Laboratory Operations Analyst - Automation Engineer, R&D Therapeutics Discovery

Laboratory Operations Analyst - Automation Engineer, R&D Therapeutics Discovery

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IT
Business Solutions
Database
Bioinformatics
Data & Analytics
Enterprise Applications & Systems
Software Development & Engineering
Expert
Bachelor’s Degree (HBO, WO)
Permanent
Full time
2340 Beerse, Belgium

We are seeking a motivated Laboratory Automation & Data Engineer (I/II) to join our R&D Therapeutics Discovery organization in Beerse, Belgium.

This position is part of the global Discovery, Product Development & Supply (DPDS) Operations Team responsible for operations within the Therapeutic Discovery (TD) and Preclinical Safety and Translational Sciences (PSTS) organizations. The Lab Operations team in DPDS Operations looks after the lab workspace and equipment to enable the scientists to focus on their science using a knowledge of project management, drug discovery instrumentation and automation, and process excellence to evaluate, develop and deliver drug discovery laboratory processes and infrastructure.

The candidate will work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams and collaborate with internal and external partners – such as IT, Safety, Engineering, Facility Management – thus ensuring flawless execution of all projects and processes connected to the lab workspace and automation in particular. The function requires a hands‑on mentality and the ability to work autonomously for longer-term activities independently adapting to project developments and proposing next steps.

This onsite role focuses on the configuration of laboratory instruments and the implementation of automated scientific workflows. You will support laboratory automation across discovery fields, reduce manual data entry and human intervention between instruments and software. In addition, you will contribute to event‑driven architectures and automated data quality control and validation with ubiquitous tracking of completeness, consistency, validity, and accuracy over time.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, life sciences, or a closely related field with at least 9 years’ experience or a Master’s degree with 6 years of experience

Experience and Skills:

Required:

• Minimum of 5 years in automation operation and platform management. At least 3 years of experience in the biological, medical device or pharmaceutical field required.
• Proven track record with advanced automation platforms in laboratory or research environments; familiarity with laboratory instrumentation and analytical techniques.
• Broad experience with robotics, LIMS/ELN, data management systems, and end‑to‑end system integration (scheduling software, APIs, middleware, data exchange).
• Experience in basic concepts in a biological and/or chemical laboratory required as well as a background in/keen interest in biological and chemical R&D processes.
• Solid understanding of machine safety and compliance requirements.
• Strong interpersonal communication skills, effective organization, customer service skills.
• Strategic and critical thinking, prioritization, and ability to execute on those strategies.
• Fluency in English and Dutch, both written and oral.

Preferred:

• Proven project management success and change management experience is highly preferred.
• Solid working knowledge of laboratory or highly controlled facilities operations, information systems, instrumentation, automation, safety, and compliance are highly preferred.
• Knowledge of LIMS/ELN systems, data visualization, and analytics toolsets; experience with programming languages and scripting for automation.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and data orchestration/workflow tooling.
• Strong understanding of data integrity, lineage, security frameworks, and scalable data architectures.

Required Skills:

• Dutch Language, Feasibility Studies, Robotic Automation, Software Applications, User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

Preferred

Skills:

• Application Programming Interface (API), Database Management, Data Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Python (Programming Language), Service Scheduling, Software as a Service (SaaS)

We only accept applicants who are eligible to work in the EU.

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 Med Tech, 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.

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