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.
Location: San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Louisville, CO; Indianapolis, IN; Boston, MA
Reports to: AVP - Methods4Insight, Data Foundry
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.
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.
About Data Foundry
Data Foundry is a multidisciplinary team dedicated to enabling and accelerating molecule discovery through scalable and reproducible data generation, fueled by advanced scientific computing, informatics, and automation solutions. Data Foundry operates through four integrated pillars: Architecture4Insight (data infrastructure and scientific software), Methods4Insight (analytical and computational methods), Scale4Insight (lab automation and agentic workflows), and Preparedness4Insight (data governance and readiness). Together, these pillars empower every Lilly scientist to make optimal decisions by providing seamless access to data, insights, and AI-driven capabilities at scale.
Position Summary
The Director/Senior Director, Analytical Methods will serve as a domain expert and technical leader within Methods4Insight, responsible for developing, deploying, and maintaining cutting-edge analytical approaches in their area of expertise — such as cheminformatics, computational structural biology, statistical modeling, or AI/ML. This role combines deep domain knowledge with scientific leadership, translating advanced methods into practical capabilities that accelerate molecule discovery for both human scientists and autonomous AI agents.
You will work alongside discovery project teams and supporting functions to understand scientific challenges, provide expert consultation, and develop custom solutions when existing methods fall short. You will maintain awareness of emerging methods, evaluate their value, and make informed build-versus-buy-versus-adopt recommendations. You will collaborate closely with Methods4Insight domain experts, Architecture4Insight, Scale4Insight, and Frontier AI.
We're looking for someone who is recognized as an expert in their analytical domain, has a strong publication record, has deployed methods that influenced real discovery decisions, and is passionate about advancing their field and enabling scientific impact.
What You'll Do
- Serve as the subject matter expert in your analytical domain, staying current on innovative methods and making informed recommendations about adoption, adaptation, or development of novel approaches.
- Develop and deploy cutting-edge analytical methods tailored to Lilly's discovery challenges, building workflows that integrate multiple approaches (e.g., physics-based and data-driven) to harness complementary strengths.
- Work alongside discovery project teams to translate complex scientific questions into tractable analytical problems, driving analyses that directly inform compound prioritization, design recommendations, and mechanism of action hypotheses.
- Collaborate with Architecture4Insight to deploy analytical methods as accessible tools and agent-ready capabilities with well-defined APIs for autonomous AI decision-making.
- Identify strategic data gaps in your domain and partner with Scale4Insight to design targeted experiments that generate data in high-value areas.
- Establish best practices for method validation, including prospective testing against experimental outcomes, and demonstrate impact through tracked metrics: decisions influenced, hypotheses generated, and timelines accelerated.
- Collaborate across all Data Foundry pillars and with Frontier AI to ensure analytical capabilities are fully integrated into the broader discovery ecosystem.
- Publish peer-reviewed research, present at scientific conferences, and build analytical literacy across the organization.
- Mentor junior computational scientists and contribute to a culture of scientific rigor, reproducibility, and continuous improvement.
Basic Requirements
- MS/Ph.D. in Cheminformatics, Computational Biology, Biophysics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
- 6+ years of experience developing and applying analytical methods in drug discovery or related life sciences fields.
Additional Preferences
- Deep expertise in at least one analytical domain with demonstrated impact on scientific outcomes.
- Strong programming skills in Python, R, or similar scientific computing languages.
- Publications in peer-reviewed journals demonstrating contributions to your analytical domain.
- Ability to explain complex analytical concepts clearly to non-computational scientists.
- Track record of deploying analytical methods that influenced real scientific decisions or discoveries.
- Breadth across multiple analytical approaches, with experience both developing novel methods and adopting external approaches.
- Familiarity with software engineering practices and deploying research code in production environments.
- Experience mentoring junior scientists or managing interns/postdocs.
- Ability to communicate effectively across scientific, technical, and executive audiences.
- Passion for mentoring and empowering others.
Additional Information:
Physical Demands/Travel:
The physical demands of this job are consistent with an office environment. This position will require travel.
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 in an office.
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 the role and responsibilities 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
$193,500 - $338,800
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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