Advisor - Bioconjugation Process Development (SMDD) - Eli Lilly and Company

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Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) is the synthetic molecule process development organization within Lilly.  SMDD is an innovation driven organization that uses the most cutting-edge approaches to support product commercialization.  Our dynamic group is made up of chemists, pharmaceutical scientists, analytical chemists, and engineers.  We collaborate with our Bioproduct Research and Development (BRD) colleagues to develop our growing portfolio of bioconjugate medicines. Our bioconjugation team is seeking an advisor-level scientist to develop platform approaches for bioconjugation processes to support fundamental understanding in this area.

Responsibilities:

Our bioconjugation team is tasked with establishing the infrastructure required to conduct detailed process development and glean fundamental understanding related to bioconjugate synthesis.  A successful applicant will have experience with synthetic organic chemistry and bioconjugation to produce antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and similar modalities.  The applicant should bring a skillset and knowledge to help growing our research facilities and infrastructure. We have a growing and diverse portfolio of bioconjugates that require improved process understanding and development methods.  Primary responsibilities include:

• Establish a productive laboratory program by personally conducting and managing internal and external research plans, collaborate with teammates to analyze the results, form conclusions, propose logical next steps, and report findings to a larger team. 
• Thrive at the interface between disciplines and departments to quickly move from one scientific challenge to another while navigating ambiguity.
• Perform fundamental and detailed studies of each process step for bioconjugation development.
• Propose and test new methods to achieve bioconjugation and bioconjugate development. Collaborate and share findings with medicinal chemists.
• Embrace and celebrate diversity by using a relevant and unique background and set of experiences to provide new ideas to deliver innovative solutions. Strong communication (oral and written), organizational, and leadership skills are expected.
• Bring new and useful concepts, methods, and ideas for how research can be improved and share these to make our group better.
• Engage externally through presentations and publications. Identify, partner, and develop chemistry innovations from the outside to complement existing capabilities and areas of focus and incorporate these innovations across the portfolio.
• Demonstrate learning agility across modalities (e.g. small molecule, peptide and oligonucleotide). Develop new synthetic routes using modern technologies, including continuous processing, automated reaction screening, and computational chemistry.
• Help drive and develop the commercial manufacturing strategy and collaborate with manufacturing partners to deliver robust chemical processes that are ultimately suitable for large-scale manufacturing.

Basic Requirements: 

• PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology, or related field.

OR

• MS in related field with 5+ years of relevant industrial experience.

Additional Skills/Preferences:

• Postdoctoral experience in a field related to bioconjugation.
• Experience with small molecule organic synthesis, knowledge of reaction mechanisms, and design of reactions.
• Experience with performing bioconjugation reactions at small-scale.
• Knowledge of basic antibody class, structure, and function.

• Knowledge of and hands-on experience with analytical methods used for small molecules and biomolecules (RP-HPLC, SEC, IEX, HIC, LC-MS, CE-SDS).
• Experience with handling small quantities of highly potent small molecules in a safe manner.
• Good interpersonal skills and a persistent tendency for collaboration
• Demonstrated self-initiative and appropriate risk-taking behaviors.
• Ability to prioritize multiple activities and thrive in a setting that requires quick movement between scientific challenges and comfort with ambiguity.
• An active scientific curiosity and interest for complementary disciplines within the pharmaceutical industry.
• Demonstrated track record of authoring and contributing to external presentations and publications.
• Experience with preparative-scale ADC or AOC purifications (TFF, IEX etc.).

Additional Information:

• Potential exposure to chemicals, allergens, and loud noises.
• Travel: 0–10%
• Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lilly Technology Center – North.
• Experienced candidates are encouraged to apply. The level will be commensurate with your experience.

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Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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