Advisor/Sr. Advisor, Downstream Purification Development

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: Indianapolis
Posted on: January 25, 2026

Job Description:

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. Overview: At Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose. We make a difference for people around the globe by discovering, developing and delivering medicines that help them live longer, healthier, more active lives. Not only do we deliver breakthrough medications, but you also can count on us to develop creative solutions to support communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. Bioproduct Research and Development (BRD) is the large-molecule process development organization within Lilly. BRD is responsible for material and data generation to support clinical trials and commercialization of biologic therapeutics such as mAbs and bioconjugates. Our team works to accelerate the development and manufacturing of new bioconjugate medicines for our patients. We perform innovative and cutting-edge research to deliver bioconjugation processes, knowledge, and best practices to support clinical trials and commercialization for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), antibody-peptide conjugates (APCs), and antibody-RNA conjugates (ARCs/AOCs). We collaborate with our Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD), discovery, and biologics development colleagues to advance this exciting class of new drugs and seek fundamental learning and platform approaches to their development. Position Summary: The scientist is responsible for collaborating with teams of scientists and engineers in the development and optimization of purification processes for the production of recombinant therapeutic proteins as well as for process control strategy development, process scale-up and technology transfer to pilot plant and manufacturing sites. The scientist is also responsible for leading/supporting organizational strategic initiatives, evaluating and/or installing new capabilities/technologies and leveraging internal and external influence to solve problems and benchmark potential solutions. Responsibilities: Lead the design, execution, and interpretation of appropriate purification development experiments to drive the definition and optimization of downstream processes for the generation of recombinant protein active pharmaceutical ingredients. Use first principles and designed experiments (DOE) to predict/understand/control the impact of physical and chemical processing conditions on recombinant protein product quality. Lead the development of validated scaled-down models of key bioprocess unit operations including: filtration/TFF, chromatography operations and freeze/thaw. Participate in and/or lead cross-functional process development teams and effectively collaborate with other groups in Bioprocess and Bioproduct Development, Discovery, Technical services for Manufacturing and Manufacturing. Support transfer of purification processes to technical services for Manufacturing laboratories and pilot plant/manufacturing sites. Authorship of technical reports and regulatory documents. Work effectively with external parties on development projects, research collaborations and outsourcing efforts. Lead/support implementation of organizational strategic initiatives in support of the Lilly pipeline. Keep abreast of relevant scientific literature and new technologies/capabilities and regulatory initiatives/requirements. Lead implementation, as appropriate. Leverage internal and external influence to solve problems and benchmark potential solutions. Ensure work and team activities are aligned with all relevant Development Quality, regulatory, HSE, GLP and GMP requirements. Basic Requirements: Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Chemistry, or related field General knowledge and understanding of issues associated with scaling of protein purification processes and use of statistics for data analysis. Additional Preferences: Exceptional problem solving and decision-making skills. Demonstration of scientific skills. Effective oral and written communication skills. Must be able to work productively in an interdisciplinary team environment. Physical Demands/Travel: The physical demands of this job are consistent with a lab environment . The physical demands here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Work Environment: This position’s work environment is in a laboratory environment. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. *To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the role and responsibilities satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 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 ( https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation ) 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 $126,000 - $204,600 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. WeAreLilly

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