Senior Principal Scientist, Biologics Discovery Process Research Integrator – Protein Expression and Scale-Up

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.

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Job Function:

Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Sub Function:

Biotherapeutics R&D

Job Category:

Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations:

Malvern, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Spring House, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Job Description:

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   
 

We are searching for the best talent for a Senior Principal Scientist, Biologics Discovery Process Research (BDPR) Integrator - Protein Expression and Scale-Up to be located in Spring House, PA or Malvern, PA.
 

Purpose: The Senior Principal Scientist, BDPR Integrator will serve as a cross-functional integrator within Biologics Discovery Process Research, connecting Discovery, Therapeutic Development & Supply (TDS), Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), and process development teams to advance biologics programs from discovery through early development. The role will provide integrative technical leadership grounded in mammalian expression, cell line development, and scale-up expertise, ensuring that expression feasibility, manufacturability, productivity, product quality, and scalable production considerations are incorporated into molecule selection, material supply planning, and program strategy.
 

The preferred candidate is not only a deep technical expert in mammalian expression systems, stable cell line development, clone selection, and upstream process scale-up, but also an effective integrator who can translate technical data into development recommendations, align partners across functions, and proactively identify risks that could impact downstream development or CMC readiness.
 

You will be responsible for:

• Serving as the TDS scientific integrator on Discovery project teams, aligning strategy, data expectations, and technical risk assessment across Discovery and Development.
   
• Ensuring mammalian expression, cell line development, manufacturability, and scale-up considerations are incorporated into discovery and early development decisions.
   
• Connecting Discovery, TDS, CMC, and process development teams to align technical expectations, material supply strategies, data packages, and development readiness criteria.
   
• Providing expert input on mammalian expression system selection, transient and stable expression approaches, vector and host cell considerations, clone screening, productivity, product quality, and manufacturability.
   
• Designing, interpreting, and integrating studies that assess expression feasibility, cell line performance, upstream process robustness, and early scale-up risk to support molecule selection and program strategy.
   
• Identifying and communicating technical risks related to low productivity, poor product quality, cell line instability, material supply constraints, scale-up limitations, and manufacturability challenges.
   
• Translating complex technical findings into clear recommendations, mitigation plans, and decision-enabling narratives for program teams, governance forums, and cross-functional partners.
   

Qualifications/Requirements

Education:

• PhD in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology or a closely related field is required.
   

Experience and Skills:

Required:

• A minimum of 10 years of biopharmaceutical R&D experience with significant focus on mammalian expression, stable cell line development, upstream process development, and biologics development integration.
   
• Deep technical expertise in mammalian expression systems, including CHO or other relevant host cell platforms, vector design considerations, transient and stable expression, clone generation, clone screening, and cell line characterization.
   
• Demonstrated experience connecting small-scale expression, clone selection, and early process development data to scale-up strategies and development-relevant bioreactor systems.
   
• Strong understanding of how expression performance, cell line attributes, upstream process conditions, productivity, product quality, and manufacturability influence biologics CMC strategy.
   
• Proven ability to operate as a cross-functional integrator, influence without authority, manage complex partner groups, and align technical teams around program decisions.
   
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and scientific storytelling skills, with the ability to translate technical complexity into clear recommendations for senior and cross-functional audiences.
   

Preferred:

• Experience serving in a program integrator, technical lead, or cross-functional liaison role across discovery, process development, and CMC interfaces.
   
• Experience supporting IND-enabling or early clinical development efforts, including cell line readiness, process scale-up, and process transfer activities.
   
• Familiarity with high-throughput expression screening, automation, platform cell line development workflows, or data-driven clone selection approaches.
   
• Experience with complex biologic formats, including bispecifics, multispecifics, fusion proteins, or difficult-to-express molecules.
   
• Experience working across global teams or in high-complexity program environments.
   

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

#LI-Hybrid

 

 

Required Skills:

 

 

Preferred Skills:

Analytical Reasoning, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control (CMC), Clinical Research and Regulations, Clinical Trial Designs, Collaboration, Data Synthesis, Drug Discovery Development, Molecular Diagnostics, Pharmacovigilance, Process Improvements, Productivity Planning, Program Management, Scientific Research, Tactical Planning, Technical Credibility