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 Small Molecule Discovery is an organization purpose-built to create molecules that make life better for people. We focus on using cutting edge science to unlock new approaches that can treat people suffering from diseases with poor treatment options. We continually challenge ourselves to deliver molecules that can provide breakthrough efficacy with the highest possible safety margins. We are dedicated to optimizing our mindset, technology, and processes for faster, more nimble execution. Our success is built on a culture that empowers innovative problem solving through open collaboration and individual accountability.
Discovery Technology and Platforms is a newly established function within this organization. Its mission is to accelerate molecule discovery by building highly optimized foundational platforms, streamlining lab operations through advanced technologies and data connectivity, and intentionally investing in novel technologies and capabilities.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The position plays an important role within Molecular Biology and Protein Expression in the Foundational Platforms function of Discovery Technology and Platforms to perform construct design and biomass generation to support protein production and structural biology workflows. This role will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies that improve the efficiency, scalability, and fidelity of molecular biology processes, ensuring that downstream teams receive high-quality protein and biologics for discovery purposes.
The ideal candidate will be a technically strong, collaborative, and innovation-driven advisor with deep expertise in protein biochemistry, bioinformatics, biophysics and structure determination. The individual must be experienced in operating in a dynamic, fast-paced research environment, and be passionate about building scalable platforms, leveraging advanced production technologies to boost productivity, and empowering their team to deliver reproducible, high-quality results aligned with broader discovery goals.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

• B.S. or M.S. in Molecular Biology, Synthetic Biology, Biochemistry, or a related field.
• 2+ years of industry experience in molecular biology, protein science, and structural biology
• Strong technical expertise in protein expression systems (bacterial, insect, mammalian) and protein purification.
• Proven experience in high-throughput screening, expression optimization, and large-scale fermentation of recombinant soluble and membrane proteins, including GPCRs.

• Work closely with the expression team (>80% bench time) to support molecular biology workflows; design and produce drug discovery targets and research reagents using prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems. This includes cloning, DNA preparation, small scale screening, expression optimization and large-scale fermentation.
• Innovate to develop core technologies and utilize state-of-art technologies to achieve success in delivering needed molecular biology reagents to support drug discovery efforts.
• Develop and implement high-throughput molecular biology strategies that improve turnaround time, reliability, and scalability.
• Partnering closely with other structural biologists, biophysicists, protein biochemists and in vitro pharmacologists to develop integrative approaches and address specific project needs and challenges
• Drive improvements in data capture, traceability, and quality control through integration with informatics platforms.
• Ensure high standards of data integrity, reproducibility, and documentation across all workflows.
• Mentor and develop team members, fostering a culture of scientific excellence, teamwork, and continuous improvement.