Senior Engineer - Automation Engineering – PLC & SCADA Systems Support

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

Benefits offered by this job

Company bonus

401(k) plan

Medical benefits

Pension

Vacation benefits

Well-being benefits

Job summary

Lilly, a global pharmaceutical leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is seeking a Senior Engineer - Automation Engineering for the Lilly Medicines Foundry. The role focuses on providing automation support for DeltaV, Rockwell, and third-party PLC-controlled equipment within the Foundry Lab/Admin building during startup and ongoing operations.

The engineer will own integration from analytical systems into DeltaV/Rockwell, lead recipe setup, and manage change control, while mentoring

Qualifications

• Minimum B.S. in Engineering or relevant scientific discipline and 3+ years working experience in Automation Engineering, preferably in Pharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Experience supporting or deploying PLC/SCADA-based control systems (Rockwell, DeltaV, or equivalent)
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Responsibilities

• Lead automation support for one or more operating areas and capital projects at the Lilly Foundry.
• Integrate analytical systems into DeltaV/Rockwell and maintain PLC/SCADA recipes across lab and admin areas.
• Mentor junior engineers and ensure GMP compliance, change control, and documentation.
• Collaborate with project teams and integrators to enable phased lab onboarding and go-live readiness.

Skills

Automation engineering

PLC/SCADA

GMP knowledge

Communication

Education

B.S. in Engineering

Tools

Rockwell

DeltaV

Third-Party PLC

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 Senior 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 Engineer is also responsible for productivity and mentorship of the employees with the purpose of ensuring that reliable and compliant control applications and systems are used in the manufacturing at Foundry. Additionally, the Engineer as a key technical expert with partners to influence and implement within the process control organization and across functional disciplines to support the process control technical agenda, business plan priorities, and compliance objectives.

In the project delivery phase and startup phase of the project (startup expected 2025 to 2029), 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.

The PLC and SCADA Systems Support roles are focused on DeltaV, Rockwell, or Third Party/PLC-controlled process equipment serving the Foundry Lab/Admin building. This includes recipe setup and maintenance, configuration support, backup/restore, version control, commissioning support, vendor-packaged equipment coordination and integration touchpoints to PI, DeltaV and other systems for equipment such as RX-10 reactor control systems, custom D&M skids, TFF skids, bioreactors, autoclaves, parts washers, vacuum ovens, floor scales, pumps and other PLC-connected lab process assets.

Responsibilities

Key Objectives/Deliverables

• Technical Leadership
• Lead the team's integration from analytical systems into DeltaV/Rockwell, and recipe setup and maintenance for DeltaV and Rockwell-controlled systems within the Foundry Lab/Admin building
• Serve as technical point of contact during phased lab onboarding, supporting project- and integrator-led deployment and configuration
• Mentor Engineer-level staff supporting PLC systems

Operational Excellence

• Support project teams and system integrators during deployment and initial configuration of PLC-based equipment (DeltaV, Rockwell, third-party PLC, custom SCADA); validate configuration against site standards
• Own the integration from analytical systems into DeltaV/Rockwell, and recipe setup and maintenance for PLC-controlled lab equipment serving the Foundry Lab/Admin building post go-live
• Manage change control, versioning and backup/restore for the team's analytical-to-DeltaV/Rockwell integration and recipes supporting the Lab/Admin building
• Coordinate with the Analytical Systems Support team on data integration touchpoints where PLC-controlled equipment feeds PI, DCS or other shared repositories
• Maintain the validated state of the team's integration and recipe work for DeltaV/Rockwell-controlled Lab/Admin building systems, in line with Lilly quality standards, including documentation and change management
• Provide status updates on supported systems to Automation Engineering leadership

Organizational Capability

• Demonstrated initiative, organizational skills, and ability to prioritize across concurrent lab onboarding phases
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills for control system issues
• Good written and verbal communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
• Knowledge of GMP, regulatory requirements, and computer system validation

Basic Requirements

• Minimum B.S. in Engineering or relevant scientific discipline and 3+ years working experience in Automation Engineering, preferably in Pharmaceutical manufacturing
• Experience supporting or deploying PLC/SCADA-based control systems (Rockwell, DeltaV, or equivalent)
• 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

• Experience with recipe management and configuration on Rockwell or DeltaV-controlled skid/lab equipment
• Experience supporting systems in a phased or greenfield commissioning environment
• Experience integrating PLC-controlled equipment data to PI, DCS or other repositories

Other Information

• Initial location Parkwood West Carmel, IN
• 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.

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

$66,000 - $171,600

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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