Post-doctoral Fellow - Device Sustainability

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.

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.

Sustainability is one of DDCS’s three strategic pillars, alongside Experience + Outcomes and Delivery Systems, and is now embedded within the Experience Design, Human Factors, and Sustainability team. Over the past six years, DDCS has built a rigorous scientific foundation across device design, packaging, materials, and end-of-life management — including recycling R&D, takeback programs, in-house lifecycle assessment (LCA) capability, renewable material qualifications, and regulatory readiness.

In 2026, the organization is pivoting from building that scientific foundation to driving the business of sustainability: translating environmental science into credible, deployable solutions and evidence for design decisions.

This post-doctoral research position advances that pivot and is a crucial role for driving product sustainability across DDCS. Reporting to the DDCS Sustainability Engineering Lead, the post-doctoral researcher will lead two main projects: (1) advancing DDCS’s device recycling from exploration toward a commercially viable process that maximizes recycling efficiency and economy; and (2) building durable, in-house lifecycle assessment (LCA) capability and infrastructure that enables product development teams to quantify environmental impact and make more sustainable design decisions.

Around these two projects, the researcher will also contribute to cross-functional enablement, external partnerships, and knowledge dissemination. The role combines hands-on, bench-to-pilot laboratory work with quantitative modeling, methodology, and tool development.

Lifecycle assessment is a powerful tool for measuring and reporting environmental impact and is central to the second project. While prior LCA experience is welcome, it is not a mandatory requirement; this role is deliberately positioned as a development opportunity for the right candidate to build and deepen LCA expertise alongside DDCS’s internal capability and external partners.

The appointment builds durable internal research capacity in circularity, recycling, and lifecycle assessment; complements the Lead’s strategic and operational focus with deep research execution and methodological rigor; and is expected to yield peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. It reduces reliance on external consultants for routine work while continuing to partner with them on broader strategy, and strengthens Lilly’s ability…