Sr. Principal Facilities & Project Engineering

100 Eli Lilly and Company; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 119,000 - 174,000; Full time

Job summary

Lilly is actively constructing an advanced manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia. We seek a Senior Principal Facilities & Project Engineering to drive capital projects, align with maintenance and operations, and enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations.

You will manage full lifecycle project delivery, coordinate with plant customers and vendors, ensure safety and regulatory compliance, and contribute to reliability and preventive maintenance planning across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical/Chemical/Electrical/Civil).
• Minimum of 5+ years in Facility or Maintenance Engineering Teams, within a manufacturing environment.
• 5+ years Project Management/ Capital Project Delivery
• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Responsibilities

• Lead capital project delivery for facilities and utilities systems — typically in the $5M–$10M range — covering piping, clean utilities, and facility infrastructure projects from scope development through execution and closeout.
• Partner with Maintenance and Operations to understand facility system needs and reliability/performance metrics, translating that input into project requirements and scope.
• Manage full project lifecycle activities, including team meetings, schedule development, contractor management, budget development and tracking, and stakeholder communication.
• Meet regularly with plant customers (Operations, Engineering, Quality) to gather feedback on projects and business needs, and represent those needs in project planning.
• Oversee contractors and vendors to ensure project work is executed safely, on schedule, and within budget, in compliance with GMP and EHS requirements.
• Apply working knowledge of clean utility systems and facility infrastructure to inform project design, sequencing, and execution decisions.
• Participate in regular project and operations meetings, providing status updates and surfacing risks or resourcing needs to leadership.
• Contribute project engineering expertise to support the broader facilities organization's reliability and preventive maintenance planning efforts.

Skills

Project management

Facilities engineering

GMP knowledge

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

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.

Senior Principal Facilities & Project Engineering

Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for monoclonal antibodies, bioconjugates, and aseptic drug product manufacturing in Goochland County, Virginia. This facility is intended to provide capacity for current and future products. The successful candidate will help to build the organization, the facility and the culture to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations. We are seeking a Senior Principal Facilities & Project Engineering to support our new Manufacturing Facility in Goochland County, Virginia.

Responsibilities

• Lead capital project delivery for facilities and utilities systems — typically in the $5M–$10M range — covering piping, clean utilities, and facility infrastructure projects from scope development through execution and closeout
• Partner with Maintenance and Operations to understand facility system needs and reliability/performance metrics, translating that input into project requirements and scope
• Manage full project lifecycle activities, including team meetings, schedule development, contractor management, budget development and tracking, and stakeholder communication
• Meet regularly with plant customers (Operations, Engineering, Quality) to gather feedback on projects and business needs, and represent those needs in project planning
• Oversee contractors and vendors to ensure project work is executed safely, on schedule, and within budget, in compliance with GMP and EHS requirements
• Apply working knowledge of clean utility systems and facility infrastructure to inform project design, sequencing, and execution decisions
• Participate in regular project and operations meetings, providing status updates and surfacing risks or resourcing needs to leadership
• Contribute project engineering expertise to support the broader facilities organization's reliability and preventive maintenance planning efforts

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical/Chemical/Electrical/Civil)
• Minimum of 5 + years’ experience in Facility or Maintenance Engineering Teams, within a manufacturing environment.
• 5+ years Project Management/ Capital Project Delivery
• Previous experience of owning a facility management program.
• 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 Skills/Preferences

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills including consultative and relationship management skills with ability to drive achievement of objectives
• GMP Manufacturing Experience
• Knowledge of mechanical building services
• Strong leadership skills with demonstrated ability to influence change
• Proven success adhering to and leading project schedules and managing projects
• Substantial understanding and knowledge of facilities systems and preventive maintenance programs
• Substantial knowledge of facilities related government regulations, GMP, and EHS
• Strong problem‑solving, organizational, analytical and critical thinking skills

Other Information

• Occasional travel required 0–10%
• Required to be working onsite
• Required to be on call
• Occasional shift work may apply

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions.

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)
• 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 $118,500 - $173,800. 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.

#WeAreLilly At Lilly we strive to ensure our employees are part of a team that cares about them and our shared purpose of making life better for those around the world. How do we do this? We continue to look for ways to include, innovate, accelerate and deliver while maintaining integrity, excellence and respect for people. We hope that you seek to join us on our journey as we create medicine and deliver improved outcomes for patients across the globe!