Executive Director - Head of Peptide Macrocycles Medicinal Chemistry

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.

We serve an extraordinary purpose. For 150 years, we have worked tirelessly to discover medicines that make life better. These discoveries start in Lilly Research Laboratories, where our scientists work to create new medicines that will help solve our world’s greatest health challenges. Protomer Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lilly, a startup within Lilly Research Labs, based in Pasadena California, that focuses on chemical biology, molecular switches and oral macrocycles.

This position is for Executive Director - Head of Peptide Macrocycles Medicinal Chemistry. The successful candidate is expected to oversee the medicinal chemistry and lead optimization efforts across all macrocycle programs, and lead the group working closely with the macrocycle discovery team to advance hit compounds and early leads to candidate designation. The macrocycle optimization group will use internal platforms and synthetic peptide chemistry to optimize for ADME, stability, permeability and other desirable characteristics, and in-depth understanding of the molecular engineering and structure-guided medicinal chemistry optimization required to achieve drug candidates for portfolio facing projects.

Demonstrated success in oral macrocycle is required, and successful candidate must have a complete understanding and proven successful track record of leading teams in medicinal chemistry and optimization campaigns having advanced multiple programs to candidate stage and to the clinic.

The candidate is expected to help develop strategy, direction and manage scientific group milestones and objectives based on an ambitious long-term strategic plan which the candidate helps to develop. The ideal candidate is a significant contributor and leading a highly integrated, agile, and collaborative team effort and expected to manage the scientific portfolio, the business supporting the portfolio, and mentoring of junior scientists within the oral macrocycles group al candidate is expected to have demonstrated success in similar roles with proven track record of leading both scientific rationale, planning and execution leading to success in making medicines.

Formulate strategy and execute on the strategy organizing team efforts for deep technical development and to accelerate from target hits through lead optimization towards candidate declaration. Lead the team on and lead (both directionally and operationally) molecule engineering efforts. Inspire people, be an effective team leader, and collaborate in inventing great medicines by removing barriers, committing to high quality scientific hypotheses, and accelerating where possible.

Keep safety as a top priority at all times, striving toward a proactive safety culture.

PhD in chemistry or synthetic chemistry or peptide chemistry or related field with significant successful drug discovery and development experience. Deep knowledge as well as mastery of the latest developments in oral macrocycles and macrocyclic peptides. Have extensive background and provident track record of…