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

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

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 development portfolio of bioconjugate medicines.  Our bioconjugation team is seeking an advisor-level scientist to assist with developing platform approaches to bioconjugation process development and 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 techniques to produce antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and similar modalities.  The applicant should bring a skillset and knowledge to help grow 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 and 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.
• Experience 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.

Additional Information:

• Potential exposure to chemicals, allergens, and loud noises.
• Travel: 0–10%
• Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, Lilly Technology Center – North

Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly USA, LLC and our wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively “Lilly”) are committed to help individuals with disabilities to participate in the workforce and ensure equal opportunity to compete for jobs. If you require an accommodation to submit a resume for positions at Lilly, please email Lilly Human Resources ( Lilly_Recruiting_Compliance@lists.lilly.com ) for further assistance. Please note This email address is intended for use only to request an accommodation as part of the application process. Any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and help our company develop talented individuals for future leadership roles. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, African American Network, Chinese Culture Network, Early Career Professionals, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinos at Lilly, PRIDE (LGBTQ + Allies), Veterans Leadership Network, Women’s Network, Working and Living with Disabilities. Learn more about all of our groups.

#WeAreLilly