Director - AAV Process Development Research

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.

Come join the exciting Gene Therapy team at Eli Lilly! We are responsible for inventing, characterizing, and advancing our novel gene therapy platform for a myriad of clinical applications. Our team works cross-functionally within our organization across multiple therapeutic areas and platforms. Our goal is to deliver on the promise of gene therapy to patients around the world.

The Lilly Genetic Medicine Team is seeking an experienced and inspiring scientific leader to join our fast-paced, interdisciplinary team as we leverage novel genetic-based therapeutic modalities to enhance and advance the Lilly portfolio. The successful applicant will utilize their knowledge, core technical expertise and people management to enable the next generation of AAV clinical gene therapy.  Key facets of the role include the ability to lead a group of scientists that are progressing an innovative preclinical portfolio, help create the future of AAV technology with focus on scientific rigor and discovery research in gene therapy and interface with formal GMP manufacturing.

The Lilly Genetic Medicine team strives to operate as an agile and autonomous ‘biotech-like’ company within Lilly.  Successful execution of our gene therapy strategy requires excellence in both basic and applied sciences. We are looking for creative and energetic problem solvers to work in a multidisciplinary team across the breadth of the Lilly organization to achieve the company’s objectives for future pipeline growth and value for the patient.

The successful candidate will manage an experienced group of scientists engaged in upstream and downstream AAV vector production discovery, research and early development.  The candidate’s specific responsibilities will include management of established projects, close collaboration with formal GMP manufacturing scientists, driving innovation in AAV process development, participation with senior management in evaluation of new therapeutic opportunities in gene therapy, and close collaboration with various therapeutic area scientists.   

• Provide leadership and maintain technical expertise to improve implementation of genomic technologies within LGM

• Execute on research and development that strives to improve scalable processes  
• Integrate and execute LGM strategy, provide clarity for teams to prioritize and focus.
• Develop and effectively coach talent and scientific leaders by developing critical skills, providing actionable feedback, and managing workloads.
• Assist in capability building, project prioritization and resource allocation across the editing team, taking into account critical stakeholders
• Monitor and adjust deliverables and timelines as the team marches towards their objectives throughout the year.
• Focus on talent evaluation and opportunities to maximize full career potential of LGM employees.
• Work closely with LGM Operations as programs progress
• Keep safety as a top priority at all times, striving toward a proactive safety culture.
• Inspire people to collaborate in inventing genetic medicines by removing barriers, committing to high quality scientific hypotheses, act with speed and agility in the face of ambiguity.
• In partnership with other resource owners, be responsible of resourcing decisions in genetic medicine across portfolio and platforms.
• Be an advocate for diversity and inclusion in our recruiting, retaining and developing scientists, with a commitment to coaching and development of scientists.

• PhD in chemistry, engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, or related scientific field.
• 7 to 10+ years of industry experience leading process development research, with emphasis on AAV proficiency being preferred

• Experience leading diverse and high performing research groups
• Proven experience in design, implementation, and upkeep of genetic medicines pipelines
• Demonstrated knowledge of Pharmaceutical Discovery & Development
• Experience in leading groups of researchers including PhD level scientists
• Strong relational skills, demonstrated ability for efficient collaboration, prioritization and establishing effective work environments
• Ability to think strategically, actively identifying gaps in competencies or capabilities within the organization and taking initiative to drive continuous improvement across Genetic Medicine.
• Prior work in internal and external tech transfer
• Collaborative work ethic
• Experience working in a matrixed environment
• Impeccable organizational skills

Additional Information:

• Travel to engage collaborative functions within Lilly required occasionally
• This position will be located in the Boston Seaport location

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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