Senior Principal Investigator, Physical AI for Autonomous Discovery

Johnson & Johnson Co.

Spring House (PA)

On-site

USD 137,000 - 236,000

Full time

4 days ago

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Job summary

Johnson & Johnson is hiring for a Senior Principal Investigator, Physical AI for Autonomous Discovery in Spring House, PA. This hands-on role combines AI, robotics, and laboratory automation to design and validate autonomous systems guiding experimental workflows.

You will lead cross-functional teams across IT, data science, and discovery sciences to deliver robust, governed agentic capabilities that reduce manual intervention and improve data quality.

Qualifications

PhD in AI, ML, robotics, computer science, engineering, computational biology, or related quantitative field.
Proven track record independently deploying AI systems in physical or complex environments.
Deep expertise in world models, reinforcement learning, Bayesian optimization, causal inference, multimodal AI, robotics, or scientific ML.
Advanced software development using Python and modern ML frameworks; reproducible deployment practices.
Ability to define technical workstreams and deliver robust solutions with limited day-to-day direction.
Strong communication and collaboration skills in matrix environments.
Preferred: self-driving laboratories, laboratory automation, or closed-loop scientific experimentation.
Experience with digital twins, machine vision, or multi-agent systems.

Responsibilities

Lead hands-on design, development, and validation of AI models representing instruments, samples, reagents, robotic systems, workflows, and lab state.
Develop adaptive experimental optimization methods using active learning, Bayesian optimization, reinforcement learning, and multi-objective optimization.
Implement capabilities for physical error detection and recovery, including anomaly recognition and workflow replanning.
Build models that generate hypotheses for experimental failures and guide follow-up experiments.
Develop agentic capabilities for experiment planning and execution monitoring across CDTM cycles.
Translate needs into technical requirements and prototypes with automation, robotics, data science, and discovery teams.
Provide technical guidance and mentor colleagues without people management responsibility.
Embed uncertainty, safety constraints, monitoring, and governance into autonomous decision-making.

Skills

Python

AI frameworks

Robotics

Automation

MLOps

Reinforcement learning

Education

PhD in AI/ML/Robotics or related field

Tools

Machine vision

Bayesian optimization

Lab automation

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.

Job Function:

Data Analytics & Computational Sciences

Job Sub Function:

Data Science

Job Category:

Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations:

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

Job Description:

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 is recruiting for a Senior Principal Investigator, Physical AI for Autonomous Discovery to join our In Silico Drug Discovery team. The preferred location for this position is Spring House, PA (Philadelphia area) and may require travel as needed. Consideration may be given for candidates near the Cambridge, MA area. (No remote option.)

Reporting to the Director, Physical AI for Autonomous Discovery, the Senior Principal Investigator will serve as a hands-on scientific and technical leader developing Physical AI capabilities for autonomous laboratory experimentation. This individual-contributor role combines AI, robotics, laboratory automation, and scientific reasoning to design, implement, and validate systems that perceive laboratory state, recommend actions, learn from experimental data, recover from errors, and improve experimental outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the hands-on design, development, and validation of AI models that represent instruments, samples, reagents, robotic systems, workflows, and laboratory state.
Develop and evaluate adaptive experimental optimization methods using active learning, Bayesian optimization, reinforcement learning, and multi-objective optimization.
Implement capabilities for physical error detection and correction, including anomaly recognition, root-cause assessment, workflow replanning, recovery actions, and appropriate human escalation.
Build models that generate testable hypotheses for experimental failures, unexpected results, variability, and irreproducibility, and recommend discriminating follow-up experiments.
Develop agentic and multi-agent capabilities that support experiment planning and execution monitoring across Design-Make-Test-Analyze cycles.
Translate scientific and operational needs into technical requirements, prototypes, and production-ready capabilities in partnership with automation, robotics, data science, engineering, and discovery scientists.
Provide technical guidance, establish scientific best practices, and mentor colleagues without formal people-management responsibility.
Embed calibrated uncertainty, safety constraints, monitoring, traceability, and governance into autonomous decision-making, escalating strategic tradeoffs to the Director as appropriate.

Key Skills

Physical AI & World Models: Embodied AI, multimodal perception, state estimation, digital twins, and predictive models of laboratory systems.

Autonomous Experimentation: Active learning, Bayesian optimization, sequential design, reinforcement learning, and multi-objective optimization.

Error Intelligence: Anomaly detection, fault diagnosis, causal reasoning, hypothesis generation, recovery planning, and uncertainty quantification.

Robotics & Automation: Laboratory robotics, liquid handling, sensors, machine vision, orchestration, scheduling, and instrument integration.

Agentic AI: Scientific agents, multi-agent coordination, planning, tool use, memory, guardrails, and human-on-the-loop controls. Scientific Software

Python and modern AI/ML frameworks; production model deployment, APIs, data pipelines, observability, and MLOps.

What Success Looks Like

Prototype and production capabilities measurably reduce unplanned intervention by detecting, diagnosing, and supporting recovery from laboratory execution failures.
AI-generated hypotheses explain experimental anomalies and guide informative follow-up experiments that improve data quality and learning efficiency.
Closed-loop optimization methods are validated against clear scientific and operational benchmarks for quality, throughput, reproducibility, and decision-making.
Technical workstreams progress from proof of concept to reliable deployment through documented designs, reproducible evaluation, and effective cross-functional execution.
The individual partners closely with the Director and with J&J IT and Data, Data Science & AI, automation, and scientific teams to deliver robust, secure, and governed agentic capabilities.

Qualifications

PhD in artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, computer science, engineering, computational biology, or a related quantitative field, with substantial relevant research or industry experience.
Demonstrated track record of independently developing and deploying AI systems in physical, scientific, or similarly complex environments.
Deep expertise in multiple relevant areas, such as world models, reinforcement learning, Bayesian optimization, causal inference, multimodal AI, robotics, or scientific machine learning.
Advanced software-development skills, including Python, modern machine-learning frameworks, experimental software design, testing, and reproducible deployment practices.
Ability to define technical workstreams, solve ambiguous scientific problems, and deliver robust solutions with limited day-to-day direction.
Strong communication, collaboration, and influence skills for working effectively across multidisciplinary teams in a matrix environment.
Preferred Experience
Self-driving laboratories, laboratory automation, or closed-loop scientific experimentation.
Vision-language-action models, digital twins, machine vision, robotic control, or multi-agent systems.
Biologics, drug discovery, life sciences, or another complex experimental domain.
Deployment of safety-critical or high-reliability AI systems with monitoring and governance controls.

Johnson & Johnson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

If you are under 18 years of age, you (the candidate) may need to obtain the necessary working papers or other documentation required by state law to start the assignment, as well as get a parent's consent for the background check.

Johnson & Johnson is committed to providing an interview process that is inclusive of our applicants' needs. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request an accommodation, external applicants please contact us via https://www.jnj.com/contact-us/careers, internal employees contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is $137,000 to $235,750. The Company maintains highly competitive, performance-based compensation programs. Under current guidelines, this position is eligible for an annual performance bonus in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan. The annual performance bonus is a cash bonus intended to provide an incentive to achieve annual targeted results by rewarding for individual and the corporation's performance over a calendar/performance year. Bonuses are awarded at the Company's discretion on an individual basis. Employees and/or eligible dependents may be eligible to participate in the following Company sponsored employee benefit programs: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-and-long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance.

Employees may be eligible to participate in the Company's consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

Employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:

Vacation – up to 120 hours per calendar year
Sick time – up to 40 hours per calendar year
Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays – up to 13 days per calendar year of Work, Personal and Family Time – up to 40 hours per calendar year

Preferred Skills