Director, In Silico Discovery, CADD – San Diego, CA

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine • San Diego, CA

15d • Onsite

About The Position

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 https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine is currently seeking a Director, In Silico Discovery, Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) to join our In Silico Drug Discovery team in San Diego, CA. We are seeking a creative, strategic and self‑motivated leader to elevate our portfolio‑facing CADD team. In the Director role, you will drive programs toward NMEs by strengthening partnerships across portfolio and global discovery chemistry teams and expanding the impact of cutting‑edge computational design in small‑molecule discovery. In this role, you will guide the La Jolla CADD team in applying both commercial and internally developed software solutions across the Johnson & Johnson portfolio. The ideal candidate is a highly collaborative and strategic leader passionate about advancing small‑molecule design through computational innovation. This position offers the opportunity to join a diverse, global community of in silico scientists dedicated to delivering transformative medicines to patients. As a Director in our global CADD organization, you will lead a high‑performing team of portfolio‑facing CADD scientists to drive the strategic application of computational design across our small‑molecule portfolio. With a vision of predict first, you will partner closely with portfolio teams and the broader In Silico Discovery organization to ensure the most effective computational, AI/ML, and predictive methodologies are deployed to accelerate programs toward NMEs. You will play a pivotal role in shaping our discovery strategies, leading cross‑functional collaboration, championing change, and representing our work externally. Reporting to the Senior Director of In Silico Discovery, Global CADD, you will help advance innovation across a wide range of modalities while developing and empowering a strong, cohesive team. If you excel in building high‑performing teams, thrive in a fast‑moving and innovative environment, and are passionate about the impact computational approaches can have on drug discovery, we invite you to join us in bringing transformative therapies to patients worldwide.

Requirements

• A PhD and a minimum of 10 years of experience in drug discovery with industry or related leadership experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in the field of applied computation, and small molecule drug discovery is required.
• Deep understanding of pharmaceutical discovery and optimization processes.
• Deep understanding of advancing initial hits for targets on the path to and including NMEs (New molecular entities staged for clinic).
• Experience building teams and managing people’s career progression.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in generating data visualizations in tools (e.g. Spotfire, Vortex, Tableau, DataWarrior, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience in a range of small molecule modalities (e.g. traditional SM, BRo5, degraders, RIPTAC, GLUE, peptides) is preferred.
• Demonstrated AI/ML approaches as applied to facilitating drug discovery and guiding compound selection
• Hands-on experience with large scale data curation, aggregation, manipulation, integration, mining, and analysis, including structured and unstructured data sources.
• Demonstrated experience across multiple small molecule modalities, drug discovery protein targets, and therapeutic areas.
• Ability to organize and communicate complex data sets in a clear and concise manner to key stakeholders from diverse backgrounds
• Prior experience working with or leading collaborations with external academic, biotechnology, and contract research organizations.
• Strong publications, patents, and/or proven record of supporting discovery of clinical/pre-clinical candidates.
• Strong motivation, passion, and commitment to science and patients.

Responsibilities

• Key contributor in developing a comprehensive strategy to stay in the forefront of innovation in computational design for small molecule modalities to include but not limited to traditional small molecules, degraders, RIPTACS, GLUEs, peptides, and siRNA.
• Implement and apply computational chemistry design and optimization strategies across our diverse portfolio.
• Partner closely with In Silico Discovery and Global Discovery Chemistry teams to apply commercial and custom computationally driven predictive and AI/ML tools for small molecule design and optimization across portfolio projects to build a predict first capability and mindset.
• Mentor junior scientists, fostering their development as expert CADD scientists, drug hunters, and drug discovery leaders.
• Engage in industry consortia and represent Janssen and In Silico Discovery in key initiatives.
• Periodically be tasked with evaluating and making recommendations for the acquisition or building of new technologies. This may include performing Due Diligence on potential partnering/M&A opportunities.
• Contribute to an inspiring, scientifically rigorous, and innovative culture that embraces continuous learning, development, and collaboration.
• Contribute towards efforts to influence J & J's external environment via external scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and via participation in external conferences as needed.
• Manages other Managers, Supervisors, and/or individual contributors in a matrix environment, and is accountable for conducting effective performance management and meaningful career development conversations.
• Integrates Johnson & Johnson’s Credo and Leadership Imperatives into team goals and decision making.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

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