Scientist, Vaccine Discovery

Scientist, Vaccine Discovery South San Francisco, CA

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.

Lilly’s Infectious Disease research organization is advancing a pipeline of next‑generation vaccine candidates. Our South San Francisco‑based research team supports this pipeline end‑to‑end - from initial antigen design and expression through preclinical immune response profiling - generating the data that drives candidate selection and program advancement.

We are seeking a highly motivated, exceptionally organized Scientist to join our team. This is hands‑on bench role for someone who is eager to build deep expertise in mammalian cell culture and immunoassay techniques while directly supporting vaccine candidate discovery. Reporting to the Director of Biochemistry and Bio Analytics, this team member will be responsible for screening vaccine candidate expression in vitro and executing immunoassays to profile in vivo responses to vaccine candidates in preclinical immunizations.

The role also includes an active part in organizing sample and reagent inventories, coordinating study schedules, and facilitating shipping and receiving with external partners.

• Express and screen candidate vaccine antigens transiently transfected in mammalian cell culture systems (e.g., Expi
  293F) in standard and medium‑throughput (e.g., 96‑well plate) formats.
• Analyze antigen expression by multiple methods, including Western blot/dot blot and flow cytometry.
• Execute immunoassays (e.g., ELISA, Luminex) to assess preclinical immune responses to vaccine candidates.
• Contribute to smooth lab operations by organizing and tracking reagents/samples, coordinating inventory, and ensuring accessibility of materials to the broader team.
• Proactively identify challenges and bottlenecks and, with support, develop and implement solutions.
• Meticulously document work in an electronic laboratory notebook.
• Assist in authoring and reviewing SOPs, study protocols, reports, and other scientific and quality documents.
• Analyze, interpret, and present experimental data in team meetings, delivering reproducible, decision‑driving datasets that enable candidate selection and program advancement.
• Perform all work in full compliance with Lilly Research Policies and complete required training within specified time frames.

• BS or equivalent in biochemistry, immunology, cell biology, or a related field, with hands‑on "research" laboratory experience.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis. Vaccine Company 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.

• Hands‑on experience with mammalian cell culture.
• Exposure to immunoassays, such as ELISA or Western blot/dot blot.
• Hands‑on experience with transient transfection techniques.
• Direct experience executing ELISA or Western blot/dot blot assays in a lab setting.
• Experience with high‑throughput immunoassays, such as multiplexed Luminex.
• Familiarity with flow cytometry.
• Basic experience with recombinant DNA techniques (e.g.,
  
  E. coli work and plasmid preparation/scale‑up).
• 2+ years of experience in an industry laboratory setting.

• Strong ability to multi‑task and willingness to work effectively in a highly collaborative and diverse environment as a team player.
• Able to maintain extremely clear written records in the form of laboratory notebooks and…