Johnson & Johnson Posted September 15, 2026

Oncology Discovery Scientist Intern

Spring House, United States Full time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Oncology Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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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:

Spring House, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Job Description:

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

Oncology Internship Program Overview:  

The Global Oncology Internship Program at Johnson & Johnson is a comprehensive learning and professional experience at one of the world’s leading health care companies. This program is designed to build a future pool of talent/candidates who may pursue and apply for other opportunities at Johnson & Johnson (https://www.careers.jnj.com/students) upon successfully completing their degree program. The internship position is a full-time opportunity expecting to last approximately 12 weeks (May 10th - August 13th, 2027) .

We work on a “hybrid model” if you are NOT lab based.  This means that you will be asked to report on site three times a week and can work remotely twice a week.

Job Description  

We offer an inclusive work culture that is open, innovative, and performance driven. As a summer intern in the Oncology Discovery Scientist role, you will be a member of a team dedicated to the research and development of new therapeutics. The selected candidates will be assigned a mentor and will get an opportunity to  work with the oncology teams. Interns will be expected to present their work to their project teams, the Oncology Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and are required to present their primary research project as a poster/abstract at the annual global summer intern research symposium towards the end of the internship.

The goal of this internship program is to provide undergraduate and graduate students experience in working in a large pharmaceutical R&D setting and to gain an understanding of the science and process of novel drug development. The intern will have the opportunity to learn new aspects of disease biology and ways to identify novel therapeutics/drug targets and/or determine the mechanism of action behind emerging drugs. Students will also receive training on the technology platforms (e.g., ELISA, PCR, DNA sequencing, flow cytometry, cell culture, cell-based functional assays, computational approaches such as single-cell RNA-seq analysis) and analytical methods required for their project. Students will receive training on experimental planning and execution, as well as receiving guidance on how to troubleshoot experiments related to their project. This role may involve extensive global team matrix interactions with colleagues from several different disciplines.

Responsibilities may include:  

Experimental design and execution

Participating in department and team meetings

Participating in cross-functional team meetings

Attend “Bench to Bedside” Lecture Series to gain knowledge of the drug development process and clinical research

Data collection and recording keeping

Shadowing key functional roles for learning/development opportunities

Assisting with interpretation, reporting, and preparation of oral and written results of product research, in concert with senior discovery team members

Review of literature and related new technologies

Leadership opportunities on specific internship program activities and/or group projects

Abstract/poster preparation and presentation at organization-wide annual research symposium

Other projects as assigned

Qualifications  

Legally/permanently authorized to work in the US with no required sponsorships. Curricular Practical Training (CPT) requirements must be communicated at time of application

Must be currently enrolled in an accredited University or College program throughout the duration of the internship.

Must not be graduating before, during, or after the start or end of the internship program

Undergraduate students with completion of a minimum of four semesters at program start or graduate students are eligible

Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 which is reflective of all college coursework

Students in good standing, working towards the completion of an undergraduate or graduate degrees

Must have some experience or pursuing a degree in biology, cell/molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, immunology/immuno-oncology, computational biology, or similar areas of study

Graduate students must be pursuing a master’s or a PhD degree

Self-motivated, future scientist leaders passionate about drug development and clinical research

Proven leadership/participation with campus programs and/or service programs is desired

Detailed oriented with good organizational skills

Possess strong leadership skills to participate and contribute to internship program initiatives and events

Fluent in written and spoken English

Great interpersonal, verbal, written communication and presentation skills

Ability to lead peers, project teams and present to project and senior leadership teams

Enthusiastic, collaborative, able to build relationships and work within global matrixed and cross-functional teams

Ability to work on and balance multiple project deliverables

Working knowledge and/or experience using Slack, Microsoft suite of business applications/tools including but not limited to Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Sharepoint, Teams, and Word, etc.

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.

Ineligible for severance.

If you are under 18 years of age, you (the candidate) may need to obtain the necessary working papers or other documentation required by state law to start the assignment, as well as get a parent’s consent for the background check.

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, please contact us via https://www.jnj.com/contact-us/careers or contact AskGS to be directed to your accommodation resource.

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

Job details

Seniority
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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 87 comparable Intern/Fellow/Postdoc Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 20 biopharma companies.

87Comparable roles tracked
87Currently active
20Companies hiring similar roles
10Countries represented

Salary context

21 of 87 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 · 2027 Future Talent Program – Biophysics Intern – Intern · Merck $39,908/yr – $111,111/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor - Lab Lead – Preclinical Imaging CMR · Lilly $129,000/yr – $211,200/yr
Peer group range $75,510 – $170,100 (median $90,600)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 87 comparable roles

United States62
Germany5
Canada4
Belgium3
France3
Switzerland3

+ 4 more countries

Seniority mix

87 of 87 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc63
Associate24

Therapeutic area mix

11 of 87 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology4
Neuroscience3
Immunology3
Cardiovascular / CVRM1

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.

100%similar
Merck South San Francisco, California, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority Same country
100%similar
Merck South San Francisco, California, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority Same country
100%similar
Merck Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority Same country
100%similar
Merck Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same therapeutic area Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly San Diego, California, 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

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.

100%
2027 Future Talent Program – Discovery Oncology – Intern (South San Francisco, CA)
Merck · South San Francisco, California, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
100%
2027 Future Talent Program - Discovery Oncology (Boston, MA) - Intern
Merck · Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
QSP postdoctoral scientist
Lilly · Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Postdoctoral Scientist – Neuroscience (Synuclein Biology)
Lilly · Boston, Massachusetts, 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.