Job Function: Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development
Job Sub Function: Biological Research
Job Category:People Leader
All Job Posting Locations:Spring House, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Job Description:We are searching for the best talent for Associate Director, Expression Sciences in Spring House, PA.Purpose: The Associate Director, will integrate target biology insights with state of the art recombinant expression screening and analytics to streamline and accelerate protein production for assay development, high-throughput screening (HTS), pharmacological profiling, biophysics and structural biology (X-ray crystallography, Cryo-EM, HDX-MS and NMR) to advance discovery portfolio. As a key member of the Structural and Protein Sciences group, this position will play a critical role in partnering with the Protein Chemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology teams to contribute towards protein design & engineering, streamlining recombinant protein expression and production of novel protein targets and applying innovative tools to express the most complex targets including membrane proteins to accelerate target-to-lead timelines
We are seeking a scientifically thorough and collaborative leader who can work across discovery teams to drive impact across a diverse portfolio of. Success will require the ability to operate effectively within a highly matrixed, fast-paced environment, while contributing both strategically and hands-on to program advancement.
You will be responsible to:- Lead, mentor, and manage a team of scientists and associate scientists responsible for high-throughput expression screening across bacterial, insect, and mammalian expression systems, including performance management and career development conversations.
- Define and execute the strategic vision for the HT expression screening platform, aligning capacity, automation investment, and technology roadmap with departmental and portfolio priorities.
- Design and implement high-throughput construct and expression screening strategies to rapidly identify optimal expression conditions for challenging soluble and membrane protein targets.
- Drive automation of expression screening workflows using liquid-handling robotics and laboratory information management systems to increase throughput, reproducibility, and data quality.
- Partner with Therapeutic Area discovery teams, Protein Chemistry, and Structural Biology leads to translate program needs into feasible expression screening plans, timelines, and risk-mitigation strategies.
- Evaluate, pilot, and implement new technologies and platforms (e.g., novel expression hosts, cell-free systems, AI/ML-guided protein screening) to continuously improve screening throughput and success rates.
- Oversee data analysis, interpretation, and reporting of expression screening results, ensuring timely, data-driven recommendations are communicated to project teams and management.
- Manage vendor and CRO relationships for externalized expression screening activities, including technology transfer, scope definition, and quality oversight.
- Ensure compliance with Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN), and other regulatory/documentation standards.
- Represent the expression screening platform in cross-functional forums and contribute to departmental goals, budget planning, and resource allocation.
- Integrate Johnson & Johnson's Credo and Leadership Imperatives into team goals, decision-making, and day-to-day interactions.
Qualifications:- Education: Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, Chemical Engineering, or a related field, with a minimum of 10+ years of relevant industry experience (or M.S./B.S. with commensurately greater years of experience) is required.
Skills/Experience:Required:- Demonstrated hands-on expertise in recombinant protein expression across multiple heterologous systems (E. coli, insect cells, mammalian cell lines, and/or cell-free systems).
- Proven experience designing and executing high-throughput expression screening campaigns, including automation/liquid-handling platforms (e.g., Tecan, Hamilton, or similar).
- Prior people-management experience, including direct supervision, mentoring, and performance management of scientific staff.
- Strong track record of cross-functional collaboration with Structural Biology, Protein Chemistry, Biophysics, and Therapeutic Area discovery teams in a drug discovery setting.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical data to both scientific and management audiences.
- Experience managing external vendor/CRO relationships for recombinant protein production is strongly preferred.
Preferred:- Experience with membrane protein expression and purification strategies.
- Familiarity with AI/ML-driven construct design or protein engineering tools and rapid screening strategies enable AL/ML driven workflows.
- Experience contributing to LIMS/database implementation for expression screening data management.
- Established record of scientific publications, conference presentations, or patents in protein science.
Required Skills: Preferred Skills: 
