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

Johnson & Johnson • La Jolla, PA

11h

About The Position

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine is recruiting for Principal Data Scientist – R&D DSDH - Preclinical Sciences & Translational Safety (PSTS) The primary location for this position is open to Spring House, PA; Titusville, NJ; Spring House, PA; Cambridge, MA; San Diego, CA; Beerse, Belgium; Madrid, Spain; or Barcelona, Spain. Candidate Interested in our Europe based locations, please apply to: R-069190 J&J Innovative Medicine develops treatments that improve the health of people worldwide. Research and development areas encompass oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiopulmonary and specialty ophthalmology. Our goal is to help people live longer, healthier lives. We have produced and marketed many first-in-class prescription medications and are poised to serve the broad needs of the healthcare market – from patients to practitioners and from clinics to hospitals. To learn more about Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine visit https://innovativemedicine.jnj.com/ Position Summary 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. This is a rare opportunity to grow in one of the world’s most ambitious and fastest-growing R&D Data Science organizations, shaping how PSTS data powers next‑generation therapies in the largest biomedical company on the planet. Your work will directly accelerate Johnson & Johnson’s scientific discovery, fuel AI innovation, and impact patients globally.

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 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: Principal
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees