{"id":3351368,"url":"https://alion.io/job/johnson-johnson-principal-laboratory-automation-scientist","title":"Principal Laboratory Automation Scientist","company":{"id":14152,"name":"Johnson & Johnson","domain":"jnj.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/jnj","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":87,"open_postings":196,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.709,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":10,"computed_at":"2026-11-03T05:54:40Z"}},"role":"Science & Research","role_family":"Science & Research","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Spring House, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":89000,"max_usd":248000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":541},"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Digital Twin","optional":false},{"name":"LLM Guardrails","optional":false},{"name":"Next-Generation Sequencing","optional":false},{"name":"OPC UA","optional":false},{"name":"Physical AI","optional":false},{"name":"SDL","optional":false},{"name":"C","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-27T18:39:49Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-27","last_verified_at":"2026-11-03T10:24:03Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":6,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":6},"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.\nAs 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.\nJob Function:\nR&D Product DevelopmentJob Sub Function:\nR&D Electrical/Mechatronic EngineeringJob Category:\nScientific/TechnologyAll Job Posting Locations:\nSpring House, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaJob Description:\nAbout Innovative Medicine\nOur 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.\nJoin us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way.\nLearn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine\nWe are searching for the best talent for a Principal Laboratory Automation Scientist to be located in Spring House, PA.\nPurpose: The Principal Laboratory Automation Scientist sets the scientific automation architecture for integrated discovery platforms. The role defines how scientific requests, sample states, consumables, automated methods, data provenance, UAT, metadata, exception logic, and user adoption should work across interconnected workcells.\nThe Principal Scientist will serve as a domain expert for advanced laboratory automation, multi-workcell orchestration, scientific workflow transformation, data provenance, metadata strategy, and AI-ready laboratory execution. They will define the scientific workflow architecture that enables autonomous discovery platforms to generate trustworthy, reproducible, model-usable data.\nThis role is paired with the Principal Automation and Robotics Engineer. The scientist owns scientific and data architecture for automated workflows; the engineer owns robotics, controls, safety, physical automation, serviceability, and machine architecture. Together they provide the core architectural partnership for self-driving laboratories.\nYou will be responsible for:\nReference Architecture and Standards\nDefining cross-workcell laboratory automation architecture spanning scientific requests, instruments, workcells, sample stores, consumable stores, scheduling layers, data systems, user interfaces, and model feedback loops.\n\nCreating standards for labware, sample identity, reagent identity, consumable identity, state models, method versioning, interface control, recovery logic, run context, data provenance, and operational handover.\n\nEstablishing design patterns for request intake, automated worklist generation, queue management, workflow routing, workcell handoffs, exception handling, and data feedback into scientific decision making.\n\nDefining acceptance criteria for nominal workflows, edge cases, failure modes, recovery scenarios, operator interventions, data completeness, and lights-out readiness from a scientific workflow perspective.\n\nScientific Leadership and Workflow Transformation\nDefining scientific and technical requirements for integrated automation platforms supporting biologics discovery, small molecule discovery, protein engineering, screening, analytical sciences, NGS, cell-based assays, biophysics, protein characterization, and translational workflows.\n\nResolving complex issues spanning scientific method performance, liquid handling, assay suitability, automation constraints, orchestration, data flow, sample logistics, software behavior, facilities constraints, biosafety, and vendors.\n\nLeading cross-functional investigations and improvement programs that increase reliability, scalability, data quality, throughput, scientific adoption, and model feedback utility.\n\nAdvising senior partners on workflow maturity, automation readiness, manual versus automated boundaries, standardization opportunities, and scientific risks before major investment decisions.\n\nSDL Enablement and AI-Ready Data\nLeading throughput modeling, queue modeling, workflow simulation, digital twin strategy, AI-ready metadata, experimental provenance, sample lineage, failure annotations, and data contracts.\n\nShaping roadmaps for autonomous execution, physical AI integration, closed-loop experimentation, human oversight, human intervention guardrails, and model feedback.\n\nDefining data quality expectations that connect instrument outputs, sample context, run metadata, environmental context, and scientific interpretation.\n\nMentoring laboratory automation scientists and influence communities of practice around method robustness, data provenance, automated workflow design, and adoption.\n\nAdditional Responsibilities\nSupport technology evaluations, proof-of-concept studies, workflow readiness assessments, user demonstrations, and vendor evaluations for future automation capabilities.\n\nContribute to laboratory automation standards, workflow templates, data handoff expectations, training materials, and playbooks.\n\nSupport audit, inspection, or quality documentation requests where automated scientific workflows intersect with regulated or quality driven environments. \n\nParticipate in lessons learned and continuous improvement activities to improve future automation delivery and adoption.\n\nQualifications/Requirements\nEducation:\nA minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Life Science, Analytical Science, Engineering, Computer Science, Laboratory Automation, or a related field is required. An advanced degree is strongly preferred.\n\nExperience and Skills:\nRequired:\nBachelor's degree with 10+ years, Master's degree with 8+ years, or PhD with 5+ years of relevant laboratory automation, scientific automation, analytical automation, high-throughput discovery, or workcell integration experience.\n\nDemonstrated understanding of laboratory workflows, sample handling, plate/tube formats, assay execution, consumable preparation, run documentation, and data capture.\n\nHands-on or practical experience with automated liquid handlers or integrated laboratory automation equipment appropriate to the level of the role.\n\nAbility to translate scientific workflows into executable automated methods, worklists, run states, exception pathways, and user-facing procedures.\n\nWorking knowledge of sample identity, labware identity, reagent identity, consumable state, barcode traceability, metadata capture, and downstream data requirements.\n\nAbility to collaborate with scientists, automation engineers, IT, data science, AI, EHS, facilities, vendors, and laboratory operations.\n\nRecognized expertise in laboratory automation, integrated workcells, assay automation, workcell orchestration, scientific workflows, and data flow.\n\nAbility to define architecture, standards, interface models, recovery logic, and data requirements across multidisciplinary teams.\n\nPreferred:\nExperience with SDLs, digital twins, FAIR data, AI-ready metadata, SiLA 2, OPC UA, APIs, event-driven architectures, microservices, workflow engines, and Tier 1 integrator models.\n\nExperience with biologics discovery, small molecule discovery, protein engineering, high-throughput screening, analytical sciences, NGS, cell-based assays, and model feedback workflows.\n\nRecord of scientific or technical innovation through platform deployments, invention disclosures, patents, publications, or external collaborations.\n\nOther:\nTravel may be required for vendor assessments, FAT/SAT activities, site visits, system builds, workshops, training, technology scouting, or cross-site deployment support.\n\nWhy Join Us\nThis 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.\nJohnson & 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.\nJohnson & Johnson is committed to providing an interview process that is inclusive of our applicants’ needs. 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