Senior Scientist​/Principal Scientist - Advanced Delivery Systems

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.

The Delivery, Device and Connected Solutions (DDCS) organization at Eli Lilly designs, develops, and commercializes drug delivery systems, devices, and packaging that bring medicines to patients around the world. This role sits on the Advanced Delivery Systems (ADS) team, Lilly’s engine for innovation and development in nonviral delivery. ADS brings together formulation, analytical, process, and platform capabilities across lipid nanoparticle (LNP) systems, particulate formulations, long-acting injectables, and injection physiology.

The team owns technology strategy, platform development, scale-up, and technology transfer, supporting a growing portfolio of genetic medicines from early development through commercialization.

We are seeking a highly motivated scientist with experience in chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) of genetic medicines to drive innovation efforts in the process engineering and formulation development of genetic medicine programs. Located at the Lilly Institute of Genetic Medicine in Boston, this position seeks a candidate with hands‑on experience in process development of nonviral delivery vehicles. This candidate would be responsible for designing and executing formulation and process development studies for RNA‑lipid nanoparticle (RNA‑LNP) drug products, and for supporting technology transfer and manufacture of early‑phase clinical trial supplies for assigned projects.

The scientist will work closely with other scientists as part of multidisciplinary teams that provide support for product and process development, interacting with Discovery, API Development, Analytical Development, Bioproduct Research & Development, CT Operations, and Manufacturing. If you are interested in conducting innovative research, you should consider joining our diverse and high‑performing team.

• Plan, design, and execute experiments with increasing independence; analyze and interpret data and propose next steps.
• Manage multiple priorities and collaborate effectively across CMC functions.
• Develop and optimize RNA‑LNP formulations, including storage buffer and excipient selection, to meet target product profiles for clinical programs.
• Develop and scale LNP manufacturing processes, including rapid‑mixing nanoprecipitation (e.g., microfluidic or impinging‑jet mixing), buffer exchange and concentration by tangential flow filtration (TFF), and sterile filtration.
• Characterize relationships between process parameters and LNP critical quality attributes (e.g., particle size, polydispersity, encapsulation efficiency, RNA integrity, lipid content), using design of experiments and statistical approaches where appropriate.
• Conduct formulation and stability studies (e.g., storage temperature, freeze‑thaw, in‑use) to support selection of clinical formulations and storage conditions.
• Perform RNA‑LNP characterization using methods such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), Ribo Green encapsulation assays, UPLC/HPLC lipid analysis, and RNA integrity methods (gel electrophoresis); interpret results in…