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 https://www.jnj.com
Job Function:
Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical DevelopmentJob Sub Function:
Biological ResearchJob Category:
Scientific/TechnologyAll Job Posting Locations:
San Diego, California, United States of AmericaJob 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 an Experienced Laboratory Automation Scientist to be in La Jolla, CA.
Purpose:
We are seeking an Experienced Laboratory Automation Scientist within the Discovery Technologies and Molecular Pharmacology group.
The Therapeutics Discovery organization is continuing to build the key scientific expertise to bring ground-breaking new medicines to patients; we invest in medicinal chemistry, screening, and pharmacology, and in the computational and data science fields that inspire and inform them.
The Experienced Laboratory Automation Scientist will coordinate the day-to-day execution and operations of sophisticated automated assay workflows to ensure peak performance at scale. They will drive innovation by guiding team members and contributing to novel automation integrations and assay process improvements. The successful candidate demonstrates strong critical thinking and adaptability, maintaining a dedication to professional growth within the evolving field of laboratory automation.
You will be responsible for:
- Coordinate day-to-day laboratory automation and automated assay execution to support Molecular/Cellular Pharmacology and Compound Profiling screening activities.
- Demonstrate hands-on automated assay expertise by actively running the lifecycle of automated assay, sample management, and cell culture automation workstations.
- Partner with assay development, cell culture, and sample management teams to identify and implement lean process improvements, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and quality in all automation operations.
- Participate in the development and implementation of novel automation workstations, implementing new technologies and advancements in the field to drive innovation.
- Maintain meticulous workstation documentation and records, ensuring accuracy, compliance with regulatory requirements, and adherence to standard operating procedures.
- Conduct independent analysis, troubleshoot automation workstation and integration challenges, and provide technical insights both in written reports and oral presentations.
- Manage inventory and stock lists of device and assay consumables, ensuring availability and alternate solutions when necessary.
- Partner with assay collaborators to implement and optimize automated assays to increase efficiency, data turnaround times, and meet performance and quality goals.
- Stay informed of emerging trends, technologies, and best practices in laboratory automation through continuous learning and professional development.
Qualifications / Requirements:
Education:
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in STEM, Life Sciences, or equivalent is required.
Required:
- Minimum 2-4 years of industry experience in high throughput, integrated laboratory automation or related experience.
- Hands-on expertise in running and optimizing automated workflows with a variety of off-the-shelf devices operating under sophisticated task and workflow scheduling software(s).
- Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional environment and collaborate with multi-disciplined teams.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to independently analyze data, troubleshoot issues, and propose solutions.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to convey engineering and scientific concepts and findings to diverse audiences.
- Diligent and conscientious with excellent organization skills to manage documentation, inventory, and adhere to standard operating procedures.
- Demonstrated growth and continual learning mentality, actively engaging in professional development, staying up to date on emerging trends and technologies in laboratory automation
Preferred:
- Experience with integrating workflows across multiple medium/large-sized workstations
The anticipated base pay range for this position in the US is $92,000 to $148,000.
The Company maintains highly competitive, performance-based compensation programs. Under current guidelines, this position is eligible for an annual performance bonus in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan. The annual performance bonus is a cash bonus intended to provide an incentive to achieve annual targeted results by rewarding for individual and the corporation’s performance over a calendar/performance year. Bonuses are awarded at the Company’s discretion on an individual basis.
Subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees and/or eligible dependents are eligible to participate in the following Company sponsored employee benefit programs: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance.
Subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees are eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).
Subject to the terms of their respective policies and date of hire, employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:
- Vacation –120 hours per calendar year
- Sick time - 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Colorado –48 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington –56 hours per calendar year
- Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays –13 days per calendar year
- Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year
- Parental Leave – 480 hours within one year of the birth/adoption/foster care of a child
- Bereavement Leave – 240 hours for an immediate family member: 40 hours for an extended family member per calendar year
- Caregiver Leave – 80 hours in a 52-week rolling period 10 days
- Volunteer Leave – 32 hours per calendar year
- Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours per calendar year
For additional general information on company benefits, please go to: https://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits
This job posting is anticipated to close on January 13, 2026. The Company may however extend this time-period, in which case the posting will remain available on https://www.careers.jnj.com to accept additional applications.
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.
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Required Skills:
Preferred Skills:
The anticipated base pay range for this position is :
$92,000.00 - $148,350.00Additional Description for Pay Transparency:
Johnson & Johnson Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Johnson & Johnson and has not been reviewed or approved by Johnson & Johnson.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is characterized as comprehensive across medical, dental, and vision, with added supports like onsite clinics, fitness centers, and Employee Assistance resources. Mental-health services and wellbeing reimbursements are also described as meaningful components of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are portrayed as a major differentiator, combining a 401(k) with employer matching and an employer-funded pension plan. Stock options and other long-term financial supports are also positioned as part of the broader rewards mix.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-related benefits are presented as notably strong, including paid parental leave for all new parents and additional leave types for caregiving and bereavement. Financial assistance for adoption, fertility treatment, and surrogacy is highlighted as a significant support.
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Profound Change Requires Boldness. Johnson & Johnson is the largest and most broadly based healthcare company in the world. We’re producing life-changing breakthroughs every day, and have been for the last 130 years. The combination of new technologies and your expertise enables amazing things to happen. Teams from J&J’s consumer business are creating digital tools to help people track the health of their skin. Those working in medical devices are 3-D printing artificial joints personalized for each patient, while researchers in pharmaceuticals use AI to discover lifesaving drugs. Imagine what the rest of our team of 134,000 people at 260 companies in more than 60 countries across the world is accomplishing. We redefine what it means to be a big company in today’s world. Social Media Community Guidelines: http://www.jnj.com/social-media-community-guidelines
