Director, External Innovation, DPDS (In Silico Discovery)

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more at jnj.com

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world.  We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual.  At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

Please note that this role is available across multiple countries and may be posted under different requisition numbers to comply with local requirements. While you are welcome to apply to any or all of the postings, we recommend focusing on the specific country(s) that align with your preferred location(s):

Belgium R-110798, Switzerland R-110799, United Kingdom R-110800, United States of America R-108788

Remember, whether you apply to one or all of these requisition numbers, your applications will be considered as a single submission.

Job Function:
Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Sub Function:
Multi-Family Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development – Pharm

Job Category:
People Leader

All Job Posting Locations:
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, La Jolla, California, United States of America, South San Francisco, California, United States of America, Spring House, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Job Description:

About Innovative Medicine:

Our expertise in Innovative Medicine is informed and inspired by patients, whose insights fuel our science-based advancements. Visionaries like you work on teams that save lives by developing the medicines of tomorrow.

Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way.

Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine

We are searching for the best talent for a Director, External Innovation, DPDS (In Silico Discovery).

Immigration sponsorship is not available for this position. Relocation support may be provided for qualified candidates in accordance with company policy.

Purpose:

As the molecular invention and product development engine of Research & Development for J&J Innovative Medicine, Discovery, Product Development and Supply (DPDS) aims to unlock the potential of the most promising disease targets and drug candidates, regardless of source, stage, or modality, to discover, develop and deliver transformational medicines for patients.

Within DPDS, the External Innovation team is now looking for an extraordinary Director who is passionate about identifying, shaping, onboarding, and nurturing external partnerships that support the DPDS innovation strategy.

You will be a member of the Global External Innovation Team DPDS with strategic and operational responsibility for scouting and evaluation of external opportunities across the globe focused on computational approaches (AI/ML, physics-based) to enable drug discovery. You will be operating at the cutting edge of drug discovery and development technology, enabling productive interactions between external and internal scientists at various levels in the organization. You will conduct strategic technology landscape reviews, support the identification of external partnering opportunities and take ownership of all steps in the process of scientific and strategic evaluations of such opportunities, while engaging with internal and external stakeholders constructively and effectively.

The role requires both a broad knowledge (in silico & experimental) of enabling technologies and platforms, creativity to relate these with evolving discovery and development needs, and goal-orientation to establish partnerships that will effectively promote innovation and further the Janssen R&D portfolio.

Your will be responsible for:

- Advance technological innovation within DPDS in alignment with the strategy and in support of the vision of Janssen R&D with a primary focus on AI-based molecular design across drug modalities. Additionally, there will be non-primary focus areas including (1) strategies to leveraging and generating high-dimensional datasets to discover biological insights and enable model building, (2) approaches to developing self-driving labs, (3) exploring computational tools to enable drug discovery, and (4) special projects to conceptualize, incorporate and scale the latest technological advances in drug discovery
- Identify, evaluate, develop, and execute value-creating opportunities, scientific breakthroughs including structuring, negotiating, and closing of contracts with preferred partners
- Conduct strategic technology landscape reviews by monitoring and processing data from competitive intelligence resources focused on AI/ML-enabled drug discovery
- In partnership with J&J Global External Innovation, Janssen Business Development and the DPDS organization, contribute to sourcing and validating input for scientific assessments
- Manage and enable the workflow for a portfolio of technology assessment projects across DPDS functional disciplines
- Develop areas of interest to support investment recommendations
- Work in support of the head of DPDS External Innovation In Silico Discovery to ensure objectives and timelines are met
- Ensure Credo Values are demonstrated in all day-to-day interactions

Qualifications / Requirements:

Education:

- Minimum of a Master’s degree is required
- PhD is preferred
- Concentration/Major in any the following: Medicinal Chemistry, Biochemistry, Cell/Molecular Biology or Pharmaceutical Sciences is preferred (but not required)

Required:

- Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience
- Bilingual in computational (dry-lab) and experimental (wet-lab) approaches to enable drug discovery, with the ability to flex between scientific / technical detail and big picture strategy
- Experience with modern techniques, such as AI/ML driven discovery, with a track record of delivering exceptional results
- Project management skills as well as a demonstrable ability to think strategically and deliver on strategic objectives
- Proficiency in planning, proactivity, self-motivation, and the ability to work independently
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Authentic, humble, able to build a positive team spirit and lead through the ups and downs, puts success of team above own interests

Preferred:

- Understanding of medicinal chemistry, antibody discovery, analytical sciences, biochemistry, cellular/molecular biology, pharmacology, drug delivery, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, in at least some of these domains are highly preferred

Johnson & Johnson is an 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, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Johnson & Johnson is committed to providing an interview process that is inclusive of our applicants’ needs. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation, external applicants please contact us via https://www.jnj.com/contact-us/careers , internal employees contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.

#LI-Hybrid

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

The anticipated base pay range for this position is :
$168,000.00 - $290,950.00

For Bay Area:
$194,000.00 - $334,650.00

Additional Description for Pay Transparency:
Subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees are eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive program.

Subject to the terms of their respective policies and date of hire, employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:

Vacation –120 hours per calendar year

Sick time - 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Colorado –48 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington –56 hours per calendar year

Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays –13 days per calendar year

Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year

Parental Leave – 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child

Bereavement Leave – 240 hours for an immediate family member: 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year

Caregiver Leave – 80 hours in a 52-week rolling period10 days

Volunteer Leave – 32 hours per calendar year

Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours per calendar year

The compensation and benefits information set forth in this posting applies to candidates hired in the United States.

Candidates hired outside the United States will be eligible for compensation and benefits in accordance with their local market.

For additional general information on Company benefits, please go to: https://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits