Scientist/Sr. Scientist (Advisor) - mRNA Process Development 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.

Position Summary:

Highly motivated and creative scientist who will help build the company’s mRNA production and mRNA technology exploration platform. The successful candidate will support R&D efforts within the company, initially as an individual contributor and in the future as a small team lead, focused on pre-clinical mRNA production and exploration of therapeutic mRNA optimization strategies. A deep technical background in mRNA biochemistry, mRNA synthesis, and mRNA purification are required. Strong organizational and communication skills, creative problem-solving, and flexibility are essential.

Job responsibilities:
 

• Lead process development projects to establish mRNA production capabilities at research to pre-clinical scales.
• Produce RNA samples to support internal and external collaborations.
• Design and perform routine biochemistry experiments, including in vitro transcription, purification, quality evaluation, etc.
• Collaborate with CMC and production teams to harmonize pre-clinical and clinical grade production technology and quality metrics.
• Develop and utilize strategies to synthesize and modify RNA molecules to achieve desired properties.
• Lead projects to develop design, construct, and evaluate mRNA therapeutics.
• Contribute to projects directly at the bench and later by leading one or more Research Associates.
• Clearly communicate results and recommendations to collaborators, colleagues, managers, and senior management, leading project decision-making.
• Contribute to the company’s intellectual property portfolio by generating new ideas, recommending technical strategy, reading broadly in relevant fields, and diligently maintaining organized records.

Basic Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, or related discipline with 2+ years of academic or pharmaceutical industry experience in mRNA process development (can include post-doc experience).

Additional skills/preferences:

• Mastery of therapeutic mRNA in vitro transcription and purification techniques is required.
• Expertise with characterization of mRNA molecules using state-of-the-art techniques is required.
• Expertise with different approaches for RNA modification and their application in mRNA therapeutics is required.
• Experience and understanding of technical challenges with mRNA as a therapeutic modality is required. Experience with several mRNA modalities (linear mRNA, saRNA, circRNA, etc.) is an advantage.
• Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills are required, as well as the ability to work both independently and in a collaborative work environment.
• User-level experience with automated liquid handlers is a plus.
• Familiarity with NGS approaches for RNA/DNA characterization is a plus.
• Familiarity with Design-of-Experiments (DOE) is a plus.
• Relevant publication record in academic and/or patent literature is a plus.

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