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:

Career Programs

Job Sub Function:

Post Doc – Drug Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Category:

Career Program

All Job Posting Locations:

La Jolla, California, 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.

Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine

We are searching for the best talent for a Postdoctoral Scholar, Bioanalytical Discovery and Development Sciences to be onsite in La Jolla, CA.

Purpose:

The Bioanalytical Discovery and Development Sciences (BDDS) team in Preclinical Sciences and Translational Safety (PSTS) develops and applies bioanalytical assays across various technical platforms to evaluate drug candidates and assess safety and efficacy biomarkers in biological matrices.

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to collaborate with industry experts and leverage innovative technologies to develop non-invasive safety biomarkers for drug development.

Drug-induced vascular injury (DIVI) represents a significant challenge in drug development, often leading to preclinical attrition and clinical adverse events due to the vascular system's unique vulnerability and critical physiological role. Traditional biomarker methods often lack the sensitivity and specificity needed for early detection and mechanistic insights. Addressing this unmet need, novel bioanalytical approaches like immunoassay-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (IA-LC/MS) show promise for enhancing safety biomarker quantification and mechanistic exploration.

The successful candidate will evaluate the feasibility and utility of IA-LC/MS to measure vascular safety biomarkers, optimize methodologies for bioanalytical applications, and investigate the biological performance of these biomarkers to detect vascular toxicities in a preclinical setting. Additionally, the candidate will explore multiplexed applications to enable simultaneous detection and characterization of multiple biomarkers, enhancing the ability to gain comprehensive insights into complex biological processes and toxicities. This research will expand the safety biomarker toolbox, inform patient safety strategies in clinical trials, and establish a foundation for broader biomarker applications across other critical organ systems.

You will be responsible for:

• Thorough literature review and landscape assessment to prioritize biomarkers based on the highest likelihood of success to address gaps not being met by existing methods for DIVI
• Develop, optimize, and validate fit-for-purpose IA-LC/MS methods to quantify prioritized biomarkers for DIVI
• Co-design in vivo study and apply newly developed methodology to evaluate the performance of validated biomarker assays in vivo in the setting of toxicants or procedures known to result in DIVI.
• Development, training, summarize and present technical and study results to internal cross-functional teams and publish advanced methods and scientific findings in high-impact scientific journals

Qualifications / Requirements:

Education:

• Ph.D. degree in Bioanalytical sciences, mass spectrometry, omics, or a related field. Degree must be completed within the past 5 years or to be completed within the upcoming 4 months.

Required:

• Self-motivated and detail-oriented, with a proactive approach to driving innovation and problem-solving in biomarker research
• Solid background and hands-on experience in LCMS-based bioanalysis of proteins and peptides and advanced bioanalytical tools (LC-HRMS, Nano/Micro LC-MS)
• Proven ability to optimize bioanalytical workflows and validate novel technologies for enhanced sensitivity and specificity
• Familiarity with immunoassay techniques, peptide-based biomarker detection, for preclinical or clinical applications
• Proven record of publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Travel up to 5%, defined by business needs

Preferred:

• Experience in developing and troubleshooting bioanalytical methodologies such as immunoassay-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (IA-LC/MS), proteomics, or related mass spectrometry-based platforms.
• Basic understanding of biofluid-based biomarkers and their role in safety assessments, preferably with expertise in drug-induced vascular injury (DIVI) and related toxicities.
• Basic biological knowledge in translational science, particularly the application of biomarkers across species to link preclinical findings to clinical outcomes.

The anticipated base pay range for this position in the US is $77,000 to $124,200.

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.

Employees and/or eligible dependents may be 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.

Employees may be eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

Employees are eligible for the following time off benefits:
• Vacation - up to 120 hours per calendar year
• Sick time - up to 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington - up to 56 hours per calendar year
• Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays - up to 13 days per calendar year
• Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 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 June 26, 2025. 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 and 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, please email the Employee Health Support Center (ra-employeehealthsup@its.jnj.com) or contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.

The anticipated base pay range for this position is :

$77,000-$124,200

Additional Description for Pay Transparency:

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. Employees and/or eligible dependents may be 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. Employees may be eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)). This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive program. Employees are eligible for the following time off benefits: Vacation – up to 120 hours per calendar year Sick time - up to 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington – up to 56 hours per calendar year Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays – up to 13 days per calendar year of Work, Personal and Family Time - up to 40 hours per calendar year Additional information can be found through the link below. http://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits The compensation and benefits information set forth in this posting applies to candidates hired in the United States. Candidates hired outside the United States will be eligible for compensation and benefits in accordance with their local market.

Push the boundaries of science to transform health—and your career.

Join us and advance life-changing treatments for people who need them most. At Johnson & Johnson, our focus is on improving global health equity and developing MedTech and pharmaceutical innovations that impact the future of health. Using AI and robotics to transform surgery or helping data scientists and clinicians formulate new ways to diagnose and treat disease, this work may sound like sci-fi, but it’s all science, all real, and could be your career. Whatever your background, skills, or career goals, there’s a place for you to help solve some of the world’s most pressing health challenges with us.

Accelerate your career while changing the world.

Each of our broadly-based family of companies offers an inclusive and empowering culture and employee benefits (like paid time off to volunteer, transgender-inclusive and same-sex partner health insurance coverage, and more) designed to help you live your best life, however you define it. And our best-in-class learning and development approaches, mentorship, and access to innovators across the world will help you grow your skills and reach your career goals. Because when you're at your best, nothing stands between you and your next breakthrough.