Associate Vice President, Agentic AI & Autonomous CMC Development

At 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.

Organization Overview

At Eli Lilly and Company, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. Lilly has led global healthcare for more than 140 years, and today we’re growing faster than ever, expanding our portfolio, modalities and manufacturing footprint. To keep delivering medicines faster, with greater quality and efficiency, we’re investing in the next generation of digital and AI capability that will change how we research, develop and make decisions.

Position Overview

We’re looking for a visionary executive to lead the next paradigm shift in pharmaceutical development: agentic AI. This is the shift from human-executed workflows supported by software to autonomous, AI-enabled development ecosystems, where scientists and engineers spend their time on creativity, judgment and strategy while intelligent agents handle routine knowledge work, analysis, documentation, planning and execution. This Associate Vice President will define and execute Lilly’s vision for Agentic CMC Development: building a pan-DDCS/PRD AI capability platform and deploying agentic solutions that transform how development work gets done across drug delivery, devices, combination products, synthetic molecule development, biologics, formulation sciences, process development, analytical sciences, quality, regulatory and the manufacturing interface.

The long-term goal is an Autonomous Development Platform: one that continuously learns from enterprise knowledge, experimental outcomes, development history, manufacturing performance, regulatory interactions and scientific literature, and increasingly executes development work on its own. This platform will enable: Agent-driven knowledge discovery and technical intelligence, Autonomous technical workflow orchestration, AI-generated development strategies and experiment plans, Automated documentation and regulatory content generation, AI-assisted design, optimization, change control planning and risk assessment, Digital experts and copilots embedded across development functions, Enterprise-scale scientific knowledge management, Agentic coordination between development, manufacturing, quality and regulatory functions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Set the Agentic AI Strategy and Roadmap. Serve as the single point of accountability for DDCS and pan PRD agentic AI strategy, setting a multi-year vision, roadmap and technology strategy for autonomous development systems. Define the future-state operating model for an AI-enabled development organization and prioritize the highest-value opportunities for transformation. Build the business case and champion narrative that win support from scientists, engineers and senior leaders, addressing both the opportunity and the risks of agentic AI openly and directly. Track Lilly’s growing portfolio of agentic AI initiatives and external pharma agentic AI moves, translating industry and competitive trends into roadmap decisions.
2. Own the Agentic AI Platform Architecture. Lead development of an enterprise-scale platform spanning multi-agent orchestration frameworks, large language model ecosystems, agent memory architectures, retrieval-augmented generation and knowledge graph systems, digital twin and simulation integration, and autonomous workflow engines. Establish standards for agent-to-agent and tool communication (for example, Model Context Protocol and Agent-to-Agent standards) so agents work together across the pan PRD data and knowledge landscape. Build reusable enterprise capabilities that DDCS, BRD, SMDD and Manufacturing can all adopt. Build in responsible AI controls from the start: human-in-the-loop quality systems, AI governance and compliance frameworks, and GxP/21 CFR Part 11 auditability for every agent output that touches a regulatory submission.
3. Build and Lead the Agentic AI Development Team. Recruit, build and lead a world-class team of AI scientists, AI application engineers, software architects, product managers, workflow transformation leaders and domain experts. Recruit and develop top talent from the pharmaceutical, technology, AI and startup ecosystems, building an organization recognized as an industry leader in applying agentic AI to scientific and engineering development. Foster a culture of experimentation, innovation, speed and continuous learning. Talent Magnet and Builder: Attract, develop and retain exceptional technical and business talent while building future leadership pipelines.
4. Lead Agentic Solution Development End-to-End. Lead deployment of intelligent agent ecosystems across CMC development workflows, including scientific knowledge discovery and synthesis, literature mining and competitive intelligence, experiment planning and optimization, formulation design support, process development optimization, design, technical report authoring, regulatory submission content generation, and quality investigations. Develop full-stack applications that integrate large language models, retrieval-augmented generation and agentic workflows with intuitive front ends and secure back-end services, automating today’s manual CMC development data and documentation tasks. Drive the transition from manual, document-centric workflows to autonomous, AI-native development processes, monitoring and evaluation practices that keep agents accurate, fast and cost-effective after launch.
5. Orchestrate Cross-Functional Delivery with CMC development partners. Serve as the bridge between DDCS/PRD scientists, engineers, quality, manufacturing and regulatory colleagues and the technical team, translating business needs into technical requirements and technical capability into business value. Partner with corporate AI, digital and business leadership to align DDCS and PRD initiatives with Lilly’s broader AI strategy, driving adoption of agentic operating models, enterprise copilots and next-generation digital worker concepts. Coordinate with View email address on click.appcast.io and Enterprise IT so agentic AI work stays aligned with enterprise platforms and standards rather than running as a parallel effort.
6. Own the Business Case, ROI and Success Metrics. Define and track efficiency, cycle-time, quality and adoption metrics that show agentic AI’s impact on CMC development speed and output. Own the ROI narrative for agentic AI investment in DDCS/PRD, reporting measurable reductions in development cycle time and technical workload to senior leadership. Build durable, reusable automation assets, not one-off pilots, so gains compound across programs and years.
7. Drive Adoption and Change Management. Lead change management for new agentic AI capabilities: stakeholder engagement, communications, training and deployment support so agents get embedded in real workflows, not just piloted. Establish feedback loops with scientists and engineers to identify adoption barriers, prioritize enhancements and build a culture of responsible AI adoption across DDCS. Free scientist and engineer time from repetitive, document-heavy work so they can focus on the creativity- and judgment-based work that drives real innovation. Represent Lilly’s agentic AI-for-CMC agenda in industry consortia, regulatory forums and academic partnerships, and build strategic relationships with leading AI companies and technology providers that bring outside perspective into DDCS.
8. Organizational Transformation: Lead transformational change across complex, matrixed organizations while delivering measurable business outcomes.
9. Scientific leadership in Lilly and pharma industry. Create breakthrough strategies that redefine how development work is performed and position Lilly for sustained competitive advantage, building Lilly’s reputation as a leader in agentic AI-enabled drug delivery and development.
10. Influence Beyond Authority: Align diverse stakeholders across organizations, geographies and disciplines toward a common vision. Build and use a diverse external network across industry, academia and regulatory bodies to bring outside perspective and speed breakthrough thinking inside DDCS.
11. External Impact: Shape industry practices, build strategic partnerships, and establish Lilly as a recognized leader in agentic AI-enabled pharmaceutical development.

