Sr. Principal Scientist - Bioburden and Contamination Control Strategy

Job ID: R-109617Company: LillyLocation: Houston, Texas, United States of AmericaJob Type: Full TimeCategory: Manufacturing/QualityPosted Date: 2026-08-03At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us. Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for production of API molecules located in Houston, Texas. This facility is intended to provide APIs for current and future products, including new modalities. This is a unique opportunity to be a part of the startup team for a greenfield manufacturing site, and the successful candidate will help build the processes and facility to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations. Position Description:The Sr Principal Scientist, Contamination Control Strategy is a technical leadership role responsible for designing, deploying, and sustaining a contamination control strategy (CCS) at Lilly's Houston API Manufacturing site. The role ensures the CCS aligns with technical, quality, and regulatory requirements, industry expectations, and business needs, applying data-driven decision-making and innovative technologies to continuously improve contamination control performance.The successful candidate will bring strong knowledge of GMP, pharmaceutical regulatory requirements, and manufacturing operations, and will serve as the TS/MS (Technical Services) business SME on contamination control—partnering closely with process scientists, operations, Quality Control, Engineering, and Quality Assurance to ensure effective cross-functional alignment.Key Objectives/DeliverablesOperations across Houston, ensuring CCS integration during Houston API facility start-up and ongoing support through routine GMP manufacturing and post-Process Validation phases.Author, review, and approve technical documents (personnel qualification strategies, control strategies, investigations, change controls, procedures, technical studies) and support global implementation of CCS quality standards and tools.Monitor and maintain cleanroom/controlled environment conditions, including oversight of routine environmental monitoring (EM) activities, in collaboration with site and cross-functional SMEs.Develop statistically based metrics to assess process variability and capability; analyze trending data and prepare reports for management review.Investigate contamination events and deviations, performing root cause analysis and implementing CAPAs.Train staff on contamination control principles, gowning, cleaning/sanitization procedures, and cleanroom behavior.Collaborate with Quality, Engineering, and Operations to assess contamination risks, implement mitigation strategies, and support internal/external audits.Basic Requirements:B.S. degree in Pharmacy, Science, Engineering or related STEM field.6+ years industry experience, including 3 years in GMP cleanroom manufacturing experience.Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.Preferences:Deep technical understanding of CCS and regulatory expectations across facilities, production practices, environmental monitoring, and bioburden control.Strong data analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple competing deadlines in a fast-changing environment.Proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively across cross-functional teams.Clear, effective oral and written communication across all levels of the organization.Additional Information:This is a fully on-site position located in Houston, TX. Standard 8-hour shift, 5 days/week; occasional night and weekend work may be required.Travel to other Lilly domestic and international locations generally not exceeding 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 () 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 (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (View email address on click.appcast.io), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is$66,000 - $171,600Full-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.#WeAreLillySkillsgmp compliancecontamination control strategycleanroom managementenvironmental monitoringbioburden controlcapa implementationroot cause analysisprocess validationtechnical documentationdata analysisstatistical analysisquality assurancecross-functional collaborationtraining deliveryaudit supportpharmaceutical manufacturingprocess improvementrisk assessmentchange controltechnical leadershipproblem solvingcritical thinking