Senior Principal Scientist - Bioanalytical Research

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.

The Bioanalytical Research Group (BAR) in Investigative ADME/Toxicology and Bio Analytical Research at Louisville, CO is seeking an expert scientist skilled in small and large molecule mass spectrometry to deliver innovative ways to support Lilly’s oncology portfolios. This role has an emphasis on bioanalysis of small molecule drug, especially radioligand therapeutics (RLT), with the possibility to expand into antibody-drug conjugates (ADC).

• Perform sample preparation (e.g. tissue homogenization, multiwave digestion, immunoaffinity enrichment, protein precipitation) and operate mass spectrometer to develop bioanalytical methods and perform quantitative bioanalysis (bioA) of small molecule or/and large molecule therapeutics from in-vitro and in-vivo samples.
• Investigate the structure-activity relationship (SAR) including pharmacokinetics (PK), biodistribution (bioD), biotransformation (BioT) and metabolite identification (metID) of drug molecules using LC-MS/MS.
• Collaborate with ADME project leaders to support fast-paced drug discovery projects.
• Serve as bioA representative and provide bioanalytical expertise to project team.
• Mentor junior scientists in developing their skills in LC-MS sample preparation, data analysis, visualization and reporting.
• Maintain and troubleshoot lab instruments to ensure their operation.

• Bachelor’s degree in science or engineering (chemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering or related field) with at least 7 years of work experience, or master’s degree in related field with at least 5 years of work experience.
• Experience with using inductively coupled plasma (ICP), triple quadrupole (QQQ), high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS, including QToF, Orbitrap) in bioA method development, qualification, and transfer.
• Experience with small and large molecule bioanalysis, including sample preparation (e.g. tissue homogenization, microwave assisted acid digestion), sample extraction (LLE, SPE, immunoprecipitation, protein precipitation) prior to MS.
• Experience of drug ADME principles in understanding PK, biodistribution and biotransformation of small and large molecule therapeutics.
• 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.

• Experience with discovery and development of radioligand therapeutics and elemental analysis using Agilent 8900 ICP-MS.
• Hands-on experience in sample preparation, LC-MS bioanalytical workflow to support the bioA and metID of RLTs.
• Familiar with bioanalytical workflow of biotherapeutics (mAbs, ADC, siRNA, fusion protein, etc.), including immunoprecipitation, proteolytic digestion and deglycosylation.
• Bottom-up peptide, payload quantification using Sciex 6500/7500.
• Intact mass acquisition, top-down MS using Thermofisher Orbitrap Exploris 240/480/Tribrid instruments.
• Familiar with MS-related informatic tools to conduct in-depth data analysis – Mass Hunter, Biopharma Finder, Quant Browser, Multi Quant, Biologics Explorer, Protein Metrics, Mass Meta Site , etc.
• AI-based data analysis and report writing are an advantage.
• Previous experience in experiment documentation (eLN, signals, benchling, etc.), PK calculation (Phoenix, Watson LIMS, R-studio aNCA), data visualization (PRISM, Bio Render) and report QC.
• Hands-on…