Jorge’s journey from particle physics to workforce analytics

Why would a Ph.D. particle physicist leave behind a promising career in research settings—Cornell, UPenn, the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland—to join the team at Johnson & Johnson? While it might seem like a quantum leap to go from particles to people analytics, Jorge's journey reveals surprising parallels.

From particle physics to data science

Jorge Chaves, Ph.D., is an expert in particle physics, the branch of physics that investigates the properties, relationships and interactions of subatomic particles, which are the smallest building blocks of matter.

Yet during his tenure at the Large Hadron Collider—which is, incidentally, the world's largest machine—Jorge's work involved the search for something smaller and even more elusive.

"I was looking for a totally new, undiscovered particle," Jorge recounted, adding, with a self-deprecating laugh, "I didn’t find it."

But this work did uncover the interesting points of overlap and continuity between the disciplines of particle physics and data science.

As Jorge pointed out, "In particle physics, you're fundamentally working with big data.”

Through his work at the Large Hadron Collider—and later as a postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico—Jorge became fluent with various data science tools and applications. At the same time, he was rapidly developing skills in statistical analysis, data engineering and related areas.

Eager to apply his expertise to drive tangible outcomes and real-world impact, Jorge decided to pivot, leaving particle physics behind to take on a data science role with Johnson & Johnson. And two years later, he believes the seamlessness of his transition only underscores the degree of overlap between the two fields.

From particles to people

We always welcome people with unique backgrounds on our team at Johnson & Johnson. Today, Jorge's enables him to take potentially transformative approaches to workforce management.

As he explained it, "One way of analyzing particle data is to seek 'outliers'"—or data points that don't conform with the broader pattern—"because when you have thousands and thousands of particles, naturally, you’re going to be kind of interested in the ones that are a little bit different."

The idea dawned on Jorge: Could we identify human outliers—people who have unique talents or untapped potential—in a similar way, using a combination of workforce analytics and data science?

Exploring the answer to that question led to his involvement in multiple other projects, as Jorge explained:

• "I’ve developed a machine learning model that can use employee data to predict 'employee attrition'—which is when someone leaves a company, basically." By studying the way our workforce moves, in other words, Jorge hopes to “come up with insights and even lead interventions that will make a meaningful difference, at an aggregate level, on job satisfaction, engagement and more."
• "I wanted to understand how we could measure the specific digital skills of employees, but I wondered if it was possible to do that solely based off their digital footprints.” To that end, Jorge developed a model using natural language processing—proving that it is possible, indeed.
• "I've built a new talent-search tool that helps managers find the right internal hires for open roles based on a lot of different search criteria, because I really wanted to shine a spotlight on our people. If we can do a better job of connecting them with the right opportunities, that will make a profound difference in a lot of people’s lives.”

As part of our large community of data scientists at Johnson & Johnson, Jorge recently participated in our inaugural (and all-digital) Data Science Hackathon. “We were looking at demand forecasting for our Johnson & Johnson Vision business," he recalled. "It was fascinating to have so many different disciplines all come together under the umbrella of data science to brainstorm and develop solutions."

Jorge added, "At this point, I'm just really excited to see what's next."

Make Jorge's journey your own

Ready to see how your unique perspective and skill set, like Jorge's, can help us make a positive impact in the lives of people around the globe? Check out all of the openings in data science at Johnson & Johnson today, and be sure to sign up for our Global Talent Hub, too. It's a great way to stay in touch, learn more about life at our company and even get job updates about openings that might interest you in the future.