Principal Scientist, In Silico Discovery

Key Skills

Aartificial intelligence, Agile methodologies, AWS, Data Visualization, Effective communication skills, IT, Machine learning techniques

Job Description

At Janssen, we never stop working toward a future where disease is a thing of the past. We’re the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and you can count on us to keep working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere, by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Immunology, Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, Neuroscience, Oncology, and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Visit us: www.janssen.com

The Therapeutics Discovery organization within Janssen R&D is continuing to build key scientific expertise in computational and medicinal chemistry, screening, and pharmacology to partner closely with our outstanding therapeutic area scientists to develop groundbreaking new medicines in the areas of Oncology, Immunology, Neuroscience, Cardiovascular, and Retina. We are expanding our capabilities in informatics across multiple drug discovery platforms, including DNA-encoded library (DEL) screening, peptide-display discovery, support for RNA-based therapeutics, parallel medicinal chemistry (PMC), targeted protein degradation, and high-throughput screening (HTS). We are seeking creative, self-motivated informatics and data scientists to join our In Silico Discovery (ISD) team to bring their expertise to exciting efforts in drug design across both small molecule and alternative modalities. Join an enthusiastic, diverse, and global community of internal scientists committed to bringing innovative new medicines to patients.

As a Principal Scientist in ISD, you will:

• Work in partnership with scientists in our global discovery chemist (GDC) organization to design, enumerate, and profile DELs
• Develop in silico models to prioritize DEL molecules for off-DNA synthesis and to screen external libraries to identify new chemical matter
• Develop data visualizations from internal and external sources, including chemical structures, biological assay data, and other experimental results to discover new trends and enable improved decision-making in discovery projects
• Develop workflows, scripts, and tools to facilitate the discovery, design, and selection of molecules with improved drug-like properties
• Manage and mentor junior scientists in ISD, fostering their development and growth
• Collaborate with other teams within Janssen, including computational chemists, ML/AI scientists, IT, medicinal chemists, and focused chemistry and biology discovery technology groups
• Shape and implement strategies that support innovative and efficient drug discovery at Janssen R&D by researching and incorporating new techniques, modalities, and platforms

QUALIFICATIONS

Qualifications

• A minimum of PhD in computational chemistry, cheminformatics, data science, or a related field is required
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in industry (including DEL experience) is required
• Proficiency with one or more programming language or workflow environment such as JupyterLab, Knime, or Pipeline Pilot is required
• Experience developing and implementing cloud-based solutions (e.g., via AWS) is preferred
• Expertise in generating data visualizations in tools like Spotfire or DataWarrior is required
• A strong record of scientific contributions including peer-reviewed first-author publications, patent applications, and presentations at major national meetings is required
• Familiarity with the training and application of AI/ML methodologies preferred
• Excellent written and oral communication skills are required
• This position may require approximately 10% travel

The anticipated base pay range for this position is $131,000 to $225,400.

Johnson & Johnson is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.