Job Function: R&D Product Development
Job Sub Function: Robotics
Job Category:Scientific/Technology
All Job Posting Locations:Spring House, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Job Description:About Innovative MedicineOur 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 Principal Automation and Robotics Engineer to be located in Spring House, PA.Purpose: The Principal Automation and Robotics Engineer owns the engineering strategy for the physical layer of autonomous discovery platforms. The role establishes how robots, workcells, controls, sensors, safety systems, facilities, utilities, and vendor equipment should be designed and integrated so scientific workflows can scale across multiple automated platforms.
The Principal Engineer will serve as the senior engineering authority for the physical automation architecture of self-driving discovery laboratories. This role defines robotics, controls, safety, facility integration, technical standards, vendor governance, engineering simulation strategy, reliability, maintainability, serviceability, and industrialization approaches required for scalable AI-native laboratory automation.
This role is paired with the Principal Laboratory Automation Scientist. The engineer leads the physical automation architecture; the scientist leads the scientific workflow architecture. The two roles jointly define integrated readiness for self-driving laboratories.
You will be responsible for: Physical Automation Reference Architecture- Defining robotics and physical automation reference architecture for multi-workcell SDL platforms, including robot cells, AMR or track routing, workcell interfaces, custom fixtures, transfer stations, sensor strategies, machine-state concepts, control boundaries, and safety patterns.
- Establishing enterprise standards for equipment interfaces, serviceability, maintainability, safety systems, utilities, robot access, physical handoffs, labware transfer points, service envelopes, and technical acceptance criteria for lights-out readiness.
- Leading design reviews for multi-workcell automation, facility integration, physical execution readiness, maintainability, reliability, and industrialization across discovery automation programs.
- Defining principles for modular, reconfigurable, scalable, and future-proof physical automation so new workcells, assays, and equipment can be added without redesigning the full laboratory.
Engineering Strategy and Technical Governance- Acting as senior technical authority for robotics, controls, safety, physical integration, simulation, reliability, serviceability, maintainability, and engineering lifecycle strategy.
- Challenging Tier 1 integrator architecture, Tier 2 vendor assumptions, custom equipment proposals, safety logic, maintainability concepts, control boundaries, utility assumptions, and technical risk positions.
- Defining the engineering side of digital twin and simulation strategy, including layout, traffic, robot pathing, equipment utilization, service access, bottlenecks, intervention states, and recovery scenarios.
- Setting technical governance expectations for design reviews, interface control, FAT/SAT/UAT scope, technical risk registers, acceptance readiness, and lifecycle support.
Scale, Sustain, and Influence- Driving cross-site scalability, standardization, engineering playbooks, vendor governance, support models, spare parts strategy, and lifecycle management for automated platforms.
- Partnering with Principal Laboratory Automation Scientists, data/AI teams, IT/OT, EHS, facilities, quality, procurement, operations, and scientific leaders to ensure physical systems support scientific workflows and autonomous execution.
- Mentoring senior and junior engineers, influence technical communities of practice, and represent engineering standards in governance forums and vendor negotiations.
- Supporting strategic technology selection for robotics, mobile automation, collaborative robots, safety systems, machine vision, sensors, physical AI components, and facility automation interfaces.
Additional Responsibilities- Support technology evaluations, proof-of-concept studies, design reviews, and vendor demonstrations for future automation and robotics capabilities.
- Contribute to engineering standards, interface templates, safety review practices, maintenance guidelines, and technical playbooks.
- Support audit, inspection, or quality documentation requests where automated systems intersect with regulated or quality driven workflows.
- Participate in lessons learned and continuous improvement activities to improve future automation delivery.
Qualifications/RequirementsEducation:- A minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Automation, Robotics, Mechatronic, Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related technical field is required. An advanced degree is highly preferred.
Experience and Skills:Required: - Bachelor's degree with 10+ years, Master's degree with 8+ years, or PhD with 4+ years of relevant automation, robotics, controls, equipment integration, or advanced engineering experience.
- Demonstrated understanding of robotics, automation, electromechanical systems, controls hardware, sensors, actuators, and instrumentation appropriate to the level of the role.
- Ability to work with laboratory automation scientists to translate scientific workflow constraints into safe, maintainable, and physically executable machinery, interfaces, and workcell layouts.
- Working knowledge of technical documentation, drawings, equipment lists, interface notes, FAT/SAT/UAT records, FMEA inputs, punch lists, and change summaries.
- Strong troubleshooting rigor across mechanical, electrical, robotic, control, safety, communication, and instrument interface issues.
- Awareness of EHS, biosafety, contamination control, service access, guard/interlock concepts, and operational readiness expectations in a research laboratory or regulated environment.
- Recognized subject matter expertise in robotics, automation, controls, safety systems, complex physical system integration, and technical architecture.
- Demonstrated success leading technical architecture and execution for complex automated systems, robotic platforms, or integrated equipment programs.
- Experience defining standards, interface models, technical acceptance criteria, vendor governance, engineering risk strategy, and lifecycle support models.
- Ability to influence senior partners, challenge vendors, mentor engineers, and lead technical decision making under ambiguity.
Preferred:- Experience with self-driving laboratory platforms, digital twins, AMRs, multi-workcell routing, machine vision, AI-enabled automation, simulation, predictive maintenance, and Tier 1/Tier 2 integrator models.
- Experience in regulated or quality driven pharmaceutical, biotechnology, discovery, development, or manufacturing environments.
- Record of technical innovation through patents, invention disclosures, publications, platform deployments, or industry recognition.
Other: - Travel may be required for vendor assessments, FAT/SAT activities, site visits, system builds, workshops, training, technology scouting, or cross-site deployment support.
Why Join UsThis role supports the transition from isolated automation projects to integrated, reliable, AI-native, and ultimately self-driving discovery laboratory systems. The work helps connect scientific intent with robust physical execution, reproducible data, model feedback, and scalable operational capability.
#LI-Hybrid
Required Skills: Preferred Skills: 
