Principal Scientist, External Innovation – Infectious Disease & Vaccines.

US01 Elanco US Inc.; Indianapolis (IN); Sur place; USD 150 000 - 210 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Relocation packages

Parental leave

Bonus offering

Flexible work arrangements

401K matching

Résumé du poste

Elanco in Indianapolis, IN seeks a Senior Advisor, External Innovation. You will scout, evaluate, and guide external assets for infectious diseases and vaccine platforms, partnering with R&D, global strategy, and leadership to shape the pipeline for pets and farm animals.

Travel 20-30% and direct relationships with biotech, pharma, and academia. You will build de-risking experiments, create governance proposals, and influence strategic decisions as an individual contributor within a global team.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in life sciences (PhD or DVM) required.
• Experience in external innovation, technology scouting, or alliance management in animal health/pharma/biotech.
• Proven ability to guide cross-functional evaluations and strategic recommendations.

Responsabilités

• Identify and evaluate external assets with focus on infectious diseases and vaccines.
• Lead opportunities landscaping and coordinate technical assessments with internal teams.
• Establish/manage relationships with biotech firms, academia, and pharmaceutical partners.
• Develop funding proposals and de-risking strategies aligned with target product profiles.
• Act as an individual contributor, delivering go/no-go recommendations and progress updates.

Connaissances

External Innovation

Technology Scouting

Alliance Management

Animal Health

Formation

PhD in Life Sciences

Outils

RNA technology

Vaccine platforms

Biologics expression

Description du poste

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals! As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People. At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights. Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!

Your Role: Senior Advisor, External Innovation

As the Principal Scientist, External Innovation – Infectious Disease & Vaccines, you will be a critical expert at the forefront of shaping Elanco's future pipeline. You will be instrumental in our mission to improve the health of animals by identifying and advocating for the next generation of solutions for infectious diseases. Partnering closely with R&D, global strategy teams, and senior leadership, you will scout, evaluate, and guide the assessment of cutting-edge technologies and assets from biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies, and academia. This is a key strategic role where you will leverage your deep scientific expertise to build de-risking experiments and resourcing plans to influence the direction of our innovation efforts for both pet and farm animals.

Your Responsibilities

• Identify and evaluate external assets and technologies, with a primary focus on infectious diseases, novel vaccine platforms, and future solutions from biotech, pharma, and academia for both pet and farm animals.
• Lead the landscaping of opportunities and coordinate deep technical assessments with internal teams, including R&D, Marketing, Legal, and global strategy teams, to ensure timely and thorough evaluation of new opportunities.
• Establish and manage key relationships with biotechnology companies, academic institutions, and pharmaceutical partners to build a robust external innovation pipeline.
• Create compelling proposals for funding and governance, including the development of scientific de-risking strategies and high-level business plans aligned with target product profiles.
• As an individual contributor and originator, make strategic go/no-go recommendations to governance and provide timely, accurate updates on external innovation efforts and project progress.

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications)

• Education: An advanced degree in life sciences (PhD, or DVM).
• Experience: A minimum of 7 years of experience in external innovation, technology scouting, or alliance management within the animal health, pharmaceutical, or biotechnology industry experience directly in R&D project leadership in Animal Health.
• Expertise: Deep scientific expertise in infectious diseases, vaccines, or related immunology/virology fields.
• Proven ability to guide complex, cross‑functional project evaluations from identification through to strategic recommendation.

What will set you apart (preferred qualifications)

• Demonstrated experience in competitive intelligence, using tools from biotech, pharma, and consulting to build therapeutic area landscapes, including the use of visualization tools.
• Experience with RNA technology, novel expression platforms for vaccines and biologics, and/or nucleic acid targeted delivery.
• A robust and existing network of contacts in academia, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies.
• Direct experience in the Farm Animal health industry

Additional Information

Travel: 20-30% Location: Global • Elanco Headquarters - Indianapolis, IN - On-Site Work Environment

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown underrecognized groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Elanco we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive work environment. If you think you might be a good fit for a role but don’t necessarily meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this role or other roles!

Elanco Benefits and Perks

• Multiple relocation packages
• Two weeklong shutdowns (mid-summer and year-end) in the US (in addition to PTO)
• 8-week parental leave
• 9 Employee Resource Groups
• Annual bonus offering
• Flexible work arrangements
• Up to 6% 401K matching #LI-RH1

Elanco 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.

Elanco may use automated tools, including AI, to support parts of our recruitment process, such as reviewing applications against job‑related criteria and/or transferrable skills. These tools help ensure a consistent, structured evaluation, but they do not make hiring decisions. All decisions involve a human reviewer. For more information on how we handle personal data, please see our Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) is a global leader in animal health dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets, creating value for farmers, pet owners, veterinarians, stakeholders, and society as a whole. With nearly 70 years of animal health heritage, we are committed to helping our customers improve the health of animals in their care, while also making a meaningful impact on our local and global communities. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching life and our Elanco Healthy Purpose CSR framework - all to advance the health of animals, people and the planet. Learn more at www.elanco.com.