Discovery ADME Project Leader

Eli Lilly and Company; Louisville (CO); On-site; USD 177,000 - 308,000; Full time

Job summary

Eli Lilly and Company is seeking a Discovery ADME Project Leader open to Boston, Louisville, or Indianapolis. The role requires leading preclinical ADME strategy, integrating biology, chemistry, and modeling to inform dose selection and study design.

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a related field and 3+ years in drug discovery, with strong communication and leadership skills to drive cross-functional collaborations and ensure programs advance The Right Molecule to The Right Study at

Qualifications

• PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences or related field.
• 3+ years post-graduation industry experience in drug discovery.
• Deep ADME expertise with knowledge of medicinal chemistry is advantageous.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; ability to navigate ambiguity and collaborate globally.
• Ability to translate complex concepts into strategic value for senior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute integrated preclinical ADME strategies aligned with discovery stage and regulatory expectations.
• Integrate ADME and pharmacology to enable translational simulations and modeling for dose selection and PK/PD designs.
• Define profiling, decision funnels, and translational modeling appropriate to modality and stage.
• Guide compound design and optimization using data-driven principles (clearance, permeability, solubility, DDI risk).
• Serve as the ADME single point of accountability on cross-functional teams; translate findings into design/test hypotheses.
• Collaborate with Medicinal Chemistry, DMPK, Toxicology, Pharmacology to drive candidate selections; support go/no-go decisions with PK/PD data.

Skills

ADME expertise

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Strategic leadership

Education

PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences / Pharmacology / Toxicology

Job description

Job Title: Discovery ADME Project Leader

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

Lilly is a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our 50,000 employees around the world work to discover and bring life‑changing medicines to those who need them. At Lilly, the Discovery Investigative ADME, Toxicology and BioAnalytical Research team focuses on pre‑clinical discovery using cutting‑edge science and technology approaches to treat diseases with poor treatment options.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced, accomplished drug hunter as a Discovery ADME Project Leader. The ideal candidate will provide deep mechanistic understanding of drug disposition, PK, and translational science, plus the ability to integrate biology, chemistry, and modeling. Experience with Small Molecule Discovery and in project teams with Beyond‑Rule‑of‑Five and pan‑modality chemotypes is advantageous. The successful candidate will bring exceptional scientific depth, acumen, and leadership as an integral member of the project team to create bold Target Product Profiles, help establish molecule design strategy and expectations, partner globally and cross‑functionally, and ensure teams are advancing The Right Molecule to The Right Study at The Right Time (our three R’s).

Geography for this position is open to Boston MA, Louisville CO, or Indianapolis IN.

What You Will Do

• Keep Safety as a priority.
• Develop and execute integrated preclinical ADME strategies aligned with discovery stage, target product profile (TPP), design hypotheses being tested, and regulatory expectations.
• Integrate ADME and pharmacology to enable translational simulations and modeling to support dose selection, design of PK/PD, efficacy, and safety studies.
• Define stage‑, modality‑, and issue‑appropriate profiling, decision funnels (in silico, in vitro, in vivo to translational modeling).
• Guide compound design and optimization through data‑driven design principles (clearance, permeability, solubility, DDI risk, transporter liabilities).
• Serve as the ADME strategy and science single‑point‑of‑accountability on cross‑functional program teams, translating ADME findings into actionable design and test hypotheses.
• Collaborate closely with Medicinal Chemistry, DMPK, Toxicology, Pharmacology, and other Discovery Functions to drive high quality candidate selections. Contribute to go/no‑go decisions using quantitative PK/PD, IVIVE, and mechanistic interpretation.
• Represent ADME in portfolio governance discussions and leadership reviews.
• Implement best practices, assay innovation, and automation where appropriate. Drive continuous improvement in data reporting, knowledge management, and decision frameworks. Seek, leverage and deploy AI and agentic tools where possible to pipeline data, interpret data and share/accelerate results.
• Maintain inspection‑ready documentation and alignment with regulatory expectations.
• Mentor, teach and grow junior scientists and contribute to functional capability building.

Qualifications

• PhD (or equivalent) in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacometrics, Systems Pharmacology, Preclinical or Clinical Pharmacology, Drug Metabolism, Toxicology, Chemical Biology, or related field.
• You have minimally 3+ years of post‑graduation industry experience in a drug discovery environment, driving discovery teams and you understand how an ADME Project Leader impacts the life cycle/flywheel (Design, Make, Test, Analyze) of a discovery project.
• Deep subject matter ADME expertise and a working knowledge of medicinal chemistry, and Toxicology principles is advantageous.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to successfully navigate ambiguity and/or global cross‑functional collaborations.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical concepts into strategic value for senior leadership and cross‑functional partners.

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 $177,000 - $308,000.

Full‑time equivalent employees will also be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, 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.