict adherence to:
Study protocol
ICH-GCP guidelines
Sponsor SOPs
Local laws and regulations
Identify protocol deviations and compliance issues
Escalate issues through defined CRA escalation pathways
D. Regulatory & Documentation Management
Collect, review, and maintain essential regulatory documents
Manage documentation across:
Study start-up
Study maintenance
Study close-out
Maintain accurate records in:
CTMS (Clinical Trial Management System)
eTMF (electronic Trial Master File)
E. Communication & Cross-functional Coordination
Liaise with investigators and site staff on:
Recruitment and retention
Protocol compliance
Regulatory documentation
Audit and inspection readiness
Collaborate with:
Clinical Operations
Pharmacovigilance
Regulatory Affairs
Legal and external vendors
IRBs/IECs and regulatory authorities
F. Risk Management & Issue Resolution
Identify and resolve site performance issues
Escalate compliance or quality risks appropriately
Ensure corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) when needed
G. Audit & Inspection Support
Support internal and external audits
Lead or assist inspection readiness activities
Ensure documentation completeness and regulatory compliance
H. Knowledge Sharing & Mentorship
Act as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for CRA processes
Mentor junior CRAs and share best practices
Support training and capability building within teams
I. Business Development Support
Identify potential new clinical trial sites
Support development of site capabilities and research readiness
Core Skills Required
Clinical trial monitoring and site management
Strong knowledge of ICH-GCP and regulatory compliance
Clinical research methodology
Protocol adherence and deviation management
AE (Adverse Event) reporting awareness
Data quality and clinical data review
CTMS and eTMF systems usage
Stakeholder communication and coordination
Core Competencies
Clinical trial operations
Risk identification and escalation
Regulatory compliance
Data integrity and monitoring
Site relationship management
Problem solving and decision making
Training and mentoring capability
Work Environment
Global clinical trial operations environment
Field-based + remote monitoring role
High compliance and regulatory oversight
Frequent interaction with clinical sites and global stakeholders
Travel-based role depending on study requirements
Career Positioning Insight
This is a core Clinical Operations role, often considered a direct pathway to:
Senior CRA → Lead CRA → Clinical Trial Manager → Clinical Operations Director
Can also transition into:
Clinical Project Management
Vendor Management
Clinical Quality Assurance
Uttar Pradesh :
Agra | Gajraula | Gautam buddha Nagar | Ghaziabad | Gorakhpur | Greater Noida | Jhansi | kanpur | Lucknow | Mathura | Noida | Park City | Prayagraj | Satyamev | Varanasi |Gujarat :
Ahmedabad | Ankleshwar | Baroda | Bharuch | Gandhinagar | Gujarat | Halol | Jhagadia | Mehsana | surat | Tarasadi | Vadodara | Vapi |Maharashtra :
Airoli | Ambernath | Amravati | Aurangabad | Dhule | Dombivali | Jalgaon | Kolhapur | Kurkumbh | Kurla | Madhapur | Mumbai | Nagpur | Nashik | Navi Mumbai | parel | Pune | Pune city | Shirpur | Tandalja | Tarapur | Thane | Vikhroli | Yerawada |Haryana :
Ambala | Gurugram | Haryana | Hisar | Kurukshetra | Panchkula | Rohtak | Shivalik |Punjab :
amritsar | Bathinda | Bela | Chandigarh | ludhiana | Moga | Mohali | Patiala | Phagwara | Punjab | Rajpura |Andra Pradesh :
Anakapali | Anantapur | Bhimavaram | Chittoor | Guntur | Gurgaon | Kakinada | Mangalagiri | Nellore | Pydibimavaram | Tirupathi | Vijayawada | Visakhapatnam |Tamil Nadu :
