Senior Principal Scientist, Aging and Metabolism

Location: Spring House

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.

Learn more at

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:
Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development
Job Sub Function:
Biological Research
Job Category:
Scientific/Technology
All Job Posting Locations:
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, 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

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine R&D is recruiting for a Senior Principal Scientist, Aging and Metabolism. This position is a hybrid role and can be located in Spring House, PA or Cambridge, MA.

Reporting to the Head of Aging and Metabolism within the Cardiopulmonary Therapeutic Area, the Senior Principal Scientist will provide scientific and strategic leadership for in vitro and translational pharmacology across a portfolio of innovative therapeutic programs targeting sarcopenia, muscle dysfunction, age-related diseases, metabolic disorders, and associated cardiovascular complications. This individual will drive translational research strategies that connect human disease biology, pharmacology, biomarkers, and clinical outcomes to support candidate selection, portfolio decisions, and clinical development strategies.

Principal Responsibilities:

Project and Portfolio Leadership:

• Lead translational pharmacology activities across multiple Aging and Metabolism programs from target validation through candidate selection and early clinical translation.
• Drive scientific strategy and critical decision-making through integration of disease biology, pharmacology, biomarkers, human genetics, and clinical data.
• Contribute to portfolio prioritization, governance reviews, and evaluation of external innovation opportunities.
• Establish and manage collaborations with academic institutions, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), biotechnology companies, and other external partners.
• Present scientific strategies and recommendations to senior leadership and governance committees.

In Vitro and Translational Pharmacology:

• Provide leadership for target validation, mechanism-of-action studies, assay development, candidate profiling, and translational pharmacology activities.
• Develop biomarker strategies, translational packages, and pharmacology plans supporting proof-of-mechanism and proof-of-concept studies.
• Guide the application of human disease models, pharmacodynamic biomarkers, and Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) frameworks to support dose selection and patient stratification.
• Integrate receptor pharmacology, G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) biology, cell signaling, and translational science to maximize probability of technical and clinical success.
• Serve as a subject matter expert, ensuring scientific rigor, quality, reproducibility, and translational relevance across programs.

Cross-Functional Leadership:

• Collaborate closely with Discovery, DPDS, Biomarkers, Clinical Pharmacology, Quantitative Sciences, Translational Medicine, Regulatory, and external partners.
• Provide scientific mentorship and leadership across matrix teams.
• Foster a culture of…