Senior Principal Scientist/Principal Scientist - Scientific Integration, Analytical Development (AI)

Location: Beerse, Antwerp, Belgium; position based at the Beerse R&D facility with up to 15% domestic and international travel.

Base pay: €96,000–€165,025 per year, plus an annual bonus and employee benefits.

Company

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine develops science-based healthcare solutions and medicines across global analytical development hubs in the US, Asia, and Europe.

What you will do

• Own the Analytical Development strategy for CMC product-development projects, including deliverables, resources, timelines, budgets, and governance.
• Represent Analytical Development as the primary scientific contact across CMC teams, API and drug-product functions, supply chain, quality, regulatory affairs, and external partners.
• Develop integrated, fit-for-purpose analytical and control strategies across feasibility, preclinical development, clinical development, and commercialization.
• Lead multidisciplinary activities covering method development and validation, release and stability, characterization, dissolution, pharmaceutical sciences, and material sciences.
• Set, justify, and manage drug-substance and drug-product specifications, retest periods, and shelf-life assignments.
• Identify and resolve analytical risks while applying digital, AI-enabled, and modelling approaches to support risk-based decisions.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in chemistry, pharmacy, or an equivalent scientific discipline; a PhD or other advanced scientific degree is preferred.
• At least 8 years of pharmaceutical-industry experience with strong scientific expertise in analytics, method development, stability, and specifications.
• Experience with one or more synthetic modalities, such as small molecules, oligonucleotides, peptides, or conjugates.
• Knowledge of global regulatory requirements, cGMP, FDA and ICH guidance, SOPs, and risk-based quality principles.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing stakeholders in a highly matrixed organization.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is essential. Dutch is an advantage.

Culture & Benefits

• International and dynamic working environment with continuous learning and growth opportunities.
• Inclusive workplace where different perspectives are respected and valued.
• Vacation, parental, bereavement, caregiver, and volunteer leave.
• Annual bonus, wellbeing reimbursement, financial, physical, and mental health programs.
• Access to insurance plans, service-anniversary recognition, and other employee programs.