Senior/Principal QA Associate - Cell & Gene Therapies, External Manufacturing

Eli Lilly and Company; Lebanon (IN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 169,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Pension

Vacation benefits

Medical benefits

Job summary

Eli Lilly and Company is seeking a Quality Assurance External Manufacturing Representative to provide leadership and QA oversight of contract manufacturers for clinical and commercial supply. The role emphasizes regulatory compliance, deviation management, and documentation control in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities include managing daily CM activities, ensuring MRDs adherence, and supporting inspections and product launches while maintaining communication with internal

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field as required.
• 3+ years in pharmaceutical manufacturing Quality Assurance.
• Experience overseeing contract manufacturers in QA.

Responsibilities

• Serve as liaison between CMs and Lilly QA management.
• Escalate quality issues at CM to Lilly QA.
• Assist in Quality Agreements with affiliates and customers.
• Ensure compliance to Quality Agreements and MRDs.
• Evaluate and disposition drug substance, drug product and packaging batches.
• Provide quality support of manufacturing operations.
• Support inspection readiness and product launches.
• Participate in regulatory inspection preparations.

Skills

Quality oversight

Regulatory knowledge

Cross-functional teams

Technical writing

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in science or engineering

Tools

Manufacturing Execution Systems

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, self‑less 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.

Lilly is currently constructing a cutting‑edge facility for the manufacture of new modalities including Gene Therapy. At Lebanon, Indiana, this facility will be Lilly’s most technically advanced manufacturing site focused on the delivery of the next wave of innovative products at Lilly. It will include next‑generation manufacturing technologies and advanced data collection and analysis platforms that will deliver improvements in safety and quality, and process performance. This is a unique opportunity to be a part of the team for the startup of a greenfield manufacturing site, and the successful candidate will help to design, commission, start up, and maintain the facility for both clinical and commercial supply. This is an exciting opportunity to help build a state‑of‑the‑art facility and Quality System from the ground up.

The Lebanon Advanced Therapies (LP2) Quality Assurance External Manufacturing Representative is responsible for demonstrating leadership, teamwork, and quality/regulatory knowledge to provide effective quality oversight of contract manufacturers and alliance partners. This oversight covers the process steps of selection, pre‑validation/validation, ongoing operations and termination.

LP2 External Manufacturing Quality Assurance maintains communication and working relationships with alliance partners, contract manufacturers, and internal customers. The External Manufacturing QA Representative manages daily contract manufacturing activities and ensures adherence to Lilly GQS and cGMPs through deviation investigations, change control, documentation management, validations, and other relevant responsibilities. This position also supports inspection readiness, product launches, and is accountable for batch disposition, confirming all batches comply with specifications and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as a liaison between CMs and Lilly, providing quality oversight and serving as the initial point of contact for all quality‑related issues
• Escalate quality issues at CMs to Lilly QA management.
• Assist in the establishment and revisions of Quality Agreements with affiliates and customers
• Ensure compliance to Quality Agreements and Manufacturing Responsibilities Documents (MRDs)
• Evaluate and disposition drug substance, drug product, and packaging batches ensuring that documented checks have been completed for the Certificates of Testing, Certificates of Environmental Monitoring (where applicable), deviations, changes and batch documentation
• Provide quality support of manufacturing operations with holistic review of key activities associated with or impacting the manufacturing processes.
• Maintain awareness of external regulatory agency findings which individually or collectively reference the quality of the product
• Review and approve documents including, but not limited to, procedures, master production records, change control proposals, deviations, equipment qualifications, analytical methods and computerized system validations
• Provide onsite support of manufacturing operations as required
• Participate in regulatory inspection preparations with CMs. Provide on‑site support during inspections
• Participate in APR activities
• Participate in Post Launch Optimization Teams (PLOT)

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field (preference for scientific or engineering field).
• 3+ years working in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Quality Assurance roles.
• Previous experience providing Quality Assurance oversight of contract manufacturers.
• 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:

• Demonstrated knowledge and use of US, EU, Japan and other regulations in the area of pharmaceutical manufacturing
• ASQ Certified
• Previous facility or area start up experience
• Previous experience with gene therapy drug substance processes such as equipment prep, virus prep/banking, inoculation, purification, and/or drug product manufacturing processes such as formulation, filling/visual inspection, and packaging
• Previous experience with Manufacturing Execution Systems.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with and influence cross‑functional teams including good oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrated strong problem solving and decision‑making skills
• Previous technical writing experience
• Technical aptitude and ability to train and mentor others

Additional Information:

Ability to work 8-12 hour shifts on Monday-Friday in the Lebanon, IN office

Position may require travel (10-25%)

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

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
• well‑being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities)

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance).

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