Johnson & Johnson Posted April 6, 2026

Digital Manufacturing Tech Lead/Surgical Robotics - OTTAVA

Santa Clara, United States Full time
Manufacturing & CMC

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:

Supply Chain Engineering

Job Sub Function:

Automation Engineering

Job Category:

Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations:

Santa Clara, California, United States of America

Job Description:

Johnson & Johnson RAD (Robotics and Digital) is seeking an innovative Digital Manufacturing Tech Lead to spearhead the design, implementation, and optimization of our next-generation smart factory capabilities in support of the OTTAVA Surgical Robotic Platform.

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/ ( https://www.jnj.com/ .

About MedTech Surgery

Fueled by innovation at the intersection of biology and technology, we’re developing the next generation of smarter, less invasive, more personalized treatments.

Are you passionate about improving and expanding the possibilities of surgery? Ready to join a team that’s reimagining how we heal? Our Surgery team will give you the chance to deliver surgical technologies and solutions to surgeons and healthcare professionals around the world. Your contributions will help effectively treat some of the world’s most prevalent conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Patients are waiting.

Your unique talents will help patients on their journey to wellness. Learn more at  https://www.jnj.com/medtech

Purpose

Johnson & Johnson RAD (Robotics and Digital) is  seeking an innovative Digital Manufacturing Tech Lead to spearhead the design, implementation, and optimization of our next-generation smart factory capabilities. This role will drive technology strategy, oversee engineering execution, and champion digital transformation by leveraging Industry 4.0 methodologies, including advanced automation, data analytics, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), and AI-enabled manufacturing solutions.

The successful candidate will deliver scalable, sustainable, and intelligent manufacturing systems that improve quality, efficiency, and agility in production.

Key Responsibilities:

Defining and leading the digital manufacturing technology strategy aligned with smart factory, Industry 4.0, and business objectives.

Define measurable KPIs and track program impact, ensuring scalability across technical programs

Serving as the principal technical assessor for digital manufacturing systems, including MES, Cloud platform, digital twins, advanced process control, Industry IoT, and manufacturing data platforms.

Responsible for reusable architecture, standards, and technology roadmap implementations

Driving the architecture, design, and deployment of connected manufacturing solutions that integrate shop-floor systems (equipment, PLCs) with enterprise platforms (ERP, PLM, analytics, cloud, WMS).

Leading and mentoring a core team of engineers, providing technical direction, design reviews, and best-practice guidance.

Collaborate closely with manufacturing engineering, operation, quality, J&J Technology, cybersecurity, and other supply chain teams to deliver end-to-end, compliant digital solutions.

Collaborate with J&J Technology team ondata governance, cybersecurity, and system reliability standards for manufacturing systems in a Medical Device regulated environment.

Identifying and piloting emerging technologies (AI/ML, agentic AI, advanced analytics, digital twins, edge computing) to improve yield, productivity, quality, and time-to-market.

Managing partners and system integrator relationships, including technical evaluations, solution selection, and delivery oversight.

Stay ahead of emerging Industry 4.0 trends and recommend adoption where strategic advantage can be gained

Qualifications:

Required:

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s or PhD preferred in Engineering, Computer Science, Manufacturing, Automation, or a related technical field

8+ years of experience in manufacturing systems, automation, or digital manufacturing, with senior technical leadership experience in Industry 4.0 environments.

Deep hands-on expertise with MES platforms, manufacturing data architectures, IIoT integrations, and shop-floor-to-cloud connectivity.

Demonstrated skill in applying Industry 4.0 methodologies, including IIoT, connected assets, digital twins, advanced analytics, and edge/cloud computing in manufacturing environments

Strong understanding of smart factory concepts, digital twins, advanced process control, and data-driven manufacturing.

Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-functional technical programs and influence without direct authority.

Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including executives.

Skilled in evaluating emerging technologies, vendors, and system integrators, and leading solution selection and implementation.

Problem Solving & Systems Thinking: comfort operating in ambiguous, evolving environments while driving clarity and technical direction.

Experience managing technical delivery across pilots, scale-up, and global deployment

Effective and proactive written, presentation, and verbal communication skills.

Passion for mentoring engineers and building high-performing, technically excellent teams.

Preferred:

Experience working in regulated manufacturing environments (e.g., medical devices, pharma, or other highly regulated industries) highly preferred.

Creative, motivated, proactive, and focused on achieving results

Sound analytical reasoning and problem-solving skills.

Capability to resolve challenges, devise and implement strategies to validate crucial technological principles.

Other:

May require up to 10% of domestic and/or international travel

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.

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

The anticipated base pay range for this position is :

$142,000.00 to $215,449.00

Additional Description for Pay Transparency:

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)). This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive program. 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 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 Condolence Leave – 30 days for an immediate family member: 5 days for an extended family member Caregiver Leave – 10 days Volunteer Leave – 4 days Military Spouse Time-Off – 80 hours  Additional information can be found through the link below.  https://www.careers.jnj.com/employee-benefits

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Santa Clara, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

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

We currently track 2091 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 134 biopharma companies.

2091Comparable roles tracked
1899Currently active
134Companies hiring similar roles
52Countries represented

Salary context

597 of 2091 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $142,000/yr – $215,449/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Scientist II – CMC Developmental Sciences · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Technical Operator, Packaging - 2nd Shift · Mylan Technologies, Inc. $37,000/yr – $800,000/yr
Peer group range $0 – $418,500 (median $128,400)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 2091 comparable roles

United States1064
India125
Germany111
Ireland80
Singapore78
France77

+ 46 more countries

Seniority mix

917 of 2091 peers have a known seniority level

Senior298
Manager233
Associate107
Principal93
Director70
Associate Director69
Senior Director26
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc16
Executive/VP5

Therapeutic area mix

6 of 2091 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease4
Oncology1
Respiratory1

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.

40%similar
AstraZeneca New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
AstraZeneca Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Director
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40%similar
AstraZeneca New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
40%similar
Lilly Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Associate
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Senior Director
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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.

40%
Scientist II, LC Development, Biologics Analytical Development
AstraZeneca · New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director, Global Regulatory Affairs – Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), Platform Innovation – Synthetic Peptides and Oligonucleotides
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Senior/Principal Scientist, Bioprocess Purification Development
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Senior Principal Scientist - Bioanalytical Research
Lilly · Louisville, Colorado, United States of America · Principal
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.