Principal Scientist, Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) - La Jolla, California

Description

Janssen Research & Development, L.L.C., a division of Johnson & Johnson's Family of Companies, is recruiting for a Principal Scientist, Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD, Computational Chemistry) located in San Diego, CA (La Jolla area).

At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, we work to create a world without disease. Transforming lives by finding new and better ways to prevent, intercept, treat and cure disease inspires us. We bring together the best minds and pursue the most promising science. We collaborate with the world for the health of everyone in it. Learn more at and follow us @JanssenGlobal. Janssen Research & Development, LLC is part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies.

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

The Therapeutics Discovery organization within Janssen R&D is continuing to build scientific expertise in modeling, screening, pharmacology and chemistry to partner closely with therapeutic area scientists to develop groundbreaking new medicines in the areas of Immunology, Neuroscience and Oncology. The In Silico Discovery (ISD) group in Therapeutics Discovery is seeking excellent scientists to bring their expertise to exciting and novel areas of computational drug design.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Shape and implement computational strategies to support innovative modality-agnostic drug discovery at Janssen R&D by researching and incorporating new physics-based and AI/ML techniques and platforms
• Develop and grow the CADD/ISD team at Janssen by mentoring, managing and recruiting other group members
• Design therapeutic molecules and calculate their properties using state-of-the-art methodologies integrating chemical, biological and structural data, cheminformatics, and artificial intelligence/machine learning techniques
• Represent In Silico Discovery in governance forums and external collaborations; publish results in peer reviewed journals and present at scientific meetings
• Serve as a scientific expert with both internal and external partners, and provide recommendations regarding new targets and emerging external opportunities
• Ensure optimal interaction/communication and provide updates on project status to discovery leadership

Qualifications

• A PhD in computational chemistry or a related field, with at least 5-8 years of experience applying computational modeling in a pharmaceutical industry drug design setting with a track record of key contributions to compound progression is required
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a strong record of creative scientific contributions (including peer reviewed first-author publications, patent applications, and presentations at major national meetings) is required
• Experience with multiple therapeutic modalities (e.g. small molecules, biologics, peptides, targeted protein degraders) is strongly preferred
• Experience working in a cross-functional environment, mentoring scientists, influencing decisions and resolving conflicts is required
• Familiarity with at least one standard computational drug discovery package (examples may include, Maestro/Schrodinger, MOE/Chemical Computing Group, and/or OpenEye tools) is required
• Experience scripting computational workflows in Pipeline Pilot, Knime, Python or Jupyter notebooks is preferred
• Located on site in San Diego, CA (La Jolla, area) and requires up to 10% travel domestically and internationally.

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. The anticipated base pay range for this position is $135,000 to $232,300. The compensation and benefits information set forth in this posting applies to candidates hired in the United States. The Company maintains highly competitive, performance-based compensation programs. Under current guidelines, this position is eligible for an annual performance bonus in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan. The annual performance bonus is a cash bonus intended to provide an incentive to achieve annual targeted results by rewarding for individual and the corporation's performance over a calendar/performance year. Bonuses are awarded at the Company's discretion on an individual basis.

Employees and/or eligible dependents may be eligible to participate in the following Company sponsored employee benefit programs: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance. Employees may be eligible to participate in the Company's consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

Employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:

Vacation - up to 120 hours per calendar year
Sick time - up to 40 hours per calendar year
Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays - up to 13 days per calendar year
Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year

For additional general information on Company benefits, please go to: - For more information on how we support the whole health of our employees throughout their wellness, career and life journey, please visit

This job posting is anticipated to close on 03/29/2024. The Company may however extend this time-period, in which case the posting will remain available on to accept additional applications.



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