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. We are searching for the best talent for a Senior Director, Computationally Driven Drug Discovery with the primary and preferred location for this position in Spring House, PA. Consideration may be given for candidates who can be based in Cambridge, MA or San Diego, CA. Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (JJIM) is on a mission to improve human health with a focus in Oncology, Neuroscience, and Immunology. We are searching for a Senior Director to join the In Silico Discovery team to help drive this mission forward with the application and development of cutting-edge molecular design strategies and AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) tools with direct impact on portfolio projects and team. This role will play an influential part in transforming the organization into a computationally driven and prediction-first discovery engine. This is an opportunity for an experienced leader with machine learning and structure-based drug design expertise to contribute to the most impactful and transformative projects at J&J.
Responsibilities
- Drive our drug discovery transformation with a core responsibility to develop and apply our ambitious AI/ML strategy to bring computational methods to the forefront of drug design
- Foster scientific excellence by integrating cutting-edge technologies in structure-based drug design with a particular emphasis on expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) as applied to small molecule drug discovery
- Lead a team of 15-20 computational scientists across US sites and drive the development and impact of the team
- Optimize resourcing and impact with stakeholders from within and across departments
- As a People Leader, coach, mentor and develop talent including Directors
- Contribute to, and identify opportunities for, our computational discovery strategy including long-term investments in technology and talent
- Contribute to external innovation strategy
- Represent In Silico Discovery in governance forums and external collaborations
- Drive the transformation from computational supported to computationally driven discovery, especially in small molecule programs
- Drive novel tool and technology developments in key areas of computational drug design and support new tool deployment in partnership with IT
- Experience in exploring, generating, piloting and successfully implementing new and challenging science into an existing drug discovery organization
- Forge a strong culture and build relationships and team collaboration across the In Silico Discovery organization; partner closely with other In Silico Discovery teams (Cheminformatics, Data Science & Machine Learning, and Computational Biologics)
- Offer strategic counsel to local and global teams, partner with Therapeutic Area leadership and develop joint strategies.
Requirements
- PhD in Computational Drug Discovery or another related field is required.
- At least 12-14 years of experience in computational technology development beyond post-doc and application toward drug discovery is required.
- Experience applying AI/ML and physics-based computational modeling in a pharmaceutical industry drug design setting with a track record of key contributions to compound progression is required.
- Experience working within a cross-functional and highly matrixed environment with exceptionally effective communication, both scientifically and to peer groups and collaborators, is required.
- Ability to nurture and develop relationships in a complex organization is required.
- Experience advancing molecules from discovery to development is required.
- Experience with strategic decision making and long-term planning is required.
- Experience with department-wide leadership is required.
- Experience as a People Leader with a proven track record of developing talent is required.
- An external reputation, visibility and track record commensurate with a senior position in computational drug discovery is required.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience with modalities beyond traditional small molecules, such as peptides, antibody drug conjugates, and TPDs, is highly preferred.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance.
- 401(k) retirement plan and savings plan.
- Annual performance bonus.
- 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.
- Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year.
