Director, Data Science - GenAI - Neuroscience

This position is based at one of our U.S. sites: Raritan, NJ; Titusville, NJ; Cambridge, MA; Spring House, PA; or San Diego, CA. Travel may be required as needed.

About the role

The Director will lead the design, development, and deployment of AI, generative AI, and agentic AI workflow solutions for Neuroscience R&D, working across datatypes including clinical, omics and other molecular data, and medical imaging data. Working closely with scientists and data teams, the candidate will translate priority research needs into scalable tools and capabilities (e.g., AI co-scientists) that improve how scientific information is discovered, integrated, and used by scientists, in a way that stays current with evolving scientific advances. This hands-on leader will set technical direction, guide multidisciplinary delivery, establish evaluation and responsible AI practices, and build reusable solutions within enterprise platforms, in partnership with cross-functional teams in DDSAI and the Neuroscience therapeutic area. The role is accountable for platform build and evolution, scientific rigor and evaluation, user adoption, and measurable value from the Neuroscience AI portfolio.

This is a senior AI seat for Neuroscience R&D with genuine latitude over what gets built and why. You inherit a production agentic platform (runtime, orchestration, registered corpus, permission model, evaluation registry) and a voice in where it goes next, so your time goes to the part that cannot be outsourced to a model: strategic and hands-on investment in the platform to get the science right. The measure of success at twelve months is platform usage by neuroscientists who move faster with high scientific accuracy, and a strategic Neuroscience AI plan that leadership funds because you argued for it with evidence. Your work will directly accelerate Johnson & Johnson's scientific discovery, fuel AI innovation, and impact patients globally.

Responsibilities

• Set the Neuroscience AI strategy, portfolio, roadmap, and measures of value.
• Build and deploy scalable agentic AI and generative AI solutions for priority scientific needs.
• Own delivery, investment decisions, and outcomes for the Neuroscience AI portfolio.
• Ensure scientific rigor, appropriate evidence use, and reliable domain representation.
• Establish evaluation standards, expert validation, and responsible AI practices.
• Shape shared platform capabilities and develop reusable solutions aligned with enterprise architecture.
• Guide multidisciplinary teams and maintain strong engineering and lifecycle practices.
• Partner with scientists and leaders to prioritize needs, validate solutions, and drive adoption.
• Communicate technical choices, risks, progress, and impact to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• PhD in computer science, computational biology, genetics, genomics, medical informatics, or a related quantitative field; or MS with additional relevant experience.
• 8+ years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or healthcare analytics, with experience setting technical direction.
• Within the last 18 months, hands-on experience building agentic systems and deploying AI, NLP, or generative AI solutions, leveraging LLMs, retrieval, grounding, and evaluation.
• Strong ability to critically assess scientific evidence; expertise in neuroscience is a plus.
• Strong Python skills and sound software engineering practices.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary technical delivery and influencing across organizational boundaries.
• Demonstrated ability to define priorities, make evidence-based tradeoffs, and deliver measurable value.
• Strong communication skills with technical, scientific, and senior non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience developing within shared platforms, architecture standards, and governance frameworks.
• Experience with genetics, multi-omics, imaging, ontologies, or scientific knowledge systems preferred.
• Exposure to regulated environments, AI governance, and human-in-the-loop systems preferred.
• Industry experience in drug discovery, clinical development, or neuroscience optional.

Pay

The anticipated base pay range for this position is $164,000 to $282,900. The Company maintains highly competitive, performance-based compensation programs. Under current guidelines, this position is eligible for an annual performance bonus in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan. The annual performance bonus is a cash bonus intended to provide an incentive to achieve annual targeted results by rewarding for individual and the corporation's performance over a calendar/performance year. Bonuses are awarded at the Company's discretion on an individual basis.

Benefits

Employees and/or eligible dependents may be eligible to participate in the following Company-sponsored employee benefit programs: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, business accident insurance, and group legal insurance. Employees may be eligible to participate in the Company's consolidated retirement plan (pension) and savings plan (401(k)).

Time Off Benefits

• Vacation – up to 120 hours per calendar year
• Sick time – up to 40 hours per calendar year
• Holiday pay, including Floating Holidays – up to 13 days per calendar year
• Work, Personal and Family Time – up to 40 hours per calendar year

Skills

Required Skills

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

Preferred Skills: Advanced Analytics, Budget Management, Compliance Management, Critical Thinking, Data Analysis, Data Privacy Standards, Data Quality, Data Reporting, Data Savvy, Data Science, Data Visualization, Developing Others, Digital Fluency, Inclusive Leadership, Leadership, Program Management, Strategic Thinking, Succession Planning