Sr. Principal Scientist Oncology Translational Research, Prostate

Senior Principal Scientist/Associate Director in Translational Research

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.

Job Function: Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Sub Function: Translational Discovery & Development Biomarkers

Job Category: Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, San Diego, California, 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.

About Oncology

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. Our Oncology team is focused on the elimination of cancer by discovering new pathways and modalities to finding treatments and cures. We lead where medicine is going and need innovators with an unwavering commitment to results. Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way.

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Principal Scientist/Associate Director in the Translational Research organization to lead biomarker and translational science efforts across pre-NME through late clinical development programs in prostate cancer.

This role will drive the design, implementation, and interpretation of biomarker strategies supporting early and late-stage clinical trials, including both registrational and exploratory studies. The successful candidate will work within a highly matrixed development environment to integrate translational science with clinical development, ensuring that biomarker data informs patient selection, pharmacodynamic assessment, and mechanisms of response and resistance.

The candidate will partner closely with clinical development, biostatistics, diagnostics, regulatory, discovery research, and external academic collaborators to translate biological insights into actionable clinical strategies.

This position requires deep scientific expertise, strong organizational and project leadership skills, and the ability to communicate complex scientific findings effectively to diverse audiences and influence across a team matrix. Activities of the role include but are not limited to:

Translational Research & Biomarker Strategy

• Lead development and execution of integrated translational research internal and external scientific endeavors and biomarker strategies for prostate cancer drug development programs.
• Design biomarker plans aligned with therapeutic mechanism of action and clinical development objectives pharmacodynamic (PD), target engagement (TE), response, safety and resistance.
• Ensure biomarker strategies address key clinical questions including; Patient stratification or enrichment, Pharmacodynamic biomarkers, Target engagement, Mechanisms of response and resistance.
• Guide selection and prioritization of biomarkers across multiple platforms including: Genomics and transcriptomics, Circulating biomarkers (ctDNA, plasma proteins), Tissue-based molecular and spatial biomarkers, Immunologic and tumor microenvironment profiling, Digital pathology and computational biomarker approaches.
• Design and manage in vitro experiments to reveal novel combination strategies, response and resistance patterns with other pipeline assets.

  Clinical Trial Integration

  • Partner with clinical development teams to integrate biomarker hypotheses into clinical trial protocols, biomarker analysis plans, and statistical analysis frameworks.
  • Design biomarker sample collection and analysis strategies for Phase I–III clinical trials.
  • Ensure biomarker analyses support key decision points in development programs.
  • Collaborate with clinical operations and laboratory partners to ensure effective biomarker implementation.

    Biomarker Governance & Execution

    • Represent Translational Research in cross-functional governance discussions and program team meetings.
    • Coordinate biomarker activities across internal laboratories, CRO partners, and external collaborators.
    • Ensure biomarker assays are fit-for-purpose and analytically robust for clinical trial use.
    • Support documentation of biomarker strategies relevant to regulatory interactions and submissions.

      External Research Collaborations

      • Evaluate and prioritize external translational research proposals and collaborations aligned with program strategy.
      • Partner with academic investigators and technology providers to advance biomarker discovery and validation.
      • Identify emerging technologies and scientific approaches relevant to prostate cancer translational biology.

        Data Integration & Interpretation

        • Translate complex data into actionable insights that inform clinical development strategy.
        • Lead multidisciplinary interpretation of translational datasets integrating clinical outcomes, genomic and molecular data, pathology, tissue-based biomarkers and circulating biomarker data.

          Scientific Communication

          • Prepare and present translational and biomarker findings to internal governance committees and cross-functional teams.
          • Represent the company at major scientific conferences with key opinion leaders and cross functional team members.
          • Contribute to peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations and adhere to processes for best practices and oversight.

            Qualifications

            Required Qualifications

            • PhD in biomedical sciences (e.g., pharmacology, immunology, cancer biology, molecular biology, or related discipline)
            • Postdoctoral training in a relevant biomedical field
            • Minimum 3 years of biopharmaceutical drug development experience after postdoc
            • Experience designing and implementing biomarker strategies in clinical trials
            • Strong background in translational oncology and biomarker science
            • Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in matrixed cross-functional teams
            • Excellent scientific communication, writing, and presentation skills
            • Strong organizational and project management capabilities

              Preferred Qualifications

              • Experience in prostate cancer biology and therapeutic development
              • Experience with PROTACs, RIPTACs and other novel cell modulating therapies
              • Expertise in immunology, tumor microenvironment biology, or precision oncology
              • Experience working with circulating biomarkers such as ctDNA or CTCs
              • Familiarity with tissue-based biomarkers, spatial biology, or digital pathology
              • Experience supporting registrational clinical trials

                The anticipated base pay range for this position is: $137,000 – $235,750

                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.