Associate Director, Biomarker Strategy (Neuroscience)

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine • San Diego, CA

20h • Hybrid

About The Position

Johnson & Johnson is recruiting for an Associate Director, Biomarker Strategy (Neuroscience) to be based at one of our sites in San Diego, CA; Titusville, NJ; Spring House, PA; or Boston, MA. Our Neuroscience team tackles the world’s toughest brain health challenges including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, myasthenia gravis, epilepsy, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism. This patient-focused team helps address some of the most complex diseases of our time. Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way. The Neuroscience Precision Measures (PM) Team is an integrated scientific organization supporting the delivery of precision therapeutics to patients with CNS disorders across neuropsychiatry, neurodegeneration, and ophthalmology. The team brings together disease experts, biomarker scientists, computational biologists, and leaders in imaging and digital health, and partners closely with Neuroscience Discovery and Development organizations to advance an industry‑leading portfolio of novel mechanisms. Precision Measures advances measurement science grounded in human data—including fluids, tissues, high‑dimensional biology, and neuroimaging—to support the end‑to‑end portfolio. In close collaboration with internal and external partners, the organization delivers decision‑enabling insights spanning target selection, early and late clinical development, regulatory submissions, and post‑market evidence generation. The Associate Director, Biomarker Strategy is a senior individual‑contributor to shape and drive biomarker strategy across clinical development phases. Reporting to the Head of Quantitative Imaging and Clinical Biomarkers, this role has primary responsibility for defining and delivering endpoints that enable patient screening, stratification, and evidence generation to inform development, portfolio, and regulatory decisions. Operating with minimal direction, the incumbent leads biomarker efforts spanning disease areas and measurement modalities. The role requires independent scientific judgment, deep quantitative expertise, and strategic influence to develop study design and address scientific questions that impact compound‑ and portfolio‑level decisions. The incumbent serves as a key scientific authority on Compound Development Teams and contributes to internal governance through biomarker strategies, evidence packages, and expert input.

Requirements

• PhD in Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field with 10+ years of relevant experience
• Strong publication record, including first‑author publications in peer‑reviewed journals.
• Proven expertise in quantitative evaluation of biomarker–endpoint relationships and assessment of biomarker utility within clinical trials.
• Proven track record leading complex scientific programs with broad autonomy
• Outstanding communication, collaboration, and influencing skills.

Nice To Haves

• Hands‑on experience with the discovery, development, and application of neuroscience biomarkers in clinical trials.
• Experience with neuroimmune fluid biomarkers and/or quantitative imaging modalities.
• Familiarity with regulatory expectations for biomarker use.
• Prior pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a leader for imaging and biomarker strategy, partnering to drive alignment, rigor, and execution.
• Define, develop, and operationalize clinical trial biomarker plans, including screening funnels, patient stratification, and endpoint strategies, ensuring fit‑for‑purpose measurement and methodologies.
• Partner closely with Clinical Development, Statistics, Data Science, and operational teams to ensure biomarker strategies and deliverables are embedded within protocols, analysis plans, and execution timelines.
• Quantitatively assess and interpret relationships between clinical endpoints and biomarker measures and partner to deliver robust evidence packages for internal governance, regulatory interaction, and external disclosure.
• Contribute to regulatory‑facing biomarker strategy, including context‑of‑use definition, evidence planning, and documentation readiness.
• Provide mentorship to technical staff and project teams, contributing to capability building and scientific excellence across the organization.

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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree