Associate Director - Digital & Data Lead

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly · Pharma · Richmond, VA

Associate Director - Digital & Data Lead at Eli Lilly, responsible for overseeing and aligning digital programs for new manufacturing sites, ensuring they meet objectives, timelines, and budgets. The role involves championing digital plant strategy, influencing senior leadership on technology direction, providing input to business and strategic financial plans, and ensuring GxP compliance for all digital solutions. This position requires a deep understanding of manufacturing, lab, and quality processes, and the ability to translate business needs into actionable digital strategies.

What you'd actually do

  1. Champion and drive the digital plant strategy for new manufacturing sites, partnering with senior site leadership and global M&Q stakeholders to define and evolve long-term digital roadmaps that are aligned with site strategic initiatives and LP1 start-up objectives.
  2. Lead and manage the definition of digital needs and ensure the corresponding business processes and roles are in place. Maintain strategic oversight of multiple concurrent workstreams, proactively resolving interdependencies and escalations.
  3. Act as a key strategic advisor to site and IT leadership on digital technology direction, championing technology as a critical enabler of manufacturing strategic initiatives and long-term site competitiveness.
  4. Provide substantive input to Business Plan and site strategic planning exercises at an executive level, setting direction and priorities for the digital agenda and securing investment aligned with LP1 start-up and long-term operational goals.
  5. Develop and maintain an expert-level understanding of manufacturing, lab, and quality processes. Apply this knowledge to shape and govern digital solutions that maximize business value, partnering with Process Engineers, Operations, Quality, and TS/MS on complex cross-functional issues.

Skills

Required

  • Digital plant vision & strategy
  • Digital needs definition and business process alignment
  • Senior leadership influence and advisory
  • Strategic business planning and financial acumen
  • Manufacturing, lab, and quality process mastery
  • Stakeholder management and executive communication
  • Risk, trade-off, and resource management
  • Continuous improvement and technology innovation
  • GxP compliance and quality leadership
  • Validation and compliance strategy (IQ/OQ/PQ)

Nice to have

  • Lean
  • Six Sigma
  • advanced analytics

What the JD emphasized

  • GxP
  • 21 CFR Part 11
  • Annex 11
  • GAMP 5
  • LP1 start-up