Associate Vice President / Vice President, Lead Optimization Mass Spectrometry

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.

Organization Overview:  

Eli Lilly’s Biotechnology Discovery Research (BioTDR) organization has a track record of discovering, optimizing, and delivering novel biotherapeutic medicines to the clinical for the treatment of unmet medical needs in diabetes, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience.  This position is within the BioTDR Lead Optimization Group, and we seek a motivated scientist with deep expertise in mass spectrometry and a working knowledge of the biotherapeutics discovery and development process to join our Team.  The successful candidate will drive innovation within the Lead Optimization Group and work across the discovery and development interface to deliver Lilly’s early phase portfolio.  Are you eager to drive innovation in a fast-paced, collaborative environment to develop life-changing medicines for patients? Our commitment to our employees, patients, and communities is unmatched, and we want you to be a part of our Team.

Responsibilities:

• “Lead from the Bench” by actively participating in the team’s research activities with a focus on developability assessment and optimization of drug candidates (i.e., hands-on experimental work, experimental design, advanced data analysis, etc.)
• Build mass spectrometry-based solutions and proactively drive innovation by developing cutting edge LC-MS technologies and workflows to meet the challenges of a growing and complex large-molecule portfolio (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, fusion proteins, antibody-drug conjugates, peptides, oligonucleotides, viral and non-viral nanoparticles, etc.)
• Leverage extensive knowledge of and experience with a broad range of characterization methods to inform lead optimization (e.g., intact mass analysis, identification of post-translational modifications, profiling molecule assembly and structural variants including disulfide mapping, identifying glycosylation patterns, etc.)  
• Utilize expert-level proficiency in a wide range of industry-standard mass spectrometry data processing and analysis software platforms including Genedata Expressionist.
• Build effective partnerships with teams within BioTDR and across the broader discovery and development network and provide broad scientific leadership.
• Mentor and coach scientists to think deeply, work creatively, and deliver scientific excellence to drive projects to key decision points and milestones.
• Maintain strong engagement with the external scientific community through academic literature, collaborations/partnerships, active participation in technical meetings/consortia, and other professional networking.

Basic Requirements:

• Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or related discipline.
• 15+ years academic, research institute, or industry experience with mass spectrometry and separation sciences towards the characterization of proteins and peptides.
• Demonstrated ability to create and sustain a world-class biologics mass spectrometry laboratory and champion a culture of innovation, inclusion, collaboration, and scientific excellence.

Additional Skills/Preferences:

• Proven track record of partnering with third parties for the development of cutting-edge hardware and software
• Working knowledge of the large-molecule drug discovery, optimization, and development process.
• Promoting a culture of safety in the workplace.
• A record of scientific achievement as demonstrated by a strong publication record, presentations at external conferences, and patents
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent time management and organizational skills with the ability to adapt to changing priorities and deadlines.
• Working effectively across organizational boundaries to navigate complex business and technical issues.
• Ability to lead individuals and teams through direct and indirect reporting structures.
• Data analytics experience with Benchling.

Additional Information:

• Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
• Travel: 0-10%

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, 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 are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

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

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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