Advisor Chemistry and Chemical Biology

100 Eli Lilly and Company; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 141,000 - 231,000; Full time

Job summary

Lilly’s Protomer team seeks a PhD-level chemist to lead insulin engineering and peptide framework development, driving deep technology with small molecules and peptides toward medicines. You will initiate and lead projects, set strategy, mentor junior scientists, and collaborate across Lilly and Protomer to advance from lead identification through phase 1b.

Actual compensation depends on education, experience and location; anticipated wage ranges from $141,000 to $231,000 annually, with a

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, chemical biology, or peptide chemistry with a proven research record.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and projects.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects in insulin engineering, chemical biology or peptide frameworks.
• Initiate and lead new projects and organize efforts for deep technical development.
• Collaborate within the group and with Protomer/Lilly leadership to shape strategy.
• Advance molecule portfolios from lead identification to lead optimization and phase 1b.

Skills

leadership

team collaboration

experimental design

strategic thinking

Education

PhD in chemistry, chemical biology or peptide chemistry

Job description

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 serve an extraordinary purpose. For more than 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, that focuses on chemical biology, molecular switches and (oral) peptidic macrocycles platforms. This position is focused on deep technology development in chemical biology, specifically peptides and macrocycles with a particular focus on peptide libraries, and oral macrocyclic peptides. Protomer team engages in disease‑relevant biological systems in order to test preclinical and clinical pipeline of innovative medicines. 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 insulin engineering group at Protomer. Ideal 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.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects in insulin engineering, chemical biology or peptide frameworks combining aspect of molecule design and conjugation at the interface of small molecules and peptides.
• Initiate and lead new projects, can formulate strategy and execute on the strategy organizing efforts for deep technical development and to accelerate projects internal to the team.
• Work collaboratively in the group to achieve a common goal but also provide independent perspective and scientific rationale and contribute to strategy and execution.
• Balance science and the business of science by delivering the small and large (peptides) molecule portfolio through responsible planning, execution, and completion of projects.
• Work on and lead (both directionally and operationally) molecule engineering efforts from lead identification to lead optimization and contribute along the way to phase 1b and beyond.
• Take on dedicated molecular engineering efforts towards targets of high conviction and utilize speed and prioritization to advance synthetic efforts both at Protomer and wider Lilly groups and through collaboration with the rest of LRL.
• Learn about and enhance the platform technology efforts at Protomer.
• Inspire people to 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.
• Be an advocate for diversity and inclusion in our recruiting, retaining and developing scientists, with a commitment to coaching and development of scientists.
• Be a good team player and work effectively, responsibly and professionally with colleagues at Protomer and across Lilly.

Basic Requirements

PhD in chemistry, synthetic chemistry, chemical biology or peptide chemistry or related field with significant experience in these fields and a proven track record of research success.

Additional Preferences

Familiarity with state of the art in computational and structural efforts for hit identification and lead optimization of peptides. Great understanding of computational and AI/machine learning techniques used for the development and engineering of peptide medicines. Demonstrated ability to make decisions in the midst of ambiguity, seeking appropriate level of information from Protomer leadership and enabling workforce to execute against Protomer strategic priorities. Open, transparent and able to communicate equally well with employees, team members and cross‑functional and/or senior leadership. Promote external environment awareness across workforce and identify and champion Best Practices and their internal dissemination. Ability to think strategically, actively identifying gaps in competencies or capabilities within the organization and taking initiative to drive continuous improvement across Protomer. Knowledge of some of the latest developments in peptides, including new chemistries for synthesis and insulin chemistry, diabetes or related fields. Must be an excellent team player, strong attention to detail, strong problem‑solving skills, a high level of learning agility, with the ability to lead within a globally matrixed organization and across functions.

Additional Information

Some domestic and international travel is anticipated and expected.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.

The anticipated wage for this position is $141,000 - $231,000 Full‑time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance).

Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company‑sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well‑being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).

Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

#WeAreLilly At Lilly we strive to ensure our employees are part of a team that cares about them and our shared purpose of making life better for those around the world. How do we do this? We continue to look for ways to include, innovate, accelerate and deliver while maintaining integrity, excellence and respect for people. We hope that you seek to join us on our journey as we create medicine and deliver improved outcomes for patients across the globe! #WeAreLilly