Advisor - Analytical Chemistry

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 Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) organization is responsible for the development of synthetic drug substances and drug products from the pre-clinical phase through commercialization. Our scientists and engineers develop innovative technical solutions to advance an exciting portfolio that includes small molecules, peptides, oligonucleotides, and other emerging therapeutic modalities spanning oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and metabolic diseases. By cultivating a hardworking, culturally diverse workforce that exhibits deep technical expertise, SMDD delivers on these responsibilities and helps bring the next generation of life-changing medicines to patients.

This is an exceptional time to join SMDD and help shape the future of pharmaceutical development.

SMDD has an exciting opportunity for an Advisor - Analytical Chemistry Research to join our collaborative team as an individual contributor in a primarily laboratory-based role. This position uniquely positions you at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation, working hands-on across multiple cutting-edge modalities (oligonucleotides, peptides, and small molecules) while directly impacting patient lives through medicines that advance from bench to bedside.

As a lab-based scientist empowered by access to state-of-the-art analytical platforms, structured mentorship programs, and extensive pharmaceutical development experience spanning the entire drug lifecycle, you will conduct hands-on experimental work while shaping analytical strategies for some of the most promising therapeutic advances in the industry. SMDD scientists gain versatile technical expertise highly valued throughout pharmaceutical development—experience that accelerates career growth and opens doors to senior scientist roles and technical leadership opportunities.

Our collaborative team values diverse perspectives, supports work-life integration, and celebrates both scientific rigor and creative problem-solving.

As an individual contributor, analytical scientists in SMDD enable the comprehensive characterization of materials and processes necessary to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of Lilly's medicines through direct laboratory work. This responsibility requires hands-on contribution to the development of analytical methodology, execution of experiments to generate key data, and support of regulatory documents (e.g., IND, NDA). Scientists in this position are expected to:

• Perform hands-on laboratory work to support the design, development, and implementation of product control strategies for oligonucleotide, peptide, and/or small molecule programs, directly enabling clinical milestones and regulatory submissions.
• Demonstrate proficiency in multiple analytical technologies through daily laboratory work, with an emphasis on chromatography and mass spectrometry. Operate cutting-edge instrumentation and apply emerging analytical techniques.
• Execute analytical method development, generate data to justify specifications, conduct stability studies, perform starting material testing for synthetic processes, identify and characterize impurities, and test drug product performance characteristics (e.g., dissolution/disintegration).
• Conduct hands-on laboratory research to support internal process development in a fast-paced environment. This includes experimental design, sample preparation and analysis, instrument operation and troubleshooting, and data interpretation.
• Provide technical input for analytical activities executed within the external network.…