Sr. Principal Lab Scientist

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. 

Sr. Principal Lab Scientist - Technical Services/Manufacturing Sciences (TS/MS) Laboratory

As our biologics pipeline continues to expand, Eli Lilly & Company has invested in a state-of-the-art new facility in Richmond, VA. To support this exciting new GMP manufacturing facility and ensure a safe and successful start-up, we are seeking talented individuals to contribute to establishing Lilly Richmond as a reliable supplier of our innovative medicines and furthering our goal of making a difference to people’s lives.

The TS/MS Senior Principal Scientist will provide direct technical support for the design, startup and execution of the TS/MS laboratory. This role will provide technical expertise for the laboratory startup activities including facility design, instrument procurement and qualification in support upstream and downstream operations as well as analytical instrumentation. This role will serve as a technical leader and mentor to laboratory scientists and will be integral in defining the laboratory's technical agenda. The successful applicant will have a deep technical expertise in their areas of responsibility and demonstrate strong data-driven problem-solving capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Have an in-depth knowledge of biological manufacturing, laboratory-scale models and analytical methods, supporting both upstream and downstream processing.
• Work with the network and development organizations to ensure a well-understood, robust and fit-for-purpose laboratory models are developed and transferred.
• Support the design and start-up of the laboratory including equipment configuration and purchase, development of the laboratory data management strategy, establishment of laboratory protocols.
• Support a laboratory startup plan in alignment with the health, safety and environmental team to ensure safe startup and operation.
• Experience in laboratory scale equipment operation and trouble shooting.
• Supporting the development and mentorship of other laboratory scientists in alignment with area management
• Leading laboratory investigations in support of production operations.
• Create and review documents including laboratory SOPs, material specifications, protocols, and work instructions
• Establish partnerships to enable cross functional work with the quality control laboratory and other Lilly sites to ensure facility startup objectives are met.
• Contribute to the authorship and review of regulatory submissions and responses to regulatory agencies

Educational Requirements:

• BS degree based in biology, chemistry, biochemistry or similar discipline.
• Experience (>5 yrs) working in pharmaceutical laboratory and GMP manufacturing environments, and/or managing an academic lab.
• 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:

• MS or PhD degree based in biology, chemistry, biochemistry or similar discipline.
• Ability to provide technical leadership in a laboratory setting with experience in upstream and downstream processing, and analytical testing.
• Demonstrated technical capability with high productivity
• Self-starter with high initiative and data-driven approach to problem-solving
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated strong verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated adaptability and flexibility to working in different environments, teams etc.
• Demonstrated ability to participate in and facilitate decision-making

Work Environment:

• Onsite
• This is an 8-hour day role. As a manufacturing support function, the need for occasional evening or weekend support can arise.

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

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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