Synthetic Chemist High Potency Lab - Lilly Medicine Foundry

Synthetic Chemist

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 and Position Overview

Lilly recently announced a $4.5 billion investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development, Lebanon, Indiana. The first-ever facility of its kind, combining research and manufacturing in a single location, the Medicine Foundry will allow Lilly to further develop innovative solutions to optimize manufacturing processes and increase capacity for clinical trial medicines, while also reducing costs and environmental impact.

The Process Translation and Execution (PTE) team translates API/DS process knowledge into clinical supply readiness, oversees technology transfer, implements phase-appropriate control strategies, and ensures right-first-time clinical manufacturing for a variety of modalities, including synthetic molecules, biologics, peptides, oligonucleotide, and bioconjugates (ADC, ARC, etc.). Through cross-functional collaboration, PTE influences process design, revolutionizes clinical manufacturing, builds capabilities in emerging technologies and aligns with corporate and Lilly Research Labs (LRL) goals, drives scientific excellence and innovation to accelerate manufacturing advancements and propels the site toward long-term business success.

In the Foundry Construction and Project Delivery/Startup Phase (2025 to 2028), roles will be fluid and dynamic as we build a new organization, design and implement the necessary systems and business processes required to enable operational readiness, support the project delivery, and build the site culture. Success will require significant collaboration, creativity, and resilience as the Lilly Medicine Foundry transitions from design to startup and ultimately to steady-state operations and continuous improvement. This period presents a unique opportunity for learning, growth, and making a lasting impact.

We are seeking passionate and agile synthetic chemists to join the PTE team and help bring the Lilly Medicine Foundry's vision to life.

Responsibilities

In this role, the Chemist will be responsible with synthetically evaluating and facilitating the transfer of chemical processes for highly potent molecules, under appropriate supervisory guidance, from development laboratories to pilot plant operations (including kilo-scale and isolator production environments). This enables the successful transition to early-phase cGMP manufacturing of grams to kilogram quantities of API required for clinical trial supply.

• Perform synthetic chemistry and assess synthetic routes from early phase process research and development labs
• Familiarity with performing chemistry in an isolator/glovebox.
• Experience working with highly potent molecules
• Evaluate the safety of the incoming procedures in collaboration with the safety group and process engineering.
• Ordering and staging chemicals.
• Obtain reference materials and participate in setting up analytical methods.
• Reprocess and analyze analytical data to make fact-based decisions.
• Efficient with summarizing and presenting chemistry and challenges.
• Perform familiarization reactions to ensure plant readiness of process steps including chemical reactions, distillations, extractions, and crystallization/isolations at the Lilly Medicine Foundry.
• Perform use-tests of key raw materials and document Definitive Lab Trials of processes to confirm plant readiness.
• Maintain a well-organized and detailed lab notebook with accurate descriptions of the chemistry, observations, and organized analytical data to enable the preparation of technical packages/technical transfers and accurate replication in receiving labs.
• Author, review technical documents, including tech transfer plan, standard operating procedures (SOPs), batch records, campaign summary reports, and deviation reports.
• Apply scientific knowledge to identify areas for improvement and implement new technologies or procedures.
• Contribute to process troubleshooting and investigations by supporting process deviations, quality events, and non-conformances. Collaborate with teams to perform root cause analysis (RCA) and develop effective corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs)

Basic Requirements:

• B.S. or M.S. in chemistry, chemical engineering, or related field (Ph.D's will not be considered at this level).
• 3+ years of experience in synthetic chemistry and/or manufacturing environments involving synthetic small molecule API or drug substance. High potency chemical synthesis is preferred.
• 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.

Additional Preferences:

• Working knowledge of organic chemistry and mechanisms and application to reaction improvement and optimization.
• Experience with synthetic chemistry techniques used for developing and scaling-up chemical reactions. Experience using process chemistry concepts is a plus.
• Proficiency with the purification of chemicals via extraction, crystallization, chromatography, and distillation.
• Comfortable working with larger sized glass equipment.
• Highly motivated, able to learn rapidly, and demonstrates strong attention to detail.
• Has experience creating batch records and conducting scale-up experiments according to those records.
• Ability to prioritize multiple activities and manage ambiguity.
• Experience with a variety of analytical techniques: HPLC/UPLC, LC-MS, GC, NMR, IR, KF, XRPD, etc.
• Process quantification and acquiring mass balance for products and by-products.
• Demonstrated ability to drive projects and accept change.
• Communication skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills for technical report writing, presentations, and effective collaboration across teams.
• Familiarity with crystallization and understanding of polymorphism and particle size control, and safe handling of solids/dry end processing.
• Problem-solving skills: Proven ability to analyze data, perform root cause analysis, and resolve complex technical challenges.
• Ability to work cross-functionally across disciplines and levels with engineers, analytical chemists, chemical technicians, safety and quality representatives.

Other Information:

• Initial location at Lilly Technology Center, Indianapolis.
• Permanent location at the new Lilly Medicines Foundry in Lebanon, Indiana.
• Limited domestic and international travel (< 5%) may be required for this role
• Role requires ability to work in manufacturing and laboratory environments

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.

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 $66,000 - $171,600.

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.