Solution Architect - Research & Development Systems

Solution Architect – Research & Development Systems

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals! As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People.

At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you'll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.

Making animals' lives better makes life better – join our team today!

Your Role: Solution Architect within Elanco IT, you will help lead the digital transformation of Elanco's global R&D organization. You will drive the adoption of modern pharmaceutical development platforms, including High-Performance Computing, AI/ML systems, Electronic Lab Notebooks, and Laboratory Execution Systems, to accelerate drug discovery and development in areas such as bioinformatics, computational chemistry, genomics, and systems biology.

In this role, you'll shape Elanco's scientific technology landscape by guiding architecture decisions, influencing technology investments, and aligning solutions with enterprise standards and research innovation goals.

Your Responsibilities:

• Define and deliver the architecture vision for Elanco's R&D digital ecosystem, aligning with enterprise architecture principles and technology roadmaps.
• Partner with Product Managers and Principal Engineers to design scalable, compliant, and secure scientific computing solutions.
• Architect and implement integrated R&D systems (ELN, LIMS, LES, CDS, Informatics) using SaaS and cloud-native platforms.
• Apply emerging technologies such as AI, cloud-native applications, and HPC to optimize research workflows, data pipelines, and predictive modeling.
• Collaborate across IT and R&D to ensure systems support FAIR data principles and scientific reproducibility.

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications):

• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field.
• Experience: Minimum 5 years architecting and delivering enterprise IT systems.
• Key Skills:
• Proven experience supporting pharmaceutical development systems (ELN, LIMS, CDS, LES, Informatics, HPC).
• Strong technical expertise integrating SaaS and cloud-native solutions using modern architecture frameworks (API-first, service-oriented, event-driven).
• Exceptional communication and leadership skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (preferred qualifications):

• Experience designing architectures for High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments and scientific workload management (e.g., SLURM, Nextflow).
• Familiarity with FAIR data principles and scientific data lifecycle management.
• Knowledge of regulatory and data integrity requirements in GxP environments (e.g., 21 CFR Part 11).
• Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and modern DevSecOps practices (CI/CD, TDD).
• Solution architecture certifications in Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform.

Additional Information:

• Travel: Occasional
• Location: Global Elanco Headquarters – Indianapolis, IN (Hybrid Work Environment)

Elanco Benefits and Perks:

We offer a comprehensive benefits package focusing on financial, physical, and mental well-being while encouraging our employees to pursue our purpose! Some highlights include:

• Two weeklong shutdowns (mid-summer and year-end) in the US
• 8-week parental leave
• 9 Employee Resource Groups
• Annual bonus offering and up to 6% 401(k) matching
• Flexible work arrangements and multiple relocation packages

Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.