Advisor Engineer, Drug Product and Spray Drying Process Development - SMDD

BioSpace; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 129,000 - 209,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time employment

401(k)

Pension

Vacation

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Flexible benefits

Life insurance

Paid time off

Well-being benefits

Job summary

Lilly’s Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) team seeks a highly motivated candidate to work on drug product process development, focusing on amorphous solid dispersion technologies. The role spans Phase 2/3 trials through registration and commercialization, requiring strong chemical engineering fundamentals and collaboration with manufacturing, analytical, and external partners.

Responsibilities include scaling up processes like spray drying and hot melt extrusion, developing robust

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering or closely related field with 0–5 years pharma process development experience.
• M.S. in Chemical Engineering with 7+ years pharma process development experience.
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering with 10+ years pharma process development experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, scale up, and optimize amorphous solid dispersion manufacturing processes (e.g., spray drying, hot melt extrusion, co‑precipitation).
• Drive process development activities toward commercialization and create robust control strategies.
• Support technology transfer and scale-up to internal and external sites.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Oral communication

Process understanding

Education

PhD in Chemical Engineering

MS in Chemical Engineering

BS in Chemical Engineering

Tools

PAT systems

Process modelling

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.

Organization Overview

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 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.

Position Brand Description

The Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) department within Lilly Research Labs is involved in key activities for the advancement of small molecules, peptides, and oligonucleotides from early discovery phases to commercialization. Our scientists and engineers develop innovative technical and business solutions across a portfolio of projects using their deep technical expertise to accelerate testing of the clinical hypothesis and overall drug development. Through recognizing the value of a hardworking, diverse, and inclusive workforce, SMDD delivers on these responsibilities and helps bring the next generation of life changing medicines to patients. Our team is seeking a highly motivated candidate to work on drug product process development, with a focus on amorphous solid dispersion manufacturing technologies such as spray drying and related particle engineering platforms, spanning Phase 2/3 clinical trials through registration and commercialization.

Responsibilities

Candidates must possess a strong background in chemical engineering fundamentals, including heat and mass transfer, particle formation, and process scale-up, and be able to integrate this understanding with analytical and manufacturing considerations to advance drug product manufacturing processes. Specific responsibilities for this role include:

• Apply engineering fundamentals to design, scale up, and optimize amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) manufacturing processes, such as spray drying, hot melt extrusion, and/or coprecipitation, for producing drug product intermediates from lab and pilot scale through commercial manufacturing scale.
• Drive process development activities for drug product intermediates advancing toward commercialization, translating process and analytical understanding into a robust, scalable control strategy that supports commercial manufacturing readiness and regulatory filing.
• Support technology transfer and scale-up of manufacturing processes to internal and external sites.
• Collaborate and communicate project specific challenges and opportunities with key partners, including external contract manufacturing organizations, to plan and manage short- and long-term development activities aligned with the global CMC strategy.
• Engage and influence internal and external scientific communities to solve technical challenges, identify and implement novel drug product manufacturing technologies, and inform process and control strategy decisions.
• Author and review high quality technical reports, peer reviewed publications, and regulatory documentation to support new technologies and regulatory submissions.

Basic Requirements

• Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering or a closely related field with 0-5 years of demonstrated experience in pharmaceutical process development, or
• M.S. in Chemical Engineering with 7+ years of demonstrated experience in pharmaceutical process development, or
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering with 10+ years of demonstrated experience in pharmaceutical process development.

Additional Skills/Preferences

• Experience with process development and scale-up of particle engineering and/or amorphous solids manufacturing technologies (e.g., spray drying process, hot melt extrusion, co-precipitation, etc.).
• Experience in technical considerations for equipment design and integration, process monitoring, integration of process analytical technology (PAT) systems, and scientific approaches to control strategy. Involvement with process modelling and simulation programs for improved process and formulation understanding.
• Experience with technology transfer to external manufacturing partners and cross-site process comparability.
• Experience supervising or guiding the work of other engineers or scientists.
• Excellent oral communication and documentation skills.
• Demonstrate ability to effectively collaborate with multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrate leadership behaviors with ability to accept challenges, seek opportunities to remove barriers, influence without authority, and lead in areas of uncertainty.

Additional Information

• Possible exposure to chemicals, allergens, and loud noises.
• Travel: 0 to 10%
• Position Local: Onsite Monday through Friday, Indianapolis, IN; Lilly Technology Center-North (LTC-N)

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

$129,000 - $209,000

Benefits

• Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance).
• 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;
• 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.

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