Postdoctoral Scientist – Synthetic & Medicinal Chemistry

BioSpace; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company bonus

Job summary

Lilly is seeking a Postdoctoral Scientist in Synthetic & Medicinal Chemistry in Boulder, CO. The role focuses on designing and synthesizing novel targets, developing new methodologies, and building insights into structure‑function relationships to accelerate discovery.

Ideal candidates have a PhD in chemistry and experience with modern synthetic methods, analytical techniques, and single‑electron chemistry.

Qualifications

• PhD in synthetic or medicinal chemistry or a closely related field.
• Experience with modern synthetic methodologies and analytical techniques (NMR, HPLC, LC–MS).
• Ability to design and implement new chemical strategies and scale‑up processes.

Responsibilities

• Design and synthesize novel targets and develop new synthetic methodologies.
• Purify materials and characterize using NMR, HPLC, LC–MS.
• Apply single‑electron chemistry approaches including photochemistry/electrochemistry.
• Advance chemical development with continuous/flow processing and automation.
• Maintain lab equipment and safety records; document results clearly for publication.

Skills

Modern synthetic chemistry

Medicinal chemistry

NMR

HPLC

LC–MS

Photochemistry

Electrochemistry

Flow chemistry

Process development

Automation

Analytical methods

Data interpretation

Education

PhD in synthetic/organic chemistry or related field

Tools

Flow chemistry instruments

Automated/high-throughput screening

Computational chemistry

Python/R

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.

Job Description

Postdoctoral Scientist – Synthetic & Medicinal Chemistry

Company 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, discovering, developing and delivering medicines that help people live longer, healthier and more active lives. Our employees around the world work to improve the understanding and management of disease, and to give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, we put people first, and we are looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Position Summary

This Postdoctoral Scientist position offers the opportunity to work at the interface of medicinal and process chemistry within a multidisciplinary team of chemists, analytical scientists, and engineers. The scientist will design and synthesize novel chemical targets, develop and apply new synthetic methodologies, and build deep insights into structure-function relationships that rapidly advance discovery and development efforts.

We are especially interested in candidates who can pair a strong foundation in modern synthetic chemistry with emerging enabling technologies — in particular single-electron chemistry (photochemistry and/or electrochemistry) and a strong engineering mindset for reaction scale‑up, continuous processing, and laboratory automation. This role enables the researcher to conduct innovative chemistry relevant to our pipeline while generating data that can be published externally, creating value for both Eli Lilly and the scientist.

Responsibilities

Top candidates for this position will be expected to:

• Working within a scientific team, conceptualize and execute new synthetic methodologies to rapidly screen and optimize relevant reactions.
• Purify starting materials, intermediates, and final compounds using modern separation techniques (e.g., flash chromatography, crystallization, preparative HPLC).
• Characterize reaction components, starting materials, and products by modern analytical techniques including NMR, HPLC, LC–MS, and related methods.
• Apply and develop single-electron chemistry approaches — photochemistry and/or electrochemistry — to enable new bond disconnections and methodology.
• Conduct chemical development using modern technologies such as continuous (flow) processing, automated/high-throughput reaction screening, and computational chemistry.
• Build, maintain, and troubleshoot laboratory instrumentation and equipment, contributing engineering insight to experimental design and scale‑up.
• Review assay and analytical data, communicate results, and discuss the project impact of new findings.
• Author peer‑reviewed external publications as a primary work output and present work in team and scientific meetings.
• Uphold laboratory safety standards and safe chemical‑handling practices, and generate accurate, descriptive lab records to industry standards in a timely manner.

Basic Qualifications

PhD in synthetic chemistry, organic chemistry, chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or a closely related field.

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 Skills & Preferences

Core chemistry skills (required)

• Strong background in modern synthetic and/or medicinal chemistry with hands‑on bench expertise.
• Proficiency with standard analytical and purification techniques, including NMR, HPLC, and LC–MS.

Strongly preferred

• Single‑electron chemistry: demonstrated experience in photochemistry and/or electrochemistry, including reaction setup, optimization, and mechanistic understanding.
• Engineering skills: strong engineering aptitude applied to chemistry — e.g., continuous/flow chemistry, reaction engineering and scale‑up, process development, or design and integration of automated/instrumented systems.

Additional preferences

• Experience or familiarity with parallel reaction design, design of experiments (DoE), or high‑throughput synthesis and screening.
• Experience or familiarity with data science, and with Python, R, or other coding languages.
• Strong interest in creating and advancing new technologies in predictive and data‑driven chemistry.
• Demonstrated self‑initiative, appropriate risk‑taking, and a continual‑learner mindset.
• Demonstrated proficiency in scientific writing and publication in peer‑reviewed journals, along with strong scientific presentation skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, analytical, documentation, and multitasking skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage ambiguity in a fast‑paced environment.
• Demonstrated track record of creative, mechanism‑based problem solving and effective teamwork.

Additional Information

Work environment is a laboratory setting; the physical demands of this job are consistent with a lab environment.

Potential exposure to chemicals, allergens, and loud noises.

Occasional travel between Boulder and Louisville sites may be required.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate based on race, gender, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

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

Full‑time equivalent employees also will 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.

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