Sr. Principal Scientist - MES Data and Integration Lead

Eli Lilly and Company; Lebanon (IN); On-site; USD 66,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company bonus

401(k) plan

Pension

Vacation benefits

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Well-being benefits

Job summary

Lilly Lebanon API is seeking a Sr Principal Scientist, MES Data and Integration Lead to design, deploy, and sustain MES/EBR operations at the Lebanon, IN site. You will translate manufacturing requirements into MES solutions, serve as a business SME for TS/MS, and ensure readiness, data governance, and robust integrations across enterprise systems.

The role emphasizes collaboration with process scientists and automation designers to enable compliant, digital-first GMP manufacturing and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years experience including 2 years within a GMP manufacturing environment or equivalent regulated environment.
• Demonstrated history of working across multi-disciplinary teams in the Automation/MES space.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Responsibilities

• Serve as MES/EBR SME for assigned API manufacturing areas, supporting process design, system configuration, and operational readiness
• Review and approve PLM parameters required for MES configuration
• Ensure complete and accurate migration of product and process data into production MES environments
• Support MES system ownership activities and provide backup coverage
• Partner with DeltaV, SAP, and Digital Technology teams to support integration readiness, reporting, and dashboards
• Collaborate with Operations, QA, Engineering, Automation, and Validation for integrated execution and issue resolution
• Drive standardization and best practices across manufacturing areas
• Lead MES training for operational readiness and rollout coordination

Skills

MES

Data governance

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Science/Engineering

Tools

DeltaV

SAP

Job description

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.

Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for production of API molecules located in Lebanon, IN (Lilly Lebanon API). This facility is Lilly's largest investment in manufacturing capacity and is intended to provide APIs for current and future products, including new modalities. This is a unique opportunity to be a part of the startup team for a greenfield manufacturing site, and the successful candidate will help to build the processes and facility to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations.

Position Description:

The Sr Principal Scientist, MES Data and Integration Lead is a critical role supporting design, deployment, and sustained operation of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES)/Electronic Batch Record (EBR) within Lilly's Lebanon API Manufacturing site. MES is foundational to enabling compliant, efficient, and digital-first GMP operations and the successful candidate will play a key role in translating manufacturing requirements into executable MES solutions, supporting system ownership responsibilities, and ensuring MES-enabled processes are robust, scalable, and inspection-ready.

This position requires comprehensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory requirements, and the essential role scientists and engineers play in making medicine and creating real-world solutions. The successful candidate will represent TS/MS (Technical Services) as a business SME and act as a liaison between process scientists and automation designers. This role will focus on ensuring MES readiness through strong data governance and technical alignment of enterprise system integrations.

You’ll work at the boundary of process data and manufacturing execution — with opportunities to leverage MES-generated data for continuous improvement and performance analytics.

Key Objectives/Deliverables

• Serve as MES/EBR SME for assigned API manufacturing areas, supporting process design, system configuration, and operational readiness

• Working with process SMEs to review and approve Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) parameters required for MES configuration

• Ensuring complete and accurate migration of product and process data into production MES environments

• Supporting MES system ownership activities and providing backup coverage

• Partnering with DeltaV, SAP, and Digital Technology teams to support integration readiness, reporting, and operational dashboards following go-live

• Partner with Operations, QA, Engineering, Automation, and Validation to ensure integrated execution and issue resolution

• Drive standardization, harmonization, and best practices across manufacturing areas where appropriate

• Leading MES training for operational readiness, including review and approval of training materials and coordination of rollout

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field.

• Minimum 5 years experience including 2 years within a GMP manufacturing environment or equivalent regulated manufacturing environment.

• Demonstrated history of working across multi-disciplinary teams in the Automation/MES space.

• 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.

Preferences:

• Prior experience implementing electronic batch records preferred but not required

• Proficiency in data analysis, ability to prioritize, attention to detail, critical decision-making skills, complex problem-solving abilities.

• Proven ability to work independently and collaboratively within cross-functional teams. Ability to respond quickly and proactively to changing priorities within a limited timeline.

• Oral and written communication skills that demonstrate an ability to effectively (clearly, succinctly) communicate with all levels of the organization.

Additional Information

• Language Requirements: Fluent in English

• This is a fully on-site position located in Lebanon, IN. Standard 8-hour shift, 5 days/week; occasional night and weekend work may be required.

• Travel to other Lilly domestic and international locations generally not exceeding 10%

If you are passionate about process development and automation and are looking for a challenging and rewarding role, we would love to hear from you!

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 Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women's Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

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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