Senior Scientist, Discovery Data Science - San Diego, CA

$104,000 - $166,750/Yr

Johnson & Johnson - San Diego, CA

Full-time - Senior

San Diego, CA

Chemical Manufacturing

About the position

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine is seeking a Senior Scientist in Discovery Data Science to advance Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) for Drug Discovery. This role is based at our R&D site in San Diego, CA (La Jolla area). At Johnson & Johnson, we believe that health is everything, and our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured. Our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech positions us uniquely to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today, delivering the breakthroughs of tomorrow and profoundly impacting health for humanity. Within Janssen R&D, the Therapeutics Discovery organization is focused on building key scientific expertise to bring groundbreaking new medicines to patients. We invest in medicinal chemistry, screening, pharmacology, and computational and data science fields that inspire and inform our work. The drug discovery process is increasingly being virtualized, utilizing modeling methodologies to prescreen existing or virtual molecules for relevant properties, thereby focusing experimental bandwidth on the most promising candidates. The Senior Scientist will be responsible for inventing, internalizing, and applying creative yet scientifically sound data science solutions to virtually assess molecules. This position encompasses methodological innovation as well as crafting data generation, acquisition, and alliance strategies. The successful candidate will engage in method development and project support in collaboration with data science teams, computational and experimental protein scientists, computational and medicinal chemists, project biologists, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, and IT colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to developing data science applications focused on antibodies and targeted protein degradation discovery across various therapeutic areas and projects.
• Bridge the gap between experimental and digital technologies, utilizing expertise in machine learning and AI as applied to drug discovery.
• Foster a team environment built on trust and collegiality, encouraging effective communication among colleagues.
• Evaluate and recommend strategies for the internalization, conceptualization, and development of innovative technologies.
• Impact the application of science within the company and beyond through sound scientific practices.
• Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at scientific meetings.

Requirements

• PhD in data science, computational science, or related fields with expert-level training in data science, AI/ML, and in silico work aligned to drug discovery.
• Experience in data analytics and predictive modeling for designing and optimizing large or small molecules in drug discovery.
• Proficiency in Python is required.
• Experience with data visualization, feature development, large language models, and generative methods is preferred.
• Self-motivation, proactivity, team spirit, enthusiasm, confidence, and dedication are essential.
• Experience working in a cross-functional team environment is required.
• A track record of planning and delivering on complex projects with a robust scientific foundation is a plus.
• Strong publication record is preferred.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with both small and large molecules in drug discovery is preferred.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• Business accident insurance
• Group legal insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Vacation - up to 120 hours per calendar year
• Sick time - up to 40 hours per calendar year; up to 56 hours for employees in Washington
• Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays - up to 13 days per calendar year
• Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year