Principal Scientist, Upstream Process Development

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.

** Overview:*
* At Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose. We make a difference for people around the globe by discovering, developing and delivering medicines that help them live longer, healthier, more active lives. Not only do we deliver breakthrough medications, but you also can count on us to develop creative solutions to support communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.

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* Position Summary:

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* This role is within Bioproduct Research and Development (BR&D), a multidisciplinary organization that develops and optimizes biologically derived products. Upstream Process Development engineers develop and optimize processes for recombinant therapeutic proteins and genetic medicines, including control strategy, characterization, qualification, scale-up, and technology transfer.

This is a hands-on, lab-based role supporting program progression from Research to Manufacturing. The successful candidate is self-motivated, analytical, and an effective communicator who works well across functions and with external partners (vendors/academia) to evaluate new technologies and benchmark best practices.

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* Key Responsibilities:

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* + Design and execute experiments to evaluate, optimize, characterize, and troubleshoot processes and equipment with minimal guidance.

+ Operate suspension cell culture in shake flasks and small-scale bioreactors (e.g., Ambr
250, 5 L benchtop bioreactor).

+ Analyze and interpret data independently.

+ Author technical reports, protocols, and regulatory-supporting documentation.

+ Present clear, actionable, scientific insights to project teams and leadership.

+ Support equipment qualification, scale-up/scale-down, and technology transfer of mammalian-based bioprocesses to clinical and commercial manufacturing.

+ Evaluate emerging technologies and equipment to advance platform capabilities.

+ Develop novel hypotheses, connect insights across fields, and propose experiments beyond the project plan.

+ Build internal and external networks to leverage capabilities and accelerate progress.

+ Implement automation to streamline analysis, improve visualization, and maintain data integrity.

+ Occasional weekend work may be required for sampling or equipment preparation.

** Basic Requirements:*
* + B.S. degree with 6-9 years, or M.S. degree with 3-6 years, of relevant industry experience; degree in chemical engineering, biological engineering, or related discipline.

+ PhD will not be considered at this job level.

+ Experience in operating cell culture in shake flasks and small-scale bioreactors.

+ Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

+ Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to communicate with operations staff and management.

+ Strong problem-solving skills

+ High learning agility

** Additional Skills/Preferences:*
* + Ability to work independently and mentor junior scientists in a collaborative, cross-functional environment.

+ Comfort using AI tools (e.g., Claude, Copilot) for analysis and design.

+ Working knowledge of molecular biology, omics, metabolic flux analysis, and PAT.

+ Creativity to identify improvement opportunities and the initiative to implement them.

+ Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

+ Experience managing external collaborations with CDMOs.

** Additional Information:*
* ** Physical Demands/Travel:*
* The physical demands of this job…