Johnson & Johnson Posted October 16, 2026

Distinguished Scientist, Discovery-Oncology

Spring House, 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:

Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Sub Function:

Pharmaceutical Product R&D

Job Category:

Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations:

Spring House, Pennsylvania, 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.

About Oncology

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.

Our Oncology team is focused on the elimination of cancer by discovering new pathways and modalities to finding treatments and cures. We lead where medicine is going and need innovators with an unwavering commitment to results.

Join us in developing treatments, finding cures, and pioneering the path from lab to life while championing patients every step of the way.

We are searching for the best talent for a Distinguished Scientist, in Oncology Discovery, Innovative Medicine, located in Spring House, PA.

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine Oncology Discovery seeks an outstanding and highly motivated leader to join our team focused on creating best-in-class therapeutics for prostate cancer treatment. This position will lead a cross-disciplinary team responsible for developing a robust platform to engineer and optimize T-cell engagers (TCEs), and small molecule therapeutics.

Candidates should have expertise in cancer biology or immunology, and the mechanisms required to trigger robust anti-tumor response. Additionally, candidates must demonstrate direct experience in small/large molecule design and/or combination strategies to overcome solid tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, knowledge of current assays required to characterize optimal T-cell functional performance is a requirement. A successful candidate is expected to drive future innovation around TCE design by identifying enabling technologies through either internal or external efforts. Candidates must demonstrate prior program leadership experience in industry and must have a track record of excellence in managing teams and developing scientific talent.

The Distinguished Scientist will:

Lead a team of scientists in nominating T-cell engagers (TCE) and costimulatory molecules for the treatment of prostate cancer

Lead a team of scientists to develop state-of-the-art assays that enable the identification of optimal TCE candidates to maximize therapeutic potential and durability in solid tumors

While delivering on prioritized goals, foster a culture of scientific excellence and innovation that lead to next generation TCE/costim platforms

Partner with leaders in other therapeutic areas to select optimal binders, molecular configuration and delivery strategies

Organize business development and diligence efforts with internal and external partners to pursue opportunities associated with next gen TCE or small molecule therapies

Eliminate barriers to collaboration across workstreams and functions by encouraging a culture of open communication and transparency

Contribute to intellectual property, public presentations, and manuscript writing. Identify partnerships in academia to compliment key research initiatives

Mentor scientists on the team, and promote personal and professional development

Contribute to leadership of PDAS discovery team by crafting the overall strategy of efforts across the various workstreams

Qualifications

Demonstrate strong matrixed leadership behavior and capabilities including: the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and mentor team scientists, and coordinate work of colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes and build business impact

Ph.D. in Cancer Biology and/or Immunology with at least 12+ years of industry experience leading portfolio programs and teams

Hands-on experience with large molecules and a track record of successfully advancing large molecule candidates through lead selection and IND-enabling activities

Possession of knowledge with regards to large molecule drug development

Demonstrable track record of innovating in the large molecule space. Constantly seek new technologies, processes, and techniques. Able to integrate diverse subject areas to achieve research objectives

Experience recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent and building strong teams which are highly productive and efficient

Experience supporting research collaborations with academic institutions, industry partners and research institutions

Understanding of how to partner with legal resources and business development teams to build IP strategies, collaborate with external partners and identify FTO opportunities

Fosters highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary team settings, and possesses highly effective verbal and written communication skills

Ability to apply forward-thinking strategy while also delivering on key objectives for near-term projects

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.

#LI-Hybrid

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

Budget Management, Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control (CMC), Clinical Trial Protocols, Consulting, Design Mindset, Drug Discovery Development, Good Governance, Industry Analysis, Interdisciplinary Work, Market Research, Presentation Design, Process Improvements, Product Development, Product Licensing, Product Strategies, Risk Management, Scientific Research

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Oncology
Location
Spring House, 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 1022 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 81 biopharma companies.

1022Comparable roles tracked
937Currently active
81Companies hiring similar roles
31Countries represented

Salary context

429 of 1022 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 Not listed on this posting
Highest disclosed · Vice President, Therapeutics Immunology · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $0 – $381,150 (median $159,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1022 comparable roles

United States692
Germany50
China44
Switzerland36
United Kingdom35
France26

+ 25 more countries

Seniority mix

739 of 1022 peers have a known seniority level

Senior235
Principal171
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc84
Associate78
Director62
Associate Director43
Senior Director26
Manager26
Executive/VP14

Therapeutic area mix

133 of 1022 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology54
Oncology40
Neuroscience23
Cardiovascular / CVRM6
Vaccines & Infectious Disease3
Respiratory3
Dermatology & Aesthetics2
Gastroenterology1
Rare Disease1

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.

80%similar
Novartis Cambridge (USA), United States Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Celgene - Summit (Corp) Seattle 400 Dexter, United States Principal
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Amgen Inc. South San Francisco, United States Executive/VP
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
GlaxoSmithKline LLC Waltham, United States Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Home-Based, United States Senior Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
GlaxoSmithKline LLC Waltham, United States Executive/VP
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country

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.

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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.

80%
Associate Director, ADC platform in Oncology Drug Discovery
Novartis · Cambridge (USA), United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Executive Director, Research Oncology
Amgen Inc. · South San Francisco, United States · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Executive Director, Oncology Translational Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology Modeling and Simulation
GlaxoSmithKline LLC · Waltham, United States · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
2027 Future Talent Program - Discovery Oncology – Co-op (South San Francisco, CA)
Merck · South San Francisco, California, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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.