Basic Requirements

• PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences or a related field
• 15+ years of progressive experience leading technology, digital transformation, AI or scientific organizations
• Proven track record leading enterprise-wide transformational initiatives and building or scaling high-performing technical organizations
• Experience applying AI, digital transformation or automation technologies for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare or manufacturing environments
• Demonstrated experience deploying production AI systems at enterprise scale, with a strong understanding of agentic AI architectures, autonomous systems, LLM platforms, retrieval systems and orchestration frameworks
• Demonstrated executive leadership experience influencing senior corporate stakeholders, with the ability to translate complex technical visions into business terms and organizational outcomes
• Expertise in full-stack AI application design from prototype to production, agent-based systems, autonomous workflows, multi-agent architectures and AI-driven process transformation, including standards such as Model Context Protocol and Agent-to-Agent

Additional Preferences

• Experience building AI platforms that serve large, matrixed organizations
• Familiarity with regulated environments, GxP systems, quality systems and regulatory expectations, including 21 CFR Part 11
• Knowledge of CMC development, pharmaceutical development, manufacturing sciences or medical device development
• Experience integrating AI with modeling and simulation, digital twins, laboratory systems and enterprise data platforms
• Strong external reputation within AI, digital transformation, scientific computing or pharmaceutical innovation communities
• Enterprise platform thinking: reusable architectures, standards and durable capability over one-off pilots
• People leadership: recruiting, building and growing a high-performing, multidisciplinary technical team
• Responsible AI: governance, compliance and model risk management in regulated environments
• Clear, confident communication of AI capability and business value to diverse audiences
• Systems thinking across data, models, applications, workflows and people

Other Information

• Travel: 10-20% Location: Indianapolis, IN; Lilly Technology Center - North (LTC-N)
• 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 Womens 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 $219,000 - $352,000 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.

At Lilly we strive to ensure our employees are part of a team that cares about them and our shared purpose of making life better for those around the world. How do we do this? We continue to look for ways to include, innovate, accelerate and deliver while maintaining integrity, excellence and respect for people. We hope that you seek to join us on our journey as we create medicine and deliver improved outcomes for patients across the globe!