Computational Scientist – Computational Fluid Dynamics; CFD

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.

The Delivery, Device, and Connected Solutions (DDCS) organization supports the design, development, and commercialization of drug products and pharmaceutical delivery systems, including medical devices, combination products, and container closure systems.

This position is within the Computational Engineering team, which enables the development of novel drug-delivery devices and systems through simulation and modeling. The role requires expertise in computational fluid dynamics, transport phenomena, and multiphase flow modeling, with increasing emphasis on multiscale and multiphysics approaches, automation, and computational evidence generation for regulatory submissions.

CFD modeling within DDCS supports the development of drug delivery devices across multiple routes of administration. Primary focus areas include subcutaneous (SubQ) injection systems, where CFD informs syringe and autoinjector flow path design, formulation rheology effects, and injection force characterization. Additional routes of administration include transdermal delivery systems, respiratory and inhaled drug products (dry powder inhalers, metered dose inhalers, nebulizers), local delivery applications, and central nervous system (CNS) delivery.

The computational scientist will develop and apply CFD methodologies adaptable across these delivery modalities to support device design optimization, formulation‑device interaction studies, and regulatory submissions.

• Develop, execute, and interpret CFD models to support the development, design optimization, and technical risk mitigation of drug delivery devices across early- and late-phase programs.

• Apply multiphysics and multiscale modeling approaches to characterize device performance, including fluid‑structure interaction, particle transport, heat transfer, and species diffusion.

• Develop coupled modeling frameworks (e.g., CFD‑PBPK, CFD‑DEM, CFD‑FEA) to enable integrated analysis of drug delivery systems.

• Build automated simulation workflows, scripted pipelines, and parametric study frameworks to improve efficiency, reproducibility, and design space exploration.

• Apply and develop AI/ML techniques, including surrogate modeling, reduced‑order models, and physics‑informed approaches to accelerate simulation and enable rapid design iteration.

• Build reusable simulation frameworks, validated model libraries, and standardized workflows to ensure consistency across programs.

• Communicate modeling assumptions, methods, and results to cross‑functional stakeholders, including non‑technical audiences.

• Author and review technical reports and regulatory submission content related to computational modeling.

• Define physical testing requirements in collaboration with internal teams and external partners to support model input and validation activities.

• Contribute to model governance and credibility assessment frameworks aligned with ASME V&V 40.

• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams including Formulation Science, Device Engineering, Quality, Regulatory, and Manufacturing.

• Maintain a quality mindset by identifying issues proactively and supporting continuous improvement.

• Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or related field with 7+ years of CFD experience.

• Expertise in commercial CFD solvers (e.g., Ansys Fluent, STAR‑CCM+, COMSOL, OpenFOAM) including turbulence modeling, multiphase flows, and species transport.

• Strong foundation in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mass transfer, and transport.

• Proficiency in scripting and…