Post-Doctoral Scientist - Peptide Chemistry (SMDD) - Fixed Duration Employment at Eli Lilly and Company

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.

Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) has an exciting opportunity for an innovative peptide chemist to join our process development organization as a postdoctoral scientist! We are seeking an ambitious post-doctoral scientist with strong research, problem solving, and communication skills to contribute to high visibility research projects. Your work will contribute to the development of a sustainable platform for peptide synthesis. In this role, you will:

• Create novel supports for peptide synthesis, establish compatible reaction conditions and cleavage methods using the principles of green chemistry as a guide to decision making.
• Work in partnership with our peptide process development team within a highly dynamic and cross-functional department that is focused on sustainable synthetic peptide development and commercialization. SMDD comprises a diverse team of chemical engineers, synthetic chemists, and (bio)analytical chemists, delivering product and process understanding across various platforms.
• Champion creative solutions to address challenges that arise as the platform is developed. Maintain external awareness of current literature in organic and peptide synthesis.
• Embrace green chemistry and engineering principles to reduce the environmental footprint of peptide APIs (see: Synthetic Peptide Sustainability Challenges and PMI Analysis of Current Peptide Manufacturing Processes - A Review).
• Present research findings at internal forums, relevant external conferences, and in high-quality peer-reviewed journals.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in Chemistry or related field.

Additional Skills/Preferences

The below are desirable skills, but they may also be acquired during the postdoctoral appointment.

• Ability to identify and exploit new scientific concepts, employ strong problem-solving skills, and be self-motivated and adaptable.
• Strong background in synthetic organic and/or peptide chemistry.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Hands-on experience with peptide synthesis in both solid- and solution-phase.
• Expertise in various synthetic organic chemistry methods and techniques.
• Experience with mass spectrometry in the characterization of synthetic peptides and MS data interpretation.
• Strong publication record in organic synthesis or methodology, with peptide-related research being a plus.
• Strong interpersonal skills and experience in collaborative, multidisciplinary team environments.
• Experience with characterization of organic/peptide products by NMR, HPLC, and MS.
• Knowledge of fundamental structural/molecular properties of organic molecules/peptides, equilibrium and kinetic principles, and their application in reaction development and improvement.

Additional Information

• This position is not permanent. It is for a fixed duration of two years with potential to extend to 3-4 years.

About Eli Lilly’s Postdoctoral Scientist Program

When it comes to research and development, our goal is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that make life better for people around the world. It’s challenging, expensive and often filled with failure. But even when we fail, we advance medical science and understanding by learning more about diseases, biology and chemistry – ultimately bringing new solutions one step closer to reality.

Over the course of our history, we have shed light on some of the toughest health care problems known to man – diabetes, heart disease, infectious diseases, neuroscience disorders, cancer and more. We could not pursue this without our research and development team.

Postdoctoral scientists help us continue this pursuit. During your experience you will get:

• Top industry research experience,
• Mentoring by some of Lilly’s top scientists,  
• Laboratory and classroom training and education to further your development,
• Collaboration and networking with dozens of postdoctoral scientists and other researchers.

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 an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, 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 help our company develop talented individuals for future leadership roles. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, African American Network, Chinese Culture Network, Early Career Professionals, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinos at Lilly, PRIDE (LGBTQ + Allies), Veterans Leadership Network, Women’s Network, Working and Living with Disabilities. Learn more about all of our groups.

#WeAreLilly