Lead, Expression Sciences & HTS Protein Production

Biopharma Careers; North Carolina; On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnson & Johnson’s Innovative Medicine unit in Spring House, PA seeks an Associate Director, Expression Sciences to drive high‑throughput recombinant protein expression across bacterial, insect, and mammalian systems. You will lead a team of scientists, design screening strategies, and partner with Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology to accelerate target-to-lead timelines.

You will implement automation, manage external CROs, ensure EHS/ELN compliance, and translate program needs into

Qualifications

• Education as stated: Ph.D. or MS/BS with extensive industry experience.
• Hands-on recombinant protein expression across multiple systems (E. coli, insect, mammalian, or cell-free).
• Proven HT expression screening design with automation and liquid-handling platforms.
• Previous people-management experience with scientific staff.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration with Structural Biology, Protein Chemistry, Biophysics and Therapeutic Areas.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team responsible for high-throughput expression screening across multiple hosts.
• Define the strategic vision for the HT expression screening platform and align with priorities.
• Design and implement screening strategies to identify optimal expression conditions.
• Advance automation of workflows to increase throughput, reproducibility, and data quality.
• Partner with discovery teams to translate program needs into screening plans and timelines.
• Evaluate new technologies and platforms to improve throughput and success rates.
• Oversee data analysis and communicate data-driven recommendations to teams.
• Manage vendor/CRO relationships, including tech transfer and quality oversight.

Skills

High-throughput expression screening

Automation/liquid handling

People management

Cross-functional collaboration

Excellent communication

Vendor/CRO management

AI/ML-guided protein screening

Education

Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, Chemical Engineering or related field

MS/BS with commensurate experience

Tools

Tecan/automation platforms

Hamilton

LIMS

Job description

Johnson & Johnson’s Innovative Medicine unit in Spring House, PA seeks an Associate Director, Expression Sciences to drive high‑throughput recombinant protein expression across bacterial, insect, and mammalian systems. You will lead a team of scientists, design screening strategies, and partner with Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology to accelerate target-to-lead timelines.

You will implement automation, manage external CROs, ensure EHS/ELN compliance, and translate program needs into