Senior PI - Physical AI for Autonomous Discovery

Johnson & Johnson Co.; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnson & Johnson is hiring for a Senior Principal Investigator, Physical AI for Autonomous Discovery in the In Silico Drug Discovery team. The preferred location is Spring House, PA, with consideration for candidates near Cambridge, MA.

This hands-on role combines AI, robotics, and laboratory automation to advance autonomous experimentation in healthcare research. You will lead model design, validation, and production-ready capabilities, collaborating with discovery scientists and IT/Data teams

Qualifications

• PhD in artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, computer science, or a related quantitative field.
• Demonstrated track record of independently developing and deploying AI systems in physical or laboratory environments.
• Deep expertise in world models, reinforcement learning, Bayesian optimization, causal inference, or multimodal AI.
• Advanced software development skills in Python and ML frameworks; reproducible deployment.
• Ability to define technical workstreams and deliver robust solutions with limited day-to-day direction.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across multidisciplinary teams.
• Preferred experience in self-driving laboratories, lab automation, or closed-loop experimentation.
• Experience with safety-critical AI systems and governance is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and validation of AI models representing instruments, samples, and lab state.
• Develop adaptive experimental optimization methods using active learning and Bayesian optimization.
• Implement anomaly detection, error recovery, and escalation mechanisms in workflows.
• Build models generating hypotheses for failures and guiding follow-up experiments.
• Develop agentic and multi-agent capabilities for experiment planning across cycles.
• Translate needs into technical requirements and production-ready capabilities with cross-functional teams.
• Provide technical guidance and mentor colleagues.
• Embed uncertainty, safety constraints, monitoring, and governance into autonomous decisions.

Skills

World Models

Reinforcement Learning

Bayesian Optimization

Causal Inference

Robotics

Python

Education

PhD in AI/ML/Robotics or related field

Job description

Johnson & Johnson is hiring for a Senior Principal Investigator, Physical AI for Autonomous Discovery in the In Silico Drug Discovery team. The preferred location is Spring House, PA, with consideration for candidates near Cambridge, MA.

This hands-on role combines AI, robotics, and laboratory automation to advance autonomous experimentation in healthcare research. You will lead model design, validation, and production-ready capabilities, collaborating with discovery scientists and IT/Data teams