Senior Manager, Biophysics, Higher-Order Structure & Separations

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine•Spring House, PA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Johnson & Johnson is seeking an experienced scientific leader to build and lead the Biophysics, Higher-Order Structure & Separations team within Cell Engineering and Analytical Sciences (CEAS). The team will generate molecular insights that help biologic drug candidates advance from late Discovery through Cell Line Development and into process and product development. Its work connects molecular characterization, cell line development, analytical sciences, and manufacturing to explain how molecular properties influence development success. The leader will establish a scientific capability that combines biophysical sciences, higher-order structure characterization, separation sciences, and complementary mass spectrometry approaches. The team will investigate how molecular structure, stability, heterogeneity, and intermolecular interactions affect expression, product quality, process robustness, and manufacturability. Unlike organizations focused primarily on candidate selection, this team will support molecules actively advancing through development and translate scientific understanding into actionable development strategies. The role partners with Mass Spectrometry, Cell Line Development, Discovery, Protein Engineering, Process Development, and Analytical Sciences. Its findings will inform cell line development strategies, process development decisions, product quality understanding, technical risk mitigation, and manufacturing readiness across a diverse biologics portfolio. The Senior Manager will also recruit, mentor, and develop scientists and establish the team as a center of excellence in molecular characterization.

Requirements

Ph.D. in Biophysics, Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Structural Biology, Bioengineering, Biotechnology, or a related scientific discipline.
At least 6 years of experience in biologics discovery, development, analytical sciences, or related biopharmaceutical functions.
Demonstrated scientific and people leadership experience.
Deep expertise in protein biophysics, molecular characterization, and therapeutic protein analysis.
Strong understanding of higher-order structure, protein stability, aggregation mechanisms, and molecular characterization strategies.
Experience applying scientific insights to influence development decisions and resolve complex technical challenges.
Ability to lead highly collaborative, multidisciplinary scientific teams.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with higher-order structure characterization.
Experience with circular dichroism (CD).
Experience with FTIR spectroscopy.
Experience with fluorescence spectroscopy.
Experience with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
Experience with differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF).
Experience with dynamic, static, or multi-angle light scattering (DLS/SLS/MALS).
Experience with analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC).
Experience with hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS).
Experience with advanced protein separation sciences.
Experience assessing protein aggregation and stability.
Experience characterizing monoclonal antibodies, multispecific antibodies, fusion proteins, or other advanced biologic modalities.
Experience with computational structural biology, molecular modeling, or AI-enabled characterization approaches.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the scientific strategy for biophysics, higher-order structure characterization, and separation sciences within CEAS.
Build a capability focused on understanding the relationship between molecular properties and development outcomes.
Serve as a scientific leader and trusted partner across Discovery, Cell Line Development, Process Development, and Analytical Sciences.
Evaluate and implement emerging technologies that enhance molecular understanding and accelerate decision-making.
Partner with Cell Line Development teams to understand how molecular characteristics influence expression, clone selection, product quality, and development performance.
Apply biophysical characterization approaches to identify molecule-specific liabilities and opportunities early in development.
Generate mechanistic insights that inform risk mitigation and improve the likelihood of successful scale-up and manufacturing.
Help establish characterization frameworks connecting molecular structure and behavior with development and manufacturing outcomes.
Support investigations explaining differences in development performance across candidate molecules in the same program.
Build and expand capabilities in higher-order structure characterization, conformational analysis, protein stability assessment, and aggregation investigations.
Develop orthogonal analytical approaches that complement structural and analytical mass spectrometry.
Apply spectroscopic, calorimetric, hydrodynamic, and separation-based techniques to understand molecular behavior.
Establish scientific understanding of structure-function relationships and their impact on development and manufacturing.
Advance protein separation and biophysical characterization capabilities for a broad range of biologic modalities.
Characterize molecular heterogeneity, aggregation, fragmentation, charge variants, and other critical quality attributes.
Integrate data across biophysics, separation sciences, and mass spectrometry to assess molecule behavior and risk.
Deliver scientific recommendations that support project teams and portfolio decisions.
Recruit, mentor, and develop scientists; create a culture of scientific rigor, curiosity, innovation, collaboration, and operational excellence; and develop organizational capabilities aligned with future portfolio and technology needs.