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Senior Scientist – Protein Purification

Eli Lilly and Company.com

65k - 169k USD/year

Office

US: Indianapolis IN Tech Center North, United States

Full Time

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.

Organization Overview:

Eli Lilly’s Biotechnology Discovery Research (BioTDR) organization has a track record of discovering, optimizing, and delivering novel biotherapeutic medicines to the clinic for the treatment of unmet medical needs in diabetes, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. This position is within the BioTDR Lead Optimization Group’s Protein Expression and Purification Team. We seek a motivated scientist with experience in protein purification and a working knowledge of the biotherapeutics discovery process to join our Team. The successful candidate will advance projects and emerging platforms in BioTDR and collaborate across the discovery organization to deliver Lilly’s early phase portfolio. The ideal candidate will have extensive hands-on experience with chromatography systems and a track record of successfully purifying diverse proteins. Are you eager to drive innovation in a fast-paced, collaborative environment to develop life-changing medicines for patients? Our commitment to our employees, patients, and communities is unmatched, and we want you to be a part of our Team.

Responsibilities:

  • Design, develop, and execute protein purification strategies for diverse biotherapeutic modalities (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, multichain bispecific antibodies, Fab fragments, VHH, bioconjugates, etc.) and diverse reagent proteins.
  • Operate and maintain AKTA chromatography systems (e.g., AKTA Pure) for protein purification workflows ranging from milligram to multi-gram scale.
  • Perform analytical characterization of purified proteins including purity assessment and concentration determination.
  • Influence the protein production workplans as an integral member of emerging biotherapeutic platform teams.

Basic Requirements:

  • Master's degree in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biology, or related field with 2+ years of relevant industry experience, OR Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biology, or related field with 5+ years of relevant industry experience.
  • Proficiency with AKTA chromatography systems and hands-on experience purifying diverse modalities: monoclonal antibodies, Fab fragments, VHH, or other recombinant proteins.

Additional Skills/Preferences:

  • Experience with multiple chromatography techniques (affinity, IEX, HIC, SEC).
  • Experience with bioconjugation of targeted lipid nanoparticles, including downstream purification and characterization.
  • Proficiency with UNICORN software.
  • Experience with automated liquid handling systems and high-throughput purification platforms.
  • Experience with protein analytical techniques such as SDS-PAGE, CE-SDS, cIEF, analytical HPLC, and related methods.
  • Experience with microbial and mammalian expression systems (HEK293, CHO) for the production of milligram-to-gram scale proteins.
  • Experience with bioconjugation and/or targeted lipid nanoparticles.
  • Innovation in protein purification as demonstrated by a publication record.
  • Effective collaboration in a matrix environment that includes protein engineers, biochemists, biologists, and development scientists.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills and the ability to share learnings across team boundaries.
  • Excellent time management and organizational skills with the ability to adapt to changing priorities and deadlines and thrive in ambiguity.
  • Experience with Benchling electronic laboratory notebook and data analytics.
  • Driving a culture of safety and inclusion in the workplace, including coaching and mentoring peers and other scientists.

Additional Information:

  • Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Travel: 0-10%

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

$65,250 - $169,400

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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Senior Scientist – Protein Purification

Office

US: Indianapolis IN Tech Center North, United States

Full Time

65k - 169k USD/year

October 10, 2025

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Eli Lilly and Company

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