Engineer - Automation Engineering – Lilly Medicine Foundry

Initial Therapeutics, Inc.; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 66,000 - 171,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Pension

Vacation benefits

Medical, dental, vision benefits

Flexible benefits

Life insurance

Time off and leave

Well-being benefits

Job summary

Lilly is seeking an Automation Engineer to support the new Medicines Foundry project in Indiana. The role focuses on delivering automated control systems for scalable biopharma manufacturing, enabling right‑first‑time startup and ongoing plant operations.

Responsibilities include design, validation, commissioning, and on‑call support while collaborating with cross-functional teams to meet GMP standards and reliability goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field.
• Authorized to work in the United States full-time.
• Experience with automation, controls, and engineering projects in regulated environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide automation support across operating areas and capital projects.
• Contribute to robust control systems design, validation, and commissioning.
• Support GMP-compliant operations and documentation.
• Participate in design reviews and FATs.
• On-call support for operations as needed.

Skills

Automation engineering

Control systems

Industrial automation

DeltaV

Rockwell PLCs

SCADA

DCS

MES systems

Python

C#

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

DeltaV

Rockwell Allen-Bradley PLCs

FactoryTalk View

SCADA

MES

DCS

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 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.

Organization and Position Overview

Lilly recently announced a $4.5 billion investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development. The first‑ever facility of its kind, combining research and manufacturing in a single location, the Medicine Foundry will allow Lilly to further develop innovative solutions to optimize manufacturing processes and increase capacity for clinical trial medicines, while also reducing costs and environmental impact.

The Engineer – Automation Engineering will work as a member of the Automation Engineering Department at Eli Lilly, Foundry. The engineer will provide automation support for one or more operating areas across site and/or for capital projects. Process Automation is core to delivering a right first‑time facility start‑up and continued support of ongoing manufacturing operations into the future.

The Automation engineer will collaborate and partner with cross‑functional peers to support successful delivery of robust control systems and instrumentation, business plan priorities, and compliance objectives.

In the project delivery phase and startup phase of the project (startup expected 2025 to 2028), automation engineering roles will be fluid and dynamic as we endeavor to support the project delivery, build a new organization, develop and implement the necessary systems and business processes required to support GMP operations, and build the site culture. This will require significant collaboration, creativity and resilience as the site grows to a full scale GMP manufacturing through start‑up.

Key Objectives/Deliverables:

• Technical Experience
• Site operation runtime support, enhance control system reliability and lifecycle management, in a GMP regulated environment.
• Participate in design reviews and site control system reviews, attend/support FATs.
• Tuning and troubleshooting of control loops, Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s).
• Thorough understanding of P&ID’s and Instrument loop drawings and various process control communication protocols.
• Develop and Review Functional Requirements, Design Specifications and Test Specifications.
• Maintain the validated state of the site control system in line with Lilly quality standards including the development and execution of validation strategies and associated documentation.

Operational Excellence

• Experience working in a biotech or small molecule manufacturing is a plus.
• Provide on‑call support for operations, as needed.
• Demonstrated ability in resolving complex technical challenges with control systems
• Demonstrated experience utilizing Master maintenance plans.
• Experience working with DeltaV Distributed Control System, Batch Process Automation.
• Experience working with Rockwell Allen Bradley PLC’s, FactoryTalk View.
• Experience in performing automation engineering activities including design, Development and Commissioning.
• Provide periodic status updates to Project Management and leadership.
• Support electronic systems (such as plant historians) used to capture process automation related production data.
• Good planning and organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks, commitment to task completion and timelines.

Organizational Capability

• In coordination with automation and compliance consultants, set and reinforce standards for appropriate rigor in automation work products.
• Demonstrated initiative, good planning and organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks, commitment to task completion and timelines.
• Possess a keen technical curiosity and has demonstrated strong problem‑solving skills and a desire for continuous improvement
• Demonstrated ability to influence peers and business partners
• Good written and verbal communication skills for both technical and non‑technical audiences
• GMP knowledge and experience, regulatory requirements, computer system validation

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer/Software Engineering, or a related technical field required. Demonstrated interest or hands‑on experience in automation, controls, computer software/hardware, or engineering through internships, co‑ops, academic projects, or other relevant experiences is preferred. Exposure to industrial automation technologies (e.g., PLCs, SCADA, robotics) or programming (e.g., Python, C#, or similar) is a plus. Pharmaceutical or regulated industry experience is preferred but not required.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis. Lilly 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.

Additional Preferences:

• Hands‑on experience in SCADA, DCS, PLC and MES systems (DeltaV, Rockwell, Syncade, etc).

Other Information:

• Initial location at Parkwood West, Indianapolis.
• Permanent location at the new Lilly Medicines Foundry in Lebanon, Indiana.

Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

#WeAreLilly

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.

#WeAreLilly

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is

$66,000 - $171,600

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)

#WeAreLilly