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.

Overview:

At Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose. We make a difference for people around the globe by discovering, developing and delivering medicines that help them live longer, healthier, more active lives. Not only do we deliver breakthrough medications, but you also can count on us to develop creative solutions to support communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.

Position Summary:

Lilly’s Oncology Large Molecule Discovery team is looking for a Scientific Lead in Chemistry/Biochemistry to support our growing biologics portfolio. This role will support Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) linker and payload design, bioconjugation, and downstream biochemical assays to enhance ADC biological and pharmacologic properties. This job role requires a strong background and hands-on experience in linker-payload chemistry, bioconjugation chemistry and downstream biochemical assays. The successful candidate will be a self-motivated, responsible, and productive scientist who enjoys collaborating. He/she will be responsible for rigorous experimental design, data analysis, and data interpretation. This position requires excellent people skills, a positive can-do attitude, and the ability to thrive in a highly interactive, fast-paced, team environment.

Responsibilities:

Design and execute ADC linker SAR studies to optimize stability, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity balance, payload release, and circulation stability.

Utilize various analytical chemistry techniques for thorough characterization and understanding of linker-payloads and related compounds.

Develop innovative linker designs and strategies to address limitations in existing ADC platforms.

Evaluate linker compatibility with diverse payload classes, including small molecules, peptides, oligonucleotides and PROTACs.

Explore linker applications in conjugates beyond antibodies to include novel delivery molecules.

Collaborate with internal and external teams in chemistry, biology, and analytics to advance conjugation strategies.

Contribute to troubleshooting and problem-solving in conjugation workflows and project execution.

Stay abreast of advances in conjugation chemistry, linker design, and SAR methodologies.

Drive the development of new technologies to enhance therapeutic modalities leveraging linker innovations.

Basic Requirements:

A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biochemistry, or other related scientific discipline with a record of 10 years lab-based independent research experience is required. Advanced degree (Master’s, Ph.D.) with 5 years of relevant experience is preferred.

Good understanding of drug development process, especially antibody-drug conjugates or other bioconjugation modalities.

Hands-on experience with linker-payload synthesis and characterization.

Additional Preferences:

Hands-on experience in various cytotoxic agents and conjugation, including early bioprocess development.

Strong knowledge in vitro/in vivo assays and experiments for evaluation of candidate molecules, especially bioconjugates or degraders.

Can-do attitude to bring and push through innovative ideas in a collaborative, cross-functional organization.

Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to communicate and interact well with colleagues, vendors, contractors, scientific advisors, and staff at all levels.

A background or experience in computational chemistry is a plus.

Physical Demands/Travel:

The physical demands of this position are consistent with working in a laboratory/ bench environment. Some light lifting, and maneuvering may be required.

The physical demands here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Work Environment:

 This position’s work environment is based in a laboratory/bench environment.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

*To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each role and responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

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

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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