Laboratory Automation Team Lead/Senior Scientist

6084-Janssen Research & Development Legal Entity • San Diego, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Laboratory Automation Team Lead/Senior Scientist within the Discovery Technologies and Molecular Pharmacology group. The Therapeutics Discovery organization is continuing to build the key scientific expertise to bring ground-breaking new medicines to patients; we invest in medicinal chemistry, screening, and pharmacology, and in the computational and data science fields that inspire and inform them. This role will serve as the dedicated technical authority and people leader for the La Jolla Automation team, defining site-level automation strategy and directly leading a mixed team of FTE and contract scientists across multiple integrated production systems. They will drive innovation by leading novel automation integrations, partnering with internal and external collaborators on enterprise initiatives, and proactively developing improvements to existing processes. The successful candidate demonstrates strategic thinking, leadership presence, technical depth, and the ability to operate with high autonomy in a complex, cross-functional environment.

Requirements

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in STEM, Life Sciences, or equivalent is required.
• Minimum of 4-6 years of industry experience in high-throughput, integrated laboratory automation or related experience.
• Hands-on expertise in running, optimizing, and troubleshooting automated workflows with a variety of off-the-shelf devices operating under sophisticated task and workflow scheduling software(s) (e.g., Cellario, Momentum, Green Button Go).
• Demonstrated experience leading or mentoring others on automation processes, techniques, or tasks.
• Demonstrated experience proactively developing process improvements or developing new and improved basic processes.
• Ability to work with a high level of autonomy under limited supervision, including independently interpreting data, proposing next steps, and making real-time technical decisions.
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional environment and collaborate with multi-disciplined teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to independently analyze data, troubleshoot complex issues, and propose solutions.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to convey engineering and scientific concepts and findings to diverse audiences including external stakeholders and senior leadership.
• Diligent and conscientious with excellent organization skills to manage documentation, inventory, and adhere to standard operating procedures.
• Demonstrated growth and continual learning mentality, actively engaging in professional development, staying up to date on emerging trends and technologies in laboratory automation.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supervising or coordinating non-Ph.D. scientists or contract staff is strongly preferred.
• Experience integrating workflows across multiple medium/large-sized workcells and serving as the primary technical authority for multi-system environments.
• Experience with enterprise-level automation initiatives (e.g., OS deployment, order orchestration, custom automation vendor integration).
• Experience with higher-dimensional assay automation (e.g., tissue prep, imaging-based workflows).
• Experience with cross-site collaboration and coordination in a global R&D organization.
• Familiarity with AI tools or scripting (e.g., Python) for automation coordination, visualization, and workflow optimization.

Responsibilities

• Lead the La Jolla Automation team, directly managing scientists and contract staff across multiple integrated production systems, setting objectives, coordinating training, and managing onboarding of new team members.
• Indirectly or directly set objectives for team projects and tasks; supervise non-Ph.D. scientists and develop team capability through cross-training and mentorship.
• Serve as the single accountable technical authority for daily automation operations, exception handling, and real-time decision-making across the site.
• Drive team-level capability development by building and sustaining cross-training programs that enable broad coverage and resilience across the automation workflow.
• Define elements of the La Jolla automation strategy and act as project leader for site- and enterprise-level initiatives (e.g., order orchestration, OS deployment, novel workflow development).
• Proactively investigate and develop improvements to existing processes or develop new and improved processes, including automation tooling, scripting controls, and workflow visualization.
• Lead the development and implementation of novel automation workstations, including the onboarding of custom automation vendors and custom-built solutions for emerging assay modalities (e.g., tissue-prep workflows, higher-dimensional assays).
• Lead enterprise-level initiatives in partnership with cross-functional groups (e.g., Cybersecurity, Business IT, OS vendors) to deploy shared infrastructure and platforms across sites.
• Lead day-to-day laboratory automation and automated assay execution across all production systems supporting Molecular/Cellular Pharmacology and Compound Profiling screening activities.
• Maintain hands-on automated assay expertise by overseeing the full lifecycle of automated assays, sample management, and cell culture automation workstations.
• Partner with assay development, cell culture, and sample management teams to identify and implement lean process improvements, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and quality in all automation operations.
• Onboard new-to-automation assays efficiently (target: within 10 business days of initiation) through standardized methods, templates, and cross-team coordination.
• Conduct independent analysis and lead complex troubleshooting of automation workstation and integration challenges, providing technical insights both in written reports and oral presentations.
• Serve as the escalation point for system-level failures, including coordination with external vendors and engineering resources to expedite recovery.
• Maintain meticulous workstation documentation and records, ensuring accuracy, compliance with regulatory requirements, and adherence to standard operating procedures.
• Engage with internal and external colleagues on routine, critical, and strategic matters, including Business IT, off-the-shelf and custom automation vendors, and cross-site stakeholders.
• Represent La Jolla in cross-site forums, contributing to enterprise-wide automation strategy and best practices.
• Partner with assay collaborators to implement and optimize automated assays to increase efficiency, improve data turnaround times, and meet performance and quality goals.
• Manage inventory and stock lists of device and assay consumables, ensuring availability and alternate solutions when necessary.
• Stay informed of emerging trends, technologies, and best practices in laboratory automation through continuous learning and professional development.

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance.
• consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).
• Vacation –120 hours per calendar year
• Sick time - Sick time - 40 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
• Condolence Leave – 30 days for an immediate family member: 5 days for an extended family member
• Caregiver Leave – 10 days
• Volunteer Leave – 4 days
• Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours
• This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive program.
• 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
• 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 period
• 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