Annamalainagar | Chennai | Coimbatore | Erode | Madurai | Nagercoil | Ooty | Pudupakkam | Srivilliputtur | Tamil nadu | Tiruchirappalli | tiruppur | Trichy | Vellore | Yogyakarta |Himachal Pradesh :
Baddi | Solan |Rajasthan :
Banasthali | Bhiwadi | Jaipur | Pilani | Udaipur |Karnataka :
Bangalore | Belgaum | Bengaluru | B.G Nagara | Bommasandra | Colorado | Czech Republic | Karnataka | Mangaluru | Mysore | Udupi |Madhya Pradesh :
Bhopal | Dewas | Gwalior | Indore | Khandwa | Khargone | Pithampur | Ujjain |Odisha :
Bhubaneswar | Rourkela |Chhattisgarh :
Bilaspur | Eot Municipality | Raipur |Uttarakhand :
Dehradun | Halifax | Nainital | Rishikesh | Roorkee |Delhi :
Delhi | Gangtok | New Delhi | PAN-India |Assam :
Dibrugarh | Diburghar | Guwahati |West Bengal :
Digha | Kolkata | Mukundapur |Goa :
Goa | Panaji | Verna |Bihar :
Hajipur | Patna |Kerala :
Kannur | Kochi | Malappuram | Thiruvananthapuram | Trivandrum |Pondicherry (Puducherry) :
Pondicherry (Puducherry) |Jharkhand :
Ranchi |Sikkim :
Rangpo |India :
Remote, India | Siliguri |Illinois :
Abbott Park | Bloomingdale | Champaign | Chicago | Deerfield | Glenview | Lake Forest | Lombard | Naperville | Norridge | Park RIdge | Round Lake |Maryland :
Aberdeen | Baltimore | Bel Air | Cheverly | Columbia | Elkridge | Gaithersburg | Largo | Linthicum | Rockville | Towson | Upper Marlboro | White Plains |Texas :
Abilene | Arlington | Austin | Boerne | Brenham | Bulverde | Carrollton | Cedar Hill | Corpus Christi | Corsicana | Dallas | Denton | El Paso | Fort Worth | Garland | Houston | Lakeway | Longview | Mcallen | North Richland Hills | Plano | Richardson | San Antonio | Seguin | Tyler | Waco |California :
Adelanto | Alameda | Albion | Arcata | Atherton | Berkeley | Brisbane | Burlingame | Burney | California | Carlsbad | Crescent City | Davis | Downey | El Monte | El Segundo | Emeryville | Eureka | Fortuna | Foster City | Fremont | Glendale | Hayward | Hoopa | Irvine | La Jolla | Los Angeles | Martinez | McKinleyville | Menlo Park | Millbrae | Milpitas | Morgan Hill | Mountain View | Nevada | Novato | Oakland | Orange | Pacheco | Palo Alto | Pasadena | Pleasanton | Pomona | Redding | Redwood City | Riverside | Roseville | Sacramento | San Bernardino | San Carlos | San Diego | San Francisco | San Gabriel | San Jose | San Mateo | San Rafael | Santa Clara | Santa Cruz | Santa Monica | Simi Valley | Soledad | South San Francisco | Stanford | Stanton | St. Helena | Stockton | Sunnyvale | Temecula | Thousand Oaks | Valencia | Vallejo | West Sacramento | West Valley City | Whittier | Willits |New York :
Albany | Biddle | Brooklyn | Buffalo | Hauppauge | Hawthorne | Hicksville | Ithaca | Middleburgh | Morningside Heights | New York | Pearl River | Poughkeepsie | Rensselaer | Rhinebeck | Syracuse | Utica | Watertown |New Mexico :
Albuquerque | Farmington | Santa Fe | Tucumcari |Pennsylvania :
Ambler | Bethlehem | Collegeville | Harrisburg | Lancaster | Marietta | Middletown | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | Plymouth Meeting | Pottstown | Radnor | Sellersville | Southampton | Spring House | West Chester | Wyomissing |Alaska :
Anchorage | Barrow | Bethel | Juneau | Sitka | Wrangell |Massachusetts :
Andover | Billerica | Boston | Cambridge | Devens | Lexington | Massachusetts | Medford and Somerville | Rockland |Wisconsin :
Appleton | Kenosha | Pleasant Prairie | Portage | Waukesha |United states :
Arizona | Buffalo Grove | Clayton | Downers Grove | fairmont | Geelong Vic | Georgia | Keene | Michigan | Mt. Pleasant | New Jersy | OH | Piedmont | Salisbury | Whitesboro | Winston-Salem |Georgia :
Atlanta | Augusta | Rome |Maine :
Bangor | Brewer |New Jersey :
