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Job Function:
R&D Product Development
Job Sub Function:
R&D Electrical/Mechatronic Engineering
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.
Learn more at https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine
We are searching for the best talent for an Associate Laboratory Automation Scientist to be located in Spring House, PA.
Purpose: The Associate Laboratory Automation Scientist supports the scientific execution layer of automated discovery workflows. The role helps prepare samples, labware, reagents, consumables, worklists, run logs, and files so automated systems can complete assay and analytical methods reliably.
The Associate Scientist will support deployment, operation, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of laboratory automation systems used in therapeutic discovery and analytical workflows, with emphasis on scientific workflow execution, sample traceability, consumable readiness, metadata capture, documentation rigor, and first-line run recovery under guidance.
This role is complementary to the Automation and Robotics Engineer. While the scientist focuses on assay context, sample identity, method execution, and data handoff; the engineer focuses on the physical transfer, equipment readiness, basic machine behavior, and safety access.
You will be responsible for:
Design and Deploy
- Supporting configuration, testing, and routine execution of liquid handlers, plate readers, plate sealers and peelers, washers, centrifuges, incubators, storage systems, barcode readers, labelers, and workcell peripherals.
- Assisting with automated methods for protein discovery, analytical, molecular, NGS, screening, cell-based, biochemical, and biophysical workflows.
- Supporting setup of samples, reagents, labware, consumables, waste containers, barcode labels, storage locations, and run documentation before scheduled automation runs.
- Participating in user acceptance tests, workflow demonstrations, and handover activities by completing defined scientific run steps and capturing observations.
Operate, Monitor, and Recover
- Performing first-line troubleshooting of barcode failures, consumable depletion, liquid handling exceptions, plate handling errors, instrument alarms, missing data files, failed transfers, and interrupted workflows.
- Documenting exception events, manual interventions, sample rescue steps, plate quarantine actions, run status changes, and user observations accurately.
- Escalating assay, method, instrument, data, sample identity, or consumable issues through defined pathways.
- Supporting basic run readiness and post-run checks, including sample location confirmation, output file presence, instrument status, waste state, and consumable reconciliation.
Data, Traceability, and Safety
- Supporting capture of sample identity, labware identity, reagent identity, method version, run context, instrument output, file transfer status, and user comments needed for downstream analysis.
- Following procedures for barcode scanning, label printing, ELN or LIMS entries, run log maintenance, and file transfer checks where applicable.
- Applying biosafety, contamination control, waste handling, laboratory safety, and data integrity expectations during automated workflow execution.
- Building practical understanding of upstream and downstream workcell dependencies so outputs from one platform are prepared correctly for the next.
Additional Responsibilities
- Support technology evaluations, proof-of-concept studies, workflow readiness assessments, user demonstrations, and vendor evaluations for future automation capabilities.
- Contribute to laboratory automation standards, workflow templates, data handoff expectations, training materials, and playbooks.
- Support audit, inspection, or quality documentation requests where automated scientific workflows intersect with regulated or quality driven environments.
- Participate in lessons learned and continuous improvement activities to improve future automation delivery and adoption.
Qualifications/Requirements
Education:
- A minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Laboratory Automation, Robotics, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field and at least 1 year of relevant experience is required. Relevant experience may include academic research, internships, co-ops, or early industry experience with laboratory automation, biological assays, analytical workflows, automated instruments, or sample tracking is preferred.
Experience and Skills:
Required:
- Demonstrated understanding of laboratory workflows, sample handling, plate/tube formats, assay execution, consumable preparation, run documentation, and data capture.
- Hands-on or practical experience with automated liquid handlers or integrated laboratory automation equipment appropriate to the level of the role.
- Ability to translate scientific workflows into executable automated methods, worklists, run states, exception pathways, and user-facing procedures.
- Working knowledge of sample identity, labware identity, reagent identity, consumable state, barcode traceability, metadata capture, and downstream data requirements.
- Ability to collaborate with scientists, automation engineers, IT, data science, AI, EHS, facilities, vendors, and laboratory operations.
Preferred:
- Exposure to Hamilton, Tecan, Beckman, Agilent, Thermo Fisher, HighRes, Biosero, Azenta, Waters, ELN, LIMS, barcode tracking, automated data capture, or basic scripting.
- Experience with protein, cell-based, molecular, NGS, screening, biochemical, biophysical, or analytical assays.
- Exposure to regulated or quality driven R&D, GLP, GCLP, GMP-adjacent, or biosafety-controlled laboratory environments.
Other:
- Travel may be required for vendor assessments, FAT/SAT activities, site visits, system builds, workshops, training, technology scouting, or cross-site deployment support.
Why Join Us
This role supports the transition from isolated automation projects to integrated, reliable, AI-native, and ultimately self-driving discovery laboratory systems. The work helps connect scientific intent with robust physical execution, reproducible data, model feedback, and scalable operational capability.
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.
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.
#LI-Hybrid
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