Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations - Lilly Medicine Foundry

100 Eli Lilly and Company; Lebanon (Lebanon County); On-site; USD 66,000 - 171,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Pension plan

Vacation benefits

Health insurance

Job summary

Lilly is seeking a Manufacturing Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations for the Lilly Medicines Foundry in Lebanon, Indiana. The role supports shift operations, equipment qualification, and technical oversight to ensure robust, compliant manufacturing processes on site.

Expect collaboration with Process Engineering, PTE, PRD, and QA. Initial duties include equipment qualification support, SAT, SOP development, and operator training.

Qualifications

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in science, engineering, or a technical field, or HS Diploma/GED with 5+ years of manufacturing experience.
• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis; Lilly will not sponsor visas.
• Experience with incident investigations, procedures, and process hazard reviews.
• Strong problem-solving and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Provide on‑floor shift support for technical, training, and process activities.
• Guide and document deviations, provide assessments to cross‑functional teams.
• Lead equipment qualification testing and maintain batch records and SOP adherence.
• Drive safety, quality investigations, and incident reports.
• Coordinate changeovers and support process campaigns with cross‑functional groups.

Skills

Problem solving

Leadership

Communication

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in science, engineering, or technical field

HS Diploma or GED with 5+ years manufacturing experience

Job description

Organization and Position Overview

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 and Position Overview: Lilly recently announced a $4.5billion 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 Lilly Medicine Foundry Manufacturing Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations supports and potentially executes shift operations activities to ensure effective and consistent execution on the operation floor. This role provides on‑floor operation execution working directly with operators, supports batch readiness and release, and works cross‑functionally to provide technical and operational oversight to routine operations.

The Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations becomes an expert in their assigned area (Small Molecule, Hybrid, or Biologics) and serves as a key integrator with Process Engineering, Process Translation and Execution (PTE), and Product Research and Development (PRD) in introducing new processes into the plant.

The Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations represents operations leading detailed planning of process changeover, and the new product introduction process. In the pre‑startup phase, the Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations will contribute heavily to Operational Readiness activities for the new facility supporting technical processes, tech transfer, operational readiness, delivery of trainings, procedures, and workflows.

Initially, the Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations will be responsible for supporting equipment qualification and site acceptance tests (SAT) while developing standard operating procedures and operator training plans. Upon completion of the project phase, the Scientist/Engineer – Technical Operations will provide technical oversight and ownership for the operations team providing on‑floor training and process support, and leading incident investigations.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide on‑floor shift support for the operations staff for technical, training, and process support and at times execute production activities.
• Leverage problem‑solving skills to evaluate process & protocols, deviations in real‑time and provide assessments to cross‑functional process teams.
• Apply independent judgment and discretion to execute equipment commissioning and qualification testing under the guidance of the C&Q Conduct and appropriately document production via adherence to digital manufacturing batch records and affiliated SOPs.
• Adhere to all applicable procedures, cGLP, cGMPs, company policies, and any other quality or regulatory requirements.
• Ensure improvement opportunities from operators are appropriately documented and assessed.
• Work with area maintenance to schedule work orders for corrective maintenance.
• Lead safety and quality investigations and author investigation reports.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally to enable Foundry technology transfers.
• Serve as a key resource for operational improvement projects and other initiatives.
• Partner with functional groups to prepare for process campaigns, creating project plans for changeover execution, including optimized approaches for cleandown, piping, maintenance, and equipment setup execution.
• Coordinate and oversee project execution to meet desired timelines.
• Work cross‑functionally with PE, PTE, PRD, HSE, and QA to ensure processes are transferred and executed successfully in the Foundry.
• Understand health, safety & environmental‑regulated environment and application of Health & Safety/Process Safety standards and represent operations in Process Hazard Review (PHR) meetings and other HSE‑related venues.
• Promote continuous improvement of area changeover workflows to make changeovers easier or more efficient.
• Collaborate in a fast‑paced team environment.

Basic Requirements

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in science, engineering, or a technical field, or HS Diploma/GED with 5+ years of directly applicable manufacturing experience in pharmaceutical operations (Small Molecule, Biologics, or Mixed Modalities) including on‑operations, incident investigations (safety and quality), authoring procedures/instructions, and process hazard reviews.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis. Lilly will not support 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

• Experience in pharmaceutical product research and development.
• Experience providing technical and/or coordination support toward cleaning, changeover, and/or maintenance activities in a GMP production environment.
• Formal project management training considered a plus.
• Demonstrated leadership and influencing experience.
• Prior experience in facility or area start‑up environments.
• Solid understanding of FDA guidelines and cGMP requirements.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to handle and prioritize multiple requests.
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles.
• Flexibility to troubleshoot and triage challenges effectively.
• The ability to understand technical nomenclature and language, as well as work with mathematical formulas.
• Ability to effectively communicate electronically, written, and verbally.

Location and Travel

Initial location at Lilly Technology Center, Indianapolis, or Parkwood West, Carmel, Indiana. Permanent location at the new Lilly Medicines Foundry in Lebanon, Indiana. Travel percentage: 5%. Position requires on‑site presence on a Monday–Friday schedule with flexibility to support operations activities in a 24/7 hour manufacturing environment during nights and weekends as needed.

Compensation and Benefits

The anticipated wage for this position is $66,000 – $171,600. Full‑time equivalent employees will also be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). Lilly offers a comprehensive benefits program to eligible employees, including participation in a company‑sponsored 401(k), pension, vacation benefits, medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits, flexible benefits such as health‑care and/or dependent day‑care flexible spending accounts, life insurance and death benefits, time‑off and leave of absence benefits, and well‑being benefits such as employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities.

Accommodation and EEO Statement

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. This is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process; 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.