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.
About This Role
Lilly’s product commercialization spans a growing global manufacturing network, dozens of specialized functions, and an expanding portfolio of transformative medicines. The gap: no single leader owns the full picture.
The Product Leader fills that gap. You are the single point of accountability for a product’s entire commercialization lifecycle — from post-Phase 2 through launch and beyond. You own the manufacturing CMC strategy, lead the Product Core Team, collaborate with development and serve as the go-to interface for senior executives who need clarity, not noise.
This is a strategic leadership role, not a coordination role. It demands deep pharma development and/or manufacturing knowledge, executive presence, and the ability to drive alignment across a powerful, matrixed organization — without direct authority.
What Success Looks Like in Year One
Lilly’s commercialization process involves deep, specialized functions — Development, Engineering, Analytical Quality, TS/MS, Supply Chain, Manufacturing Sites, CMC Regulatory. Each brings critical expertise. The winning Product Leader orchestrates them: knowing when to convene the full team, and when to engage only who’s needed — protecting expert time and driving efficient progress. In year one, you will have demonstrated:
- Stakeholder orchestration credibility — functional leaders trust that when you call them in, it matters; when you don’t, it’s handled.
- A Mfg technical agenda that serves as the true single source of truth — every relevant function’s input synthesized into one coherent product strategy.
- At least one major bottleneck resolved through smart, targeted convening — the right people in the room, no one else.
- Senior leaders who say you “always know where the product stands” — earned through disciplined intelligence-gathering, not reporting overhead.
- A product team operating with more speed and purpose than before — siloed expertise channeled into coordinated, forward momentum.
Key Responsibilities
Manufacturing CMC Strategy & Commercialization Ownership
- Own the Manufacturing CMC Commercialization Strategy across Development, Manufacturing, and the Business Units.
- Lead the Product Core Team and oversee its technical execution, ensuring clear ownership, milestone accountability, and proactive risk management.
- Drive alignment of launch presentation and commercial image strategy across relevant functional and affiliate stakeholders.
- Ensure gate deliverables are clearly defined, plans are in place, and execution is on track — proactively identifying and resolving gaps.
Governance & Executive Visibility
- Serve as the accountable representative for the product at all Governance and Oversight Forums, providing clear, confident updates on progress, risks, and decisions required.
- Act as the primary interface for senior executives seeking visibility into commercialization status — translating technical complexity into concise, actionable insight.
- Ensure escalations are surfaced proactively and resolved with appropriate speed and rigor.
Cross-Functional Alignment & Stakeholder Leadership
- Ensure sustained alignment across Development, Manufacturing, and Business Unit stakeholders throughout the product’s lifecycle, including global manufacturing site teams and CMC Regulatory.
- Influence without authority across a complex, matrixed organization — building trust, resolving conflict, and driving decisions through collaboration rather than directive.
- Partner closely with Deveopment and CMC Regulatory on submission strategy, ensuring the manufacturing program supports regulatory timelines and requirements.
Post-Launch Technical Agenda
- Lead Post-Launch Technical Agenda (PLTA) strategy for assigned products, influencing pre-submission deliverables and lifecycle management planning.
- Ensure the product’s long-term commercial and technical sustainability by driving proactive planning for process improvements, line extensions, and continuous manufacturing optimization.
Required Qualifications
Education
- Advanced engineering, scientific degree (M.S., Ph.D., or MBA with strong technical foundation) required.
Experience
- Minimum 10 years of progressive pharmaceutical industry experience, with meaningful exposure to development, manufacturing, commercialization, and/or technical program leadership.
- Demonstrated experience leading or significantly contributing to cross-functional programs through key development and commercialization milestones (e.g., tech transfer, process validation, regulatory submission readiness, product launch).
- Proven ability to influence and lead without direct authority across complex, matrixed organizations.
- Track record of operating effectively at the senior leadership level — communicating with confidence, handling ambiguity, and making high-quality decisions under pressure.
Functional Background (one or more areas preferred)
- TS/MS, CMC development, Operations, Supply Chain, or Mfg.
Key Skills & Competencies
- **Strategic Leadership: **Shapes long-range manufacturing CMC commercialization strategy; translates vision into execution.
- **Influence Without Authority: **Drives alignment and decisions across powerful, matrixed stakeholders without formal reporting relationships.
- **Executive Communication: **Distills complex technical and operational information into clear, confident narratives for senior audiences.
- **Negotiation & Conflict Resolution: **Balances competing functional and affiliate priorities with fairness, speed, and strategic judgment.
- **Commercial Acumen: **Understands the business implications of manufacturing decisions — including supply risk, launch readiness, and lifecycle value.
- **Risk Management: **Proactively identifies, surfaces, and resolves program risks before they become schedule or quality issues.
- **Cross-Cultural & Global Collaboration: **Effective working across global manufacturing sites, development organizations, and business units with varying priorities.
- **Entrepreneurial Mindset: **Comfortable operating in an evolving role structure; builds credibility and process from the ground up.
JOB LEVEL
P5 / Sr. Director
LOCATION
Indianapolis, IN
REPORTS TO
VP, Product Leadership
TRAVEL
~10–20%
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
$159,000 - $233,200
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.
#WeAreLilly