Director - Oligonucleotide Analytical Chemistry

Job ID: R-99593Company: LillyLocation: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of AmericaJob Type: Full TimeCategory: Research & DevelopmentPosted Date: 2026-01-27At 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.In this role, we are seeking an experienced scientific leader that will have responsibility for ensuring the technical integrity, compliance, and business administration of a Lilly team responsible for analytical characterization and development of oligonucleotides, antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates and peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates. The Analytical team consists of high-level scientists focused on the implementation of new technologies and analytical process improvements. This position involves working cross-functionally within the Indianapolis site and with our site in Boston to develop strategic functional capabilities and ensure appropriate capacity, capabilities and business processes are developed, implemented and sustained to deliver the required information to the project teams. The scientist will be an external leader in this technical area and set the overall strategy for the Lilly Genetic Medicine analytical team across research sites and in cooperation with our cross-functional partners.Responsibilities:Provide technical leadership for Lilly Genetic Medicine (LGM) analytical activities to be driven within the organization including analytical characterization, biophysical characterization, downstream processing method development, open-access QC workflows, analytical IT and analytical instrumentation and operation readiness. Ensure methods are technically sound, well developed, and fit-for-purpose.Partner with the Early Phase Development team and the drug discovery team to define and deliver appropriate analytical data packages to support molecules advancing from discovery to developmentMentor and develop scientific team. Ensure continued technical and professional growth of group members, encourage efforts towards excellence and knowledge sharing.Plan and manage short-term and long-term analytical investments to support the organization. Develop and/or review technical agendas and timelines for project work. Recommend resource allocation to accomplish projects according to plans, communicate with LGM leadership on progress and propose changes in timeline, objectives, or direction.Demonstrate high learning agility and the ability to understand and exploit effective scientific concepts and methods across multiple novel drug modalities, including oligonucleotides, antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates and peptide-oligonucleotide conjugatesManage collaborative partnerships with external and internal analytical vendors to supplement LGM analytical resourcesBasic Qualifications: Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry, or a related field with 7+ years of experience in the biopharmaceutical sector following graduation2+ years of experience in people management and analytical laboratory operationsAdditionalSkills/Preferences:Demonstrated expertise leading analytical efforts in pharmaceutical product discovery and/or development with proven skills developing and validating analytical methodsExperience with technical transfer of analytical methods from discovery to development organizationsDemonstrated expertise in leading separation sciences for oligonucleotides, including but not limited to RP, HILIC, HIC, IEX, SEC, and CEDemonstrated experience in scale-up sample preparation and analytical characterization of oligonucleotides, antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates and/or peptide-oligonucleotide conjugatesSolid understanding of chemical synthesis, purification and formulation requirements of drug candidate moleculesProficiency in biophysical and analytical characterization techniques, including but not limited to light scattering methods, chromatography, mass spectrometry, backgrounded membrane imaging, and other molecular-level characterization tools. Additional Information:Travel: 15 to 20%Position Location: On-site, Indianapolis, IN; Lilly Corporate Center (LCC)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 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$148,500 - $257,400Full-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.#WeAreLillySkillsanalytical chemistrybioanalytical chemistryoligonucleotidesantibody-oligonucleotide conjugatespeptide-oligonucleotide conjugatesmethod developmentanalytical characterizationbiophysical characterizationdownstream processingquality control workflowsanalytical itchromatographymass spectrometrylight scattering methodsteam leadershipmentoringproject managementcollaborationstrategic planning