Principal Data Scientist – R&D DSDH - Preclinical Sciences & Translational Safety (PSTS)

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine • San Diego, CA

1d • Remote

About The Position

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine is recruiting for Principal Data Scientist – R&D DSDH - Preclinical Sciences & Translational Safety (PSTS). The R&D Data Science organization is seeking a Data Scientist to leverage advanced machine learning, robust data engineering techniques, and domain expertise to drive impactful decisions and generate actionable insights within the Pharmaceutical Sciences & Translational Safety (PSTS) organization. In this role, you will work closely with multidisciplinary teams—including toxicologists, PK/PD specialists, in vivo researchers, and safety professionals—to create AI-ready datasets, develop predictive models, and deliver analytical solutions that promote improved safety evaluations and facilitate translational research. The successful candidate possesses hands-on experience in machine learning and data engineering, complemented by a solid understanding of toxicology, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), in vivo experimentation, and translational science. Additionally, this role requires strong communication and problem-solving skills, a passion for innovation, and the ability to adapt to evolving scientific challenges in pharmaceutical R&D.

Requirements

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Data Science, Computational Biology, Toxicology, Pharmacology, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 3+ years of experience applying machine learning and/or data engineering to scientific or biomedical datasets.
• Proficiency with Python and/or R, SQL, and modern data engineering tooling (cloud computing, workflow orchestration, version control).
• Experience with ML model development, evaluation, and deployment pipelines.
• Experience working with biological, toxicology, PK/PD, or in vivo datasets.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in safety sciences, ADME/DMPK, toxicogenomics, or biomarker analytics.
• Familiarity with scientific data formats (e.g., assay outputs, histopathology data, PK time-course datasets).
• Exposure to ontologies, semantic technologies, or knowledge graph integration for scientific domains.
• Experience with cloud‑based data architectures (AWS S3, Snowflake, Redshift).
• Understanding of regulatory data standards (e.g., SEND, CDISC).

Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy ML/AI models to support safety signal detection, dose selection, PK/PD modeling, toxicology insights, and translational interpretation.
• Implement representation‑learning, predictive modeling, and multivariate analytics for datasets spanning in vivo studies, in vitro assays, exposure‑response data, and pathology information.
• Partner with scientific SMEs to design modeling strategies aligned with PSTS decision points.
• Apply model governance, versioning, and validation standards consistent with R&D AI practices.
• Build and maintain scalable data pipelines that integrate PSTS‑relevant data sources (e.g., toxicology studies, PK/PD datasets, biomarker readouts, animal study repositories).
• Transform raw experimental outputs into standardized, analysis‑ready, AI‑ready datasets using Python, R, and cloud‑native services.
• Contribute to harmonized scientific data models in collaboration with data engineering and ontology teams.
• Work directly with toxicology, DMPK, and safety stakeholders to interpret scientific context and translate study designs into computational requirements.
• Apply understanding of mechanism‑based toxicology, exposure‑response concepts, and in vivo study structures to guide data transformations and modeling strategies.
• Enhance cross‑study comparability via standardized terminologies, metadata practices, and quality checks.
• Collaborate with PSTS functional experts, R&D Data Science teams, and platform architects to ensure high-quality, scalable data solutions.

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 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: Principal