Director, Protein Sciences

Johnson Johnson; Spring House (PA); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine R&D is recruiting a Director, Protein Sciences to drive target biology insights, antigen design, and protein engineering. This role can be located in Spring House, PA or Cambridge, MA and operates in a highly coordinated, fast-paced matrix environment.

The candidate will integrate computational design, structural biology, and experimental protein sciences to generate high-quality immunogens and reagents for hit generation campaigns, with leadership across

Qualifications

• PhD required in Biochemistry, Structural Biology, Protein Engineering, or related field.
• At least 10 years in biologics discovery or protein sciences.
• Demonstrated leadership in pharma/biotech.
• Strong knowledge of antigen design, structure biology, and discovery workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead evaluation of therapeutic targets and antigen design strategies.
• Drive protein design and engineering using computational and structural biology approaches.
• Oversee engineering of proteins for stability and expression for discovery assays.
• Collaborate across discovery teams in a fast-paced, matrix environment.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Strategic thinking

Collaboration

Biologics discovery

Education

PhD in Biochemistry/Structural Biology/Protein Engineering or related

Tools

AI/ML protein design

Job description

Job Function:

Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Sub Function:

Biotherapeutics R&D

Job Category:

People Leader

All Job Posting Locations:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, Spring House, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Job Description:

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. Learn more at jnj.com

As guided by Our Credo, Johnson & Johnson is responsible to our employees who work with us throughout the world. We provide an inclusive work environment where each person is considered as an individual. At Johnson & Johnson, we respect the diversity and dignity of our employees and recognize their merit.

About Innovative Medicine

Our expertise in Innovative Medicine is informed and inspired by patients, whose insights fuel our science-based advancements. Visionaries like you work on teams that save lives by developing the medicines of tomorrow.

Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way.

Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine R&D is recruiting for a Director, Protein Sciences. This position is a hybrid role and can be located in Spring House, PA or Cambridge, MA.

The Director, Protein Sciences will integrate target biology insight, computational protein design, cell engineering, and experimental protein sciences to drive the generation of high-quality immunogens and screening reagents. As a key member in the Antibody Discovery Group, this position will play a central role in evaluating novel protein targets, including mining and interpreting public-domain data, and applying innovative structural and computational tools to inform antigen design strategies and deliver reagents for hit generation campaigns.

The Director will contribute to multiple aspects of antibody discovery in a globally-integrated research environment, with responsibility spanning from early target assessment through reagent generation and discovery enablement. This role represents a critical function within a dynamic Biologics Discovery organization committed to delivering next-generation biotherapeutics to patients.

We are seeking a scientifically thorough and collaborative leader who can work across discovery teams to drive impact across a diverse portfolio of innovative drug concepts. Success will require the ability to operate effectively within a highly coordinated, fast-paced environment, while contributing both strategically and hands-on to program advancement.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Target Assessment and Antigen Strategy
  • Lead evaluation of therapeutic targets, including:
    • Structural, sequence, and domain architecture analysis
    • Integration of internal and external data (literature, databases, structural repositories)
    • Define antigen and engineered-cell design strategies to support antibody discovery:
      • Construct design and domain selection
      • Epitope exposure and conformational state optimization
      • Strategies for difficult targets (e.g., multi-pass membrane proteins) including Nanodisc technology and nucleic acid immunogen design
• Protein Design & Engineering
  • Apply computational and structural biology approaches to protein design:
    • Homology modeling, structural analysis, and rational mutagenesis
    • Integration of emerging AI/ML-based protein design tools
  • Engineer proteins to improve:
    • Stability and expression
    • Functional relevance for discovery assays and immunization

Qualifications:

• A minimum of a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Structural Biology, Protein Engineering, or a related discipline is required.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in biologics discovery or protein sciences is required.
• Demonstrated leadership experience within the pharmaceutical or biotech industry is required.
• Strong knowledge in the following is required: antigen design and generation for antibody discovery; structural biology and protein sequence analysis; biologics discovery workflows from target to lead identification.
• Experience or domain knowledge in Oncology, Immunology, and/or Neuroscience is preferred.
• People management experience is preferred.
• Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Must be strategic with a strong scientific mindset.
• The ability to operate effectively within a highly coordinated, fast-paced matrix environment is required.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, r