Sr Director, Head of Data Science & Digital Health – Preclinical Sciences & Translational Safety (PSTS)

Role Summary

Senior leader responsible for driving the data science strategy for Preclinical Sciences & Translational Safety (PSTS) within Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. Based in Spring House, PA, this role partners with PSTS leadership and IT to advance translational safety, deliver robust data products, and scale ML/AI capabilities across the portfolio. The role shapes how safety and translational data are captured and analyzed to accelerate understanding of human disease and patient treatment response, ensuring interoperability with other R&D functions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive data strategy for PSTS, focusing on advanced automation, data integration, and FAIR data practices, and the use of ML/AI in close alignment with PSTS and IT.
• Lead the design and implementation of scalable data pipelines, ML/AI models, and analytics to support translational safety and preclinical workflows.
• Partner with PSTS leaders to build external partnerships with industry consortia and academic partners pertaining to Data Science needs for PSTS.
• Champion data governance, analytics, model lifecycle management (MLOps), and Responsible AI standards into reusable capabilities that can be shared elsewhere in the organization.
• Lead a core team of data scientists and engineers to support PSTS in reaching its strategic goals.
• Collaborate with PSTS teams, IT, R&D Data Science, and external partners to jointly introduce emerging technologies such as generative and agentic AI, multimodal analytics, and advanced automation tools that benefit PSTS’s business objectives.
• Work with peers across Discovery, Product Development, & Supply (DPDS) and our Therapeutic Areas to generate and analyze our data in the best way possible for opportunities in translational safety and preclinical sciences (for example: experiment design, safety risk prediction, lab process automation).

Qualifications

• 7+ years in data science for translational safety, drug discovery, or related domains, with experience leading teams in a matrix setting.
• Proven expertise in creating high impact R&D innovations through data science, data engineering, and automation within scientific domains.
• Strong experience leading the application/creation of ML/AI methods while demonstrating a deep understanding of translational safety and preclinical workflows.
• Demonstrated success in delivering interoperable data products and scalable analytics platforms.
• Excellent communication and matrix leadership across scientific, technical, and business stakeholders in a global organization.
• Leadership Attributes:
  • Strategic Vision: Ability to anticipate future trends in data science and translational safety and translate them into actionable strategies.
  • Collaborative Influence: Skilled at building consensus and driving alignment across diverse scientific and technical teams.
  • Innovation Mindset: Passion for leveraging emerging technologies to solve complex scientific challenges.
  • Talent Development: Commitment to mentoring and growing a high-performing team of data scientists and engineers.
  • Communication Excellence: Ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and executive leadership.

Education

• PhD or equivalent in Computational Biology, Toxicology, Pharmacology, AI/ML, Applied Math/Statistics or related field.

Skills

• Advanced Analytics
• Budget Management
• Business Alignment
• Compliance Management
• Consulting
• Critical Thinking
• Data Analysis
• Data Privacy Standards
• Data Quality
• Data Reporting
• Data Savvy
• Data Science
• Data Visualization
• Developing Others
• Digital Fluency
• Inclusive Leadership
• Leadership
• Strategic Thinking

Additional Requirements

• Travel: Up to ~25% domestic/international