Basking Ridge | Bloomfield | Branchburg Township | Bridgewater | Brunswick | Burlington | Charlotte | Clark | Cranbury | Dunellen | East Brunswick | Edison | Fairfield | Far Hills | Flemington | Hackensack | Hopewell | Indianapolis | Jersey City | Linden | Livingston | Lyndhurst | Mahwah | Monmouth Junction | Montville | Mount Arlington | Newark | New Brunswick | Nutley | Paramus | Parsippany | Passaic | Paterson | Peapack-Gladstone | Pine Brook | Piscataway Township | Plainsboro | Princeton Junction | Rahway | Raritan | Somerset | Somerville | South Plainfield | Sparta | Summit | Titusville | Trenton | Warren Grove | Westfield | West Orange | Wharton | Whippany |Ohio :
Batavia | Blue Ash | Cincinnati | Cleveland | Columbus, | Dayton | Erie | Evendale | Franklin | Hamilton | Huber Heights | Kings Mills | Macedonia | Mason | Milford | Montgomery | Norwood | Oregoina | oxford | Waynesville |LA :
Baton Rouge | Monroe | New Orleans |Washington :
Bellevue | Bothell | Friday Harbor | Goldendale | Mount Vernon | Pullman | Seattle | Sherwood | Tacoma | Vancouver |Oregon :
Bend | Coquille | Corvallis | Eugene | Florence | Grants Pass | John Day | Lake Oswego | Lakeview | Portland | Reedsport | Roseburg | Salem | Springfield | Woodburn |Wyoming :
Big Piney | Cokeville |Alabama :
Birmingham |Virginia :
Blacksburg | Charlottesville | Falls Church | Mechanicsville |Indiana :
Bloomington | West Lafayette |Florida :
Boca Raton | Brooksville | Clearwater | Cooper City | Coral Gables | Coral Springs | Daytona Beach | Florida | Gainesville | Hollywood | Jacksonville | Maitland | Marsa | Miami | Naples | North Miami Beach | Orlando | Pembroke Pines | Plantation | Port St. Lucie | Rueil-Malmaison | Saint Petersburg | Sarasota | Stuart | Tallahassee | Tampa | West Palm Beach | Winter Haven |Idaho :
Boise |Colorado :
Boulder | Denver | Westminster |Connecticut :
Bridgeport | Bristol | Enfield | Groton | Hartford | New Haven | Newtown | South Windsor | Stamford | Storrs | West Hartford |North Caroline :
Carolina Beach | Chapel Hills | Durham | Holly Springs | Morrisville | Philippines | Raleigh | Rocky Mount | Sanford | Scottsdale |Arizona :
Chandler | Kingman | Lake Havasu City | Mesa | Peridot | Phoenix | Surprise | Tempe | Tucson | Yuma |South Carolina :
Charleston |Kansas :
Chengdu | Garden city | Kansas City | Lawrence | McPherson |North Carolina :
Concord | Lumberton | North Carolina |Michigan :
Detroit | Houghton Lake | Macomb | Southfield |North Dakota :
Dickinson |Minnesota :
Duluth | Eden Prairie | Fridley | Hibbing | Maple Grove | Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. | Minnetonka | St.Paul |Kentucky :
Edgewood | Ft MItchell | Louisville | Shelbyville |Arkansas :
Fort Smith |Kington :
Frank Scottile Blvd |Missouri :
Fulton | Milan | St. Louis |United States :
Hawai | kentucky | Sylmar | Woonsocket |Nebraska :
Hebron | Nebraska City |Hawaii :
Hilo | Honolulu |Tennessee :
Knoxville | Memphis | Nashville |Louisiana :
Lake Charles | Shreveport |Nevada :
Las Vegas | Tonopah | Tonopsh | Virginia |New Hampshire :
Lebanon | Macon | Manchester |Portugal :
Lisbon | Oeiras | Portugal |WI :
Madison | Wausau |Republic of Mexico :
Mexico |northeastern :
New Hampshire |Oklahoma :
Oklahoma City |Puerto Rico :
San Juan |Albama :
Tuscaloosa |D.C :
Washington |Delaware :
Wilmington |North Rhine Westphalia :
Aachen | Bielefeld | Bochum | Bonn | Cologne | Dortmund | Duisburg | Dusseldorf | Munster |Munich :
Bavaria |Bavaria :
Bayreuth | Erlangen | Munich | Regensburg | Wurzburg |Brandenburg :
Berlin |Baden-Wurttemberg :
Biberach an der Riß | Freiburg | Grenzach | Heidelberg | Karlsruhe | Konstanz | Stuttgart | Tubingen | Ulm |Hesse :
