Advisor - Oligonucleotide Analytics

Advisor - Oligonucleotide Analytics

Join to apply for the Advisor - Oligonucleotide Analytics role at Eli Lilly and Company.

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 Lilly Institute of Genetic Medicine RNA group is seeking an independent, self‑motivated, and highly skilled scientific leader with a proven track record in designing, developing, and implementing analytical methodologies for the characterization of oligonucleotides and their conjugates. This is a predominantly lab‑based role. The ideal candidate will possess strong expertise in LC‑MS method development, along with a solid understanding of oligonucleotides and their associated conjugates.

The successful candidate will be responsible for establishing analytical methods to characterize targeted molecules, as well as providing scientific input to cross‑functional teams, including chemistry, biology, ADME, pharmacology, and formulation. Additionally, the candidate is expected to explore and evaluate novel analytical techniques to support the characterization of complex, chemically modified oligonucleotides and their conjugates for quality control and structure–activity relationship assessments.

• Design, develop, optimize, and standardize robust analytical methods—including LC, LC‑MS, CE‑MS, and SEC/AEX‑MALS—for the characterization of oligonucleotides and their conjugates across all stages of drug discovery.
• Proactively evaluate and implement innovative analytical technologies to overcome challenges in the analysis of complex, chemically modified oligonucleotides and ensure continued scientific advancement.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams—including chemistry, biology, technology platform, and automation groups—to identify, develop, and implement the right instrumentation and analytical assays to accelerate chemistry design, enable structure–activity relationship understanding, and strengthen internal analytical capabilities.
• Utilize analytical software and collaborate with IT partners to advance laboratory informatics systems that ensure efficient data acquisition, processing, traceability, and data integrity.
• Continuously refine and enhance existing analytical methods and assays, and innovate as needed to meet evolving program requirements.
• Rapidly assimilate new technologies and apply cross‑disciplinary scientific principles to solve complex analytical challenges.
• Maintain thorough, accurate, and timely documentation of experiments, protocols, and results in electronic laboratory notebooks and technical reports.
• Ensure high standards of laboratory practice, including safety and quality compliance, and promote operational excellence in all analytical activities.
• Communicate scientific findings, progress, and technical recommendations clearly and effectively, including regular presentations in project team, departmental, and governance forums.

• PhD in Analytical Chemistry, Chemistry, Bioanalysis, Pharmaceutical Sciences or other similar scientific areas with 2+ years of relevant post‑graduate experience

• Extensive experience in LC and LC‑MS method development, optimization, and troubleshooting
• Proficient in characterization of biologics and oligonucleotides
• Strong understanding of structure–activity relationships (SAR) for therapeutic oligonucleotides and biologics
• Proven track record in developing diverse analytical and separation methods, including LC, LC‑MS, ion‑pairing LC, SEC, CE, HILIC, HIC, and IEX
• Ability to evaluate, adopt, and implement emerging analytical technologies (e.g., high‑resolution MS, oligonucleotide mapping, intact mass analysis, charge‑variant…