Principal - Engineer - HSE (Environmental)

100 Eli Lilly and Company; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 169,000; Full time

Job summary

Lilly is building an advanced manufacturing facility in Houston, TX, to produce API molecules. The Environmental Engineer - Associate will help establish environmental compliance systems, waste and water management, and regulatory alignment during startup and ongoing operations.

The role collaborates with Project Delivery, Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Quality and HSE to ensure site readiness and ongoing compliance with federal, state, local and corporate requirements. Travel is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental, chemical, civil engineering or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of environmental, engineering, manufacturing, or compliance-related experience; experience in chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturing preferred.
• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis; Lilly will not sponsor work authorization or visas.

Responsibilities

• Support development and implementation of site environmental programs, procedures, training, tools, and management systems for startup and long-term compliance.
• Provide environmental technical input during design, construction, commissioning, startup to ensure permits and regulatory requirements are met.
• Support permitting strategies, review applications, track commitments, and prepare regulatory documentation.

Skills

Environmental engineering

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in environmental, chemical, civil engineering

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 Position Overview:

Lilly is constructing an advanced manufacturing facility to produce API molecules that support current and future products, including new modalities. The Environmental Engineer - Associate will support the development, implementation, and sustainment of site environmental programs, permits, plans, procedures, and management systems, with an emphasis on waste management and water compliance. During construction, commissioning, qualification, pre-startup, and startup, this role will partner with Project Delivery, Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and HSE teams to help establish environmental compliance systems and integrate environmental requirements into site readiness activities. After startup, the role will transition into an operational environmental support position focused on supporting compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and corporate environmental requirements, including but not limited to TPDES, POTW, and RCRA; supporting assigned environmental programs; preparing required records and reports; and contributing to continuous improvement across site operations.

Responsibilities:

Pre-Startup and Startup Phase

• Support the development and implementation of site environmental programs, procedures, training, tools, and management systems required for successful startup and long-term compliance, including waste and water management programs.
• Provide environmental technical input during facility design, construction, commissioning, qualification, and startup to ensure applicable permit, regulatory, and corporate requirements are identified and incorporated before transition to GMP operations.
• Support environmental permitting strategies for projects and startup activities, including waste and water permitting; help identify required permits, review applications, track commitments, prepare regulatory documentation, and support required calculations, records, and reports.
• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and HSE teams to integrate environmental requirements into startup readiness plans, operational procedures, training, equipment handover, governance processes, and assigned environmental program implementation.
• Participate in design reviews, environmental reviews, process hazard reviews, change evaluations, and project impact assessments; support onboarding, training, and knowledge-sharing activities to build environmental capability and reinforce compliant work practices.

Post-Startup Phase

• Provide environmental technical support for API manufacturing operations to help maintain compliance with applicable permits, regulations, corporate standards, and assigned environmental programs, including EPA and TCEQ hazardous and non-hazardous waste requirements.
• Support the maintenance and administration of assigned environmental program documents, procedures, permits, records, tools, metrics, training materials, and compliance deliverables, including reports, permit renewals, regulatory documentation, emissions calculations, and waste records.
• Support operational areas in understanding and implementing environmental requirements, including troubleshooting, field engagement, periodic inspections, coaching, corrective and preventive action follow-up, and waste classification and disposal outlet confirmation.
• Support evaluation of process changes, capital projects, chemical substances, deviations, and events to identify potential environmental impacts, required controls, permit implications, reporting obligations, and prevention or improvement opportunities.
• Participate in incident investigations, root cause analyses, environmental reviews, self-assessments, audits, regulatory inspections, agency interactions, environmental release reporting on-call rotation, metrics review, trend analysis, and continuous improvement planning.

Basic Qualifications:

• Education Level: Bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, or related engineering field.
• Experience: Minimum of 5 years of environmental, engineering, manufacturing, or compliance-related experience; experience in chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturing support preferred.
• Licenses: N/A
• Language Requirements: N/A
• Required Skills Testing: N/A 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:

• Preferred qualifications include experience supporting environmental programs, permitting, compliance reporting, inspections, audits, or environmental calculations in a manufacturing or industrial setting.
• Engineer in Training (EIT) or Professional Engineer (PE) certification preferred.
• Working knowledge of environmental regulatory requirements and programs such as air emissions, wastewater, stormwater, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, spill prevention, refrigerants, and DOT hazardous materials.
• Experience preparing or supporting environmental records, regulatory reports, permit applications, permit renewals, calculations, or second-person verifications.
• Previous experience interfacing with HSE-related regulatory agencies, consultants, contractors, or corporate environmental resources.
• Strong technical writing, documentation, data analysis, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively across cross-functional teams and communicate environmental requirements effectively to diverse audiences.
• Strong organizational, time management, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic startup environment.
• Willingness to operate in a dynamic, greenfield startup environment requiring creativity, flexibility, and resilience as organizational systems and culture are being built.

Additional Information:

• This role supports a greenfield facility currently under construction. The scope and day-to-day responsibilities will evolve from the project/startup phase through full GMP operations.
• Candidate will provide environmental engineering and compliance support for site readiness, program development, permitting, operational support, and continuous improvement activities.
• Position Location: US: Houston TX
• Travel Percentage (%): 5%
• Shift Information: N/A

NOTE: This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the job requirements at the time it was prepared. The job requirements of any position may change over time and may include additional responsibilities not specifically described in the job description. For GMP purposes, the job description should be updated for significant changes. As always, you should consult with your supervisor regarding your actual job responsibilities and any related duties that may be required for the position.

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 $65,250 - $169,400. 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.

#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