Darmstadt | Marburg |Hessen :
Frankfurt | Harveysburg |Germany :
Germany | GErmany |Lower Saxony :
Gottingen | Hannover | Leipzig |Saxony Anhalt :
Halle |Rotherbaum :
Hamburg |Rhineland Palatinate :
Ingelheim am Rhein | Mainz |Schleswig Holstein :
Kiel |Berlin :
Mitte |Mecklenburg Vorpommern :
Rostock |Saarland :
Saarbrucken |Switzerland :
Basel | Zurich |Serbia :
Belgrade | Serbia |Hungary :
Budapest |BULGARIA :
Bulgaria | Vedant |Denmark :
Copenhagen | Denmark |Europe :
Europe | France | Latvia | Lendava | Leuven | Poland | Slovenia | Spain |Finland :
Finland |Istanbul :
Istanbul | Turkey |Norway :
Norway | NOrway |Romania :
Romania |Belgium :
Wavre |Tipperary :
Ballydine |Cork :
Brinny | Ringaskiddy |Carlow :
Carlow |Republic of Ireland :
Cork | Dublin | Limerick | Waterford |Ulster :
Donegal |Meath :
Dunboyne |Dún Laoghaire :
Dún Laoghaire |Galway :
Galway |County Dublin :
Swords |Republic of China :
Beijing |China :
China | Quarry Bay |Liaoning :
Dalian |Zhejiang :
Hangzhou |Tokiyo :
Osaka | Tokyo |Shanghai Sai :
Shanghai Shi |Hubei :
Wuhan |Capital of Netherland :
Amsterdam |North Brabant :
Breda |Noord Holland :
Haarlem |South Holland :
Leiden |Netherlands :
Netherlands |Remote Australia :
Arkansas | Remote Australia |New South Wales :
Ballina | Sydney |Republic of Western Australia :
Nedlands |Queensland :
Queensland |Melbourne :
South Yarra |United Kingdom :
England | Harlow | Leeds | London | Maidenhead | Salt Lake City | Stevenage | Stirling | United Kingdom |North Yorkshire :
Harrogate |South Yorkshire :
Sheffield |Oxfordshire :
Witney |Ontario :
Mississauga | Richmond Hill | Uxbridge | North York | Australia | Renfrew |Canada :
Canada |Quebec :
Montreal |Brussels :
Brussels |Antwerp :
Heist op den Berg |Flemish Brabant :
Zaventem |South America :
Argentina | Peru |Brazil :
Sao paulo | Brazil |Attica :
Athens | Koropi |Greece :
Greece |North Island :
Auckland |New Zealand :
New Zealand |Austria :
Austria |Vienna :
Vienna |Catalonia :
Barcelona |Madrid :
Madrid |Cebu Province :
Cebu City |Philippines :
Manila |Croatia :
Croatia |Zagreb :
Zagreb |Estonia :
Estonia | Tartu |Harju County (Maakond) :
Tallinn |Hà Nội :
Hanoi | Hà Nội |Ho Chi Minh :
Ho Chi Minh City |Italy :
Italy |Lombardy :
Rho |Jakarta :
Jakarta |East Java :
Surabaya |Japan :
Japan | Saitama |Tokyo :
Otemachi |North Ostrobothnia :
Oulu |Southwest Finland (Varsinais-Suomi) :
Turku |Remote Korea :
Remote Korea |Republic of Korea :
Seoul |Kazakhstan :
Almaty |Republic of Thailand :
Bangkok |Israel :
Netanya | Yavne | Kfar Saba | Tel Aviv | Be'Er Sheva |Remote :
Remote - Africa | Bountiful | Belgium | Milwaukee | French | Green Way | Leinster | Lousiana | Manipal | Tulsa | Texas | Victoria | Remote - Europe | Faridabad | Thailand | Xzagreb | Ireland | Blue Bell | Lenexa | Castlebar | Bishop | Remote - South America (Latin Americal) | Riga | Nairobi | McFarland | Hammond | Switzerland | Regulatory Labeling Manager (NA and LATAM Only) | Remote - Middle East | Perth | Minnesota | Hungary | Melbourne | Springville | Slovakia | Medan | Zaragoza |Republic of Colombia :
Bogota |Williamson :
Brentwood |Bucharest :
Bucharest |Buenos Aires :
Buenos Aires |Republic of Egypt :
Cairo |Mexico :
New Mexico | Ciudad de México |Dubai :
Dubai |Makkah :
Riyadh | Jeddah | Khulais | King Abdullah Economic City | Najran | Rabigh |Kuala Lumpur :
Kuala Lumpur |Kyiv Oblast :
Kyiv |Lima Region :
Lima |France :
Lyon | Paris |South Africa :
Midrand | South Africa |Nišava District :
Niš |Bohemia :
Prague |Chile :
Santiago |Bosnia and Herzegovina :
Sarajevo |Singapore :
Singapore |Sofia City :
Sofia |Sweden :
Sweden |Taipei :
Taipei |Mazovia :
Warsaw |