Senior Protein Scientist, Expression & Purification Leader

Elanco in; Indianapolis (IN); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation packages

Two weeklong shutdowns (US)

8‑week parental leave

9 Employee Resource Groups

Annual bonus offering

Up to 6% 401K matching

Job summary

Elanco is seeking a Senior Research Scientist and Protein Expression & Purification Team Lead to guide a lab‑based, hybrid team focused on discovering and optimizing recombinant protein biotherapeutics for animal health.

You will lead end‑to‑end workflows from design to purification, oversee analytics, and drive process improvements while mentoring scientists and delivering high‑quality preclinical material. A PhD and 3+ years of experience are required.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. required in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or related field.
• Minimum 3+ years hands‑on experience in biopharma with mammalian protein expression and purification using automated chromatography (e.g., ÄKTA FPLC).
• Experience directing multi‑person scientific workflows and mentoring laboratory scientists.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of lab scientists focused on end‑to‑end protein generation workflow.
• Serve as SME across multiple protein/biotherapeutic projects, providing technical leadership, timelines, and risk mitigation.
• Direct expression, purification, and downstream processing using mammalian systems and chromatography.
• Oversee in‑process and release analytics to ensure high‑quality protein lots for preclinical studies.
• Identify platform improvements and maintain data integrity via ELNs and technical reports.

Skills

Team Leadership

Project Leadership

Workflow Design

Analytical Characterization

Process Improvement

Education

Ph.D. in Biochemistry or related

Tools

ÄKTA FPLC

UNICORN software

Job description

Elanco is seeking a Senior Research Scientist and Protein Expression & Purification Team Lead to guide a lab‑based, hybrid team focused on discovering and optimizing recombinant protein biotherapeutics for animal health.

You will lead end‑to‑end workflows from design to purification, oversee analytics, and drive process improvements while mentoring scientists and delivering high‑quality preclinical material. A PhD and 3+ years of experience are required.