Principal Automation Engineer – Building Management Systems

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, 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 40,000 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.

Lilly is building a next-generation biotech drug substance manufacturing facility in Richmond, VA—our most technically advanced site to date. This greenfield facility will feature cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and advanced data platforms designed to drive improvements in safety, quality, and productivity. This is a rare opportunity to shape an organization, a facility, and a culture from the ground up.

The Principal Automation Engineer – Building Management Systems is a mid-level automation engineering position that will support the design and delivery of the automation platforms and associated system integration as part of Lilly’s manufacturing expansion. This role is intended to support manufacturing and admin buildings to design and deliver the site Building Management Systems (sometimes referred to as Building Automation Systems).

Key responsibilities include system design, process design, delivery strategy, factory acceptance testing, and installation and system commissioning.

During the design and delivery (startup expected 2029 to 2030) of the project this role will be integrated into the corporate automation team GPACE (Global Process Automation & Control Engineering) and then transition fully to a site-based process team position. During delivery, this role will collaborate with A&E firms, system integrators, corporate and site engineering peers, and Tech@Lilly (Lilly’s corporate IT team) to develop and manage software/hardware design, testing, startup, commissioning, and qualification.

Post-project delivery, this role will support the site engineering function. This role will require significant collaboration, creativity and resilience as the site grows to a full scale GMP manufacturing site through start up.

• Champion a strong safety culture, mentor and coach others, and utilize engineering and automation fundamental principles in design and problem solving.

• Collaborate with Lilly Engineering, A&E firms, and system integrators to develop requirements and specifications that will be the foundation for software development, hardware design, and system architecture.

• Support the design and delivery, collaborating with Lilly’s A&E and selected Building Management System supplier, of the site BMS platform.

• Support the design and delivery of AF&’s, P&’s, instrument specifications, sequences of operation, panel design, and testing strategies for the BMS platforms.

• Collaborate with Tech@Lilly to deliver a fully integrated Automation solution that is scaled for the…