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 MedTech, 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 jnj.com.

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Job Function:

Discovery & Pre-Clinical/Clinical Development

Job Sub Function:

Chemical Research

Job Category:

Scientific/Technology

All Job Posting Locations:

Beerse, Antwerp, Belgium

Job Description:

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 https://www.jnj.com/innovative-medicine

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. As an (Senior) Scientist in API Particle Engineering, you will play a meaningful role in designing and engineering of crystalline particle attributes that enable robust, scalable, and manufacturable Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).

You will combine expertise in crystallization, isolation, drying, and particle characterization to expand particle engineering capabilities. Focus will be on evaluating different engineering and crystallization technologies as a basis for particle engineering technologies to be implemented in commercial processes.

Based in Belgium, Beerse, you will join the Crystallization Technology Unit (CTU)—a recognized center of excellence supporting particle engineering and crystallization process development across the Johnson & Johnson synthetic molecule portfolio.

This position is offered as a fixed term with a duration of 24 months. You will have the opportunity to work in a leading research team and innovation driven R&D campus. This experience will support your development towards next job opportunities.

Your impact

In this role, you will research different particle tuning strategies for crystalline APIs, to develop new commercially viable technologies that deliver the desired API properties for successful manufacture of drug products.

You will:

• Design and optimize particle engineering strategies to achieve target API characteristics such as particle size distribution, morphology, density, filtration performance, flowability, and solid-state form.
• Leverage crystallization fundamentals and engineering tools to research process control over particle attributes.
• Develop mechanistic understanding of particle formation and evolution through data-rich experimentation, process analytics, and scientific modeling.
• Evaluate the impact of process parameters on crystallization behavior, particle properties, manufacturability, and downstream process performance.
• Design scalable processes that consistently deliver desired API specifications from laboratory through commercial manufacturing.
• Apply advanced analytical techniques and PAT tools (e.g., UPLC, XRD, Raman, ATR-FTIR, laser diffraction, image analysis, DSC, DVS,...) to guide your research.
• Drive innovation in particle engineering through external collaborations, scientific networking, and engagement with academic partners.

What You Bring

Required

• PhD (or equivalent experience) in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Materials Science, or a related discipline.
• Strong understanding of crystallization and process engineering principles, with the ability to apply theory to practical laboratory work.
• Strong hands‑on laboratory expertise, with demonstrated responsibility for the design, execution, and interpretation of data‑rich crystallization experiments
• Experience in generating high‑quality experimental data to support process understanding, development decisions, and scale‑up.
• Excellent in scientific communication skills in English, both verbal and written, with the ability to clearly document, interpret, and present experimental results.
• Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, cross‑functional environment, collaborating with diverse project teams to develop and implement efficient processes.

Preferred

• Industrial experience in process engineering, crystallization and isolation processes.
• Solid fundamentals in crystallization and phase behavior.
• Experience developing APIs for manufacturability and drug product performance.
• Familiarity with filtration, solid-liquid separation, drying technologies, and particle modification techniques.
• Familiarity with crystallization development, phase diagrams, DoE, and downstream operations
• Experience with scale-up and technology transfer.
• Experience in population balance modeling, process modeling, data science, Python, R, Matlab, or gPROMS.

What we offer

• The opportunity to contribute to breakthrough medicines with global patient impact
• A world‑class, highly collaborative scientific environment where you work alongside recognized experts and build scientific direction, within a close‑knit ~18‑person expert team at the J&J Beerse site, embedded in the Crystallization Expertise center.
• Access to state‑of‑the‑art facilities and sophisticated PAT technologies, enabling high‑quality, data‑driven science
• High visibility and real impact — your research will impact commercial process technologies.  
• Strong scientific ownership, with the autonomy and trust to design, interpret, and defend your work independently
• End‑to‑end exposure, allowing you to translate scientific ideas from early laboratory experiments to full‑scale manufacturing
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including on‑site sports facilities and well‑being programs
• Flexible working hours and hybrid options for non‑lab activities, supporting sustainable performance and work‑life balance

#DPDS

 

 

Required Skills:

 

 

Preferred Skills:

Chemistry, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Data Quality, Drug Discovery Development, Emerging Technologies, Execution Focus, Industry Analysis, Innovation, Interdisciplinary Work, Pharmaceutical Trends, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology, Quantitative Research, Research Ethics, Scientific Research, Technologically Savvy

  

 

The anticipated base pay range for this position is:

€75,500.00 - €117,300.00

 

 

Benefits:

In addition to base pay, we offer the following benefits*: an annual bonus with set target (% of pay) depending on pay grade / location, where the actual amount is based on the employees’ and companies’ performance of the previous calendar year, or sales commissions. Moreover, we offer vacation days, parental leave for a minimum of 12 weeks, bereavement leave, caregiver leave, volunteer leave, well-being reimbursement, programs for financial, physical and mental health. We also offer service anniversary and recognition awards, and subject to the terms of their respective plans, employees - and in some location’s eligible dependents - can participate in several insurance plans. For more information, visit Employee benefits | Supporting well-being & career growth | Johnson & Johnson Careers.

 

*This is for informative purposes only. Amounts and actual benefits may vary by location and are subject to change.