Johnson & Johnson Posted October 15, 2026

Discovery Medicinal Chemistry Internship

San Diego, United States Full time
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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:

Career Programs

Job Sub Function:

Non-LDP Intern/Co-Op

Job Category:

Career Program

All Job Posting Locations:

San Diego, California, United States of America

Job Description:

This position has allocated resources for relocation support.

Johnson & Johnson is currently seeking an undergraduate student for a synthetic organic chemistry intern position, located in La Jolla, CA.

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 www.jnj.com.

We know that the success of our business – and our ability to deliver meaningful solutions – depends on how well we understand and meet the diverse needs of the communities we serve. Which is why we foster a culture of inclusion and belonging where all perspectives, abilities and experiences are valued and our people can reach their potential.

At Johnson & Johnson, we all belong.

We are currently seeking an outstanding and motivated individual to work in the Discovery Chemistry group located in La Jolla, CA, as a summer intern. The internship program is focused on providing an undergraduate college student the opportunity to learn about the role of organic chemistry in drug discovery research. The position offers real-life training in the skills and tools relevant to perform as a drug discovery chemist.

The synthetic organic chemistry intern will:

Work collaboratively with a Johnson & Johnson scientist

Synthesize, purify, and characterize novel drug-like compounds

Enable reaction discovery to address key synthetic challenges

Participate and present at project team meetings

Be exposed to various other functions within the drug discovery teams at Johnson & Johnson

Participate in campus-wide activities across the La Jolla summer intern community

Be based in La Jolla, CA (San Diego area)

Qualifications

Candidates must be a sophomore, junior, or senior student enrolled in an accredited college/university pursuing a B.S. degree or equivalent in chemistry.

Completion of introductory organic chemistry laboratory and coursework is required.

A minimum G.P.A. of 3.2 is strongly preferred.

Prior undergraduate research experience (outside of standard curriculum) is preferred.

Familiarity with modern analytical techniques (NMR, MS, HPLC), various reaction techniques, and safe laboratory practices is preferred.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States and not require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H1-B status) now or in the future.

Candidates need to be proficient with Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, and Power Point, and have strong oral and written communication skills.

Candidates must be available to work 40 hours/week.

Johnson & Johnson is an Affirmative Action and 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, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

For more information on how we support the whole health of our employees throughout their wellness, career and life journey, please visit http://www.careers.jnj.com.

*Questions that will automatically be posted are as follows:

Are you currently enrolled in an accredited college/university pursuing a degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, or Biology? (Required)

Do you have prior laboratory research experience (outside normal course requirements) in an academic or industry environment? (Preferred)

Will you be available to work Full-time? (Required)

Are you legally authorized to work in the United States? (Required)

Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H1-B status)? (Required)

Do you have prior laboratory research experience in synthetic organic chemistry? (Preferred)

Do you have at least a 3.2 GPA? (Preferred)

Permanently authorized to work in the U.S., must not require sponsorship of an employment visa (e.g., H-1B or green card) at the time of application or in the future.  Students currently on CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT usually requires future sponsorship for long term employment and do not meet the requirements for this program unless eligible for an alternative long-term status that does not require company sponsorship.

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 :

$27.00/hr to $61.00/hr

Additional Description for Pay Transparency:

The expected pay range for this position is between $27.00 per hour and $61.00 per hour but will be based on candidate's program year, discipline, degree and/or experience. Co-Ops/Interns are eligible to participate in Company sponsored employee medical benefits in accordance with the terms of the plan. Co-Ops and Interns are eligible for the following sick time benefits: up to 40 hours per calendar year; for employees who reside in the State of Washington, up to 56 hours per calendar year. Co-Ops and Interns are eligible to participate in the Company’s consolidated retirement plan (pension).

Job details

Seniority
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
San Diego, United States
Employment type
Full time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 153 comparable Intern/Fellow/Postdoc Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 34 biopharma companies.

153Comparable roles tracked
138Currently active
34Companies hiring similar roles
16Countries represented

Salary context

49 of 153 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 · Lab Associate Flow Cytometry · IQVIA $34,700/yr – $72,300/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor - Isotopic Chemistry · Lilly $153,000/yr – $246,400/yr
Peer group range $53,500 – $199,700 (median $87,500)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 153 comparable roles

United States101
France13
Germany9
Belgium7
Switzerland5
United Kingdom3

+ 10 more countries

Seniority mix

153 of 153 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc82
Associate71

Therapeutic area mix

16 of 153 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology8
Neuroscience4
Cardiovascular / CVRM2
Immunology2

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
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country
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60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Johnson & Johnson Cambridge, United States Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

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Or follow a whole field: get every new Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

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.

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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.