Johnson & Johnson Posted August 10, 2026

Associate Scientist Quality Control

Leiden, Netherlands Full time
Quality Associate

Johnson & Johnson is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

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 .

As 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.

Job Function:

Quality

Job Sub Function:

Quality Control

Job Category:

Professional

All Job Posting Locations:

Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands, Sassenheim, Netherlands

Job Description:

(Associate) Scientist Microbiology, Quality Control

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to create 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/.

Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., a member of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, is recruiting a QC (Associate) scientist. This position will be located in Leiden, Netherlands.

The Leiden Quality Control (QC) Leiden department is a Business Unit within the Leiden site, a biotherapeutics and vaccines manufacturing site belonging to the Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain. The Leiden QC department is responsible for raw material, in-process, and release testing for products manufactured at the site. Additionally, the Leiden QC department has a unique global responsibility and exposure by being the stability testing hub for large molecule products within the Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain, and by partnering with multiple Contract Manufacturing Organizations to perform the release testing. The department is structured in different testing laboratories and supporting teams, which are divided based on specific techniques and/or expertise.

Major duties and responsibilities:  

The (associate) scientist will be part of the Microbiology testing team within the QC department. The (associate) scientist will be acting as the scientific responsible person to support the microbiological testing aspects associated with Drug Substance and Drug Product manufacturing. This role is dedicated to a continuous improvement project and involves trouble shooting of microbiological methods, proactively making improvements to test methods to stimulate executional excellence, preparing protocols and reports for ongoing continuous improvement projects. Prepare the planning of resources and equipment for all ongoing activities related to the project. The (associate) scientist will report to the (Sr) Manager of the QC Microbiological testing team.

Who are you?  

- Educational Background: PhD or equivalent in Biochemistry, Microbiology or a related field is required.

- Experience: A minimum of 6 years in the pharmaceutical industry is required, specifically within QC, with a strong emphasis on microbiology. This includes expertise in method development/improvement, method validation and analytical method transfers.

- Regulatory Knowledge: Comprehensive understanding of worldwide regulatory GMP requirements and knowledge of FDA and EU GMP.

- Interpersonal Skills: Strong ability to work independently and in team environments, effectively managing stakeholder relationships and addressing biological testing issues. Asserts personal ideas and opinions using persuasion to influence others.

- Analytical Expertise: You have the ability to critically assess analytical investigation reports and conduct statistical analyses (R studio, minitab Matlab). Familiarity with electronic documents and deviation management systems is desirable.

Skills/Competencies:

- Laboratory Experience: Extensive operational experience in a Pharmaceutical QC laboratory, specifically with Drug Substance and Drug Product processes. To be trained in and qualified for the assays that you are SME for and be able to perform investigational testing and train technicians for new methods.

- Technical Proficiency: Strong understanding of analytical technical transfer processes, compliance requirements, and troubleshooting skills. Advanced knowledge of modern methodologies; familiarity with cell cultures, microbiology methods, or compendial methods are a distinct advantage.

- Project Management: Demonstrated project management skills, able to effectively oversee and coordinate multiple projects, LEAN, Greenbelt certification.

If you are passionate about contributing to the advancement of pharmaceutical science, are driven by excellence, and possess the required skills and qualifications, we invite you to apply for this exciting opportunity!

- Demonstrates an understanding of AI concepts and frameworks, including awareness of responsible and ethical AI practices, and has experience generating effective prompts to boost efficiency and productivity

Required Skills:

Microbiology, Quality Control (QC), Stakeholder Management, Troubleshooting

Preferred Skills:

Analytical Reasoning, Business Behavior, Compliance Management, Controls Compliance, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Innovation, ISO 9001, Persistence and Tenacity, Problem Solving, Process Oriented, Quality Auditing, Quality Control Testing, Quality Standards, Quality Systems Documentation, Report Writing, Technologically Savvy

The anticipated base pay range for this position is:

€53 500,00 - €85 445,00

Benefits:

In addition to base pay, we offer the following benefits*: an annual bonus with set target (% of pay) depending on pay grade / location, where the actual amount is based on the employees’ and companies’ performance of the previous calendar year, or sales commissions. Moreover, we offer vacation days, parental leave for a minimum of 12 weeks, bereavement leave, caregiver leave, volunteer leave, well-being reimbursement, programs for financial, physical and mental health. We also offer service anniversary and recognition awards, and subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees - and in some location’s eligible dependents - can participate in several insurance plans. For more information, visit Employee benefits | Supporting well-being & career growth | Johnson & Johnson Careers.

*This is for informative purposes only. Amounts and actual benefits may vary by location and are subject to change.

Job details

Seniority
Associate
Function
Quality
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Leiden, Netherlands
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Quality role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 185 comparable Associate Quality roles across 57 biopharma companies.

185Comparable roles tracked
171Currently active
57Companies hiring similar roles
27Countries represented

Salary context

38 of 185 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Quality Control Associate Scientist Overnight Shift · Merck KGaA $27/hr – $46/hr (≈ $56,160–$95,680/yr)
Highest disclosed · Senior Manager, Quality Assurance · Gilead Sciences, Inc. $157,590/yr – $203,940/yr
Peer group range $75,920 – $180,765 (median $159,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 185 comparable roles

United States72
China18
India17
Japan14
Ireland13
Belgium8

+ 21 more countries

Seniority mix

185 of 185 peers have a known seniority level

Manager155
Associate26
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc4

Therapeutic area mix

0 of 185 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

No peers with a known therapeutic area yet.

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
BMS Netherlands Operations B.V. Leiden – NL, Netherlands Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
50%similar
Johnson & Johnson Groningen, Netherlands Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
45%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Associate
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Novartis Barcelona Gran Vía, Spain Associate
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Regeneron Ireland Limerick, Ireland Associate
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Pfizer Healthcare India Private Limited Vizag, India Associate
Same function Same seniority

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Associate, QC Systems and Support
BMS Netherlands Operations B.V. · Leiden – NL, Netherlands · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Associate Clinical Programmer - Clinical Study Data, Risk based Quality Management & Monitoring
Novartis · Barcelona Gran Vía, Spain · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Associate Stability Scientist
Celgene International SaRL · Boudry, Switzerland · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Associate, Quality Assurance, Manufacturing Operations, Lilly Medicine Foundry
Lilly · Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.