Sr. Manager, Pooled Screening Core - CAR Screening & Lead Selection, Cell & Genetic Medicines

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine•Spring House, PA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The CSLS team is seeking a Sr. Manager to establish and lead a centralized pooled screening core within the Cell & Genetic Medicines organization. This individual will serve as the people leader and operational supervisor of the Pooled Screening Core while providing scientific and technical leadership across pooled screening technologies and workflows. The Pooled Screening Core will provide a service-oriented, high-throughput capability to interrogate large protein and genomic design spaces. It will complement existing arrayed screening capabilities and help project teams rapidly identify promising designs for further characterization and lead selection. The Core Lead will be responsible for building a scalable, reliable, and customer-focused capability spanning experimental design through data delivery. This role requires a leader who can operate at the intersection of deep technical expertise, people leadership, operational excellence, and cross-functional scientific partnership. The successful candidate will establish standards and workflows for the Core; develop and mentor its scientists; partner with project teams to design, prioritize, and execute studies appropriately; and ensure that pooled screening capabilities evolve alongside the needs of the cell therapy portfolio. This is an opportunity to shape a high-impact scientific capability from the ground up. The successful candidate will bring technical depth, operational discipline, and a collaborative leadership style to build a trusted Core that accelerates discovery, strengthens partnerships, and advances our cell therapy portfolio.

Requirements

Ph.D. in molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, bioengineering, biotechnology, or a related discipline, with substantial relevant industry experience; equivalent education and experience will be considered.
Deep expertise in pooled screening technologies and demonstrated ability to design, execute, troubleshoot, and interpret complex screening studies.
Experience leading scientific or multidisciplinary technical teams, setting clear expectations, mentoring talent, and fostering a collaborative, service-oriented culture.
Proven ability to establish scalable workflows and operating practices, manage concurrent priorities, and maintain high standards for quality, reproducibility, documentation, and delivery.
Strong cross-functional leadership and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence scientific strategy and decisions without relying solely on formal authority.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including transparent, proactive communication of priorities, risks, tradeoffs, and technical concepts to audiences with varying levels of expertise.

Nice To Haves

Experience applying pooled screening to CAR-T, T-cell engineering, cell therapy, or immuno-oncology discovery.
Experience building or scaling a centralized technology platform, screening group, or Core operating under a service-oriented model.
Experience with automated or semi-automated high-throughput laboratory workflows and computational analysis of barcode-, sequencing-, or library-based screening data.
Experience partnering with project teams from early discovery through candidate or lead selection.
Demonstrated ability to evaluate emerging technologies, transfer capabilities across teams or sites, and translate promising methods into standardized, scalable workflows.

Responsibilities

Serve as CGM’s scientific lead and subject matter expert for pooled screening technologies, strategy, applications, and limitations.
Develop, optimize, and implement scalable pooled screening workflows spanning library design, cloning, quality control, cell engineering, functional assays, sequencing readouts, and data interpretation.
Build trusted relationships with project teams and translate scientific questions into rigorous study designs, controls, models, endpoints, and follow-up plans.
Build strong cross-functional relationships and integrate pooled screening with existing arrayed screening, automation, CAR-T generation, vector, and assay development teams and capabilities.
Establish and lead the Core’s operating model, including project intake, prioritization, resource planning, scheduling, execution, and data delivery, with transparent decision-making and clear, proactive stakeholder communication.
Ensure high standards for scientific rigor, reproducibility, quality, documentation, sample tracking, biosafety, and knowledge management.
Monitor and document Core performance through metrics for throughput, quality, turnaround time, utilization, and portfolio impact, and drive continuous improvement.
Provide hands-on scientific and operational oversight, troubleshoot complex studies, and balance competing priorities across concurrent requests.
Lead, develop, and expand the Core team by setting clear expectations, mentoring scientists, and fostering a collaborative, service-oriented culture.
Represent the Core in portfolio and platform discussions, communicate capacity, priorities, risks, and investment needs transparently, and serve as a trusted partner and primary point of contact for project and cross-functional teams.