Overview:
At Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose. We make a difference for people around the globe by discovering, developing and delivering medicines that help them live longer, healthier, more active lives. Not only do we deliver breakthrough medications, but you also can count on us to develop creative solutions to support communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.
Lilly Small Molecule Discovery is an organization purpose-built to create molecules that make life better for people. We focus on using cutting edge science to unlock new approaches that can treat people suffering from diseases with poor treatment options. We continually challenge ourselves to deliver molecules that can provide breakthrough efficacy with the highest possible safety margins. We are dedicated to optimizing our mindset, technology, and processes for faster, more nimble execution. Our success is built on a culture that empowers innovative problem solving through open collaboration and individual accountability.
Discovery Technology and Platforms is a newly established function within this organization. Its mission is to accelerate molecule discovery by building highly optimized foundational platforms, streamlining lab operations through advanced technologies and data connectivity, and intentionally investing in novel technologies and capabilities.
About Data Foundry
Data Foundry is a multidisciplinary team dedicated to enabling and accelerating molecule discovery through scalable and reproducible data generation, fueled by advanced scientific computing, informatics, and automation solutions. Data Foundry operates through four integrated pillars:
Architecture4Insight (data infrastructure and scientific software),
Methods4Insight (analytical and computational methods),
Scale4Insight (lab automation and agentic workflows), and
Preparedness4Insight (data governance and readiness). Together, these pillars empower every Lilly scientist to make optimal decisions by providing seamless access to data, insights, and AI-driven capabilities at scale.
Position Summary
The Advisor/Senior Advisor, Analytical Methods will serve as a domain expert within Methods4Insight, responsible for developing, deploying, and maintaining cutting-edge analytical approaches in their area of expertise - such as cheminformatics, computational biology, statistical modeling, or AI/ML. This role requires deep domain knowledge to translate advanced methods into practical capabilities that accelerate molecule discovery for both human scientists and autonomous AI agents.
You will work alongside discovery project teams and supporting functions to understand scientific challenges, provide expert consultation, and develop custom solutions when existing methods fall short. You will maintain awareness of emerging methods, evaluate their value by designing and running benchmark experiments and ultimately deliver prototype implementations. You will collaborate closely with other Methods4Insight domain experts, Architecture4Insight, Scale4Insight, and Frontier AI.
We're looking for someone who is an expert in their analytical domain, has a strong publication record related to novel methods and when possible publicly released code implementing them, and is passionate about advancing their field and enabling scientific impact.
What You'll Do
- Serve as the subject matter expert in your analytical domain, staying current on innovative methods and making informed recommendations about adoption, adaptation, or development of novel approaches.
- Develop and deploy cutting-edge analytical methods tailored to Lilly's discovery challenges, building workflows that integrate multiple approaches (e.g., physics-based and data-driven) to harness complementary strengths.
- Work alongside discovery project teams to translate complex scientific questions into tractable analytical problems, driving analyses that directly inform compound prioritization, design recommendations, or mechanism of action hypotheses.
- Collaborate with Architecture4Insight to deploy analytical methods as accessible tools and agent-ready capabilities with well-defined APIs for autonomous AI decision-making.
- Identify strategic data gaps in your domain and partner with Scale4Insight to design targeted experiments that generate data in high-value areas.
- Collaborate across all Data Foundry pillars and with Frontier AI to ensure analytical capabilities are fully integrated into the broader discovery ecosystem.
- Publish peer-reviewed research, present at scientific conferences, and build analytical literacy across the organization.
Basic Requirements
- Ph.D. in Cheminformatics, Computational Biology, Biophysics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
- 0-1 years of experience developing and applying analytical methods in drug discovery or related life sciences fields.
Additional Preferences
- Deep expertise in at least one analytical domain with demonstrated impact on scientific outcomes.
- Strong programming skills in Python, R, or similar scientific computing languages.
- Publications in peer-reviewed journals demonstrating contributions to your analytical domain.
- Ability to explain complex analytical concepts clearly to non-computational scientists.
- Familiarity with software engineering practices and deploying research code in production environments.
- Ability to communicate effectively across scientific, technical, and executive audiences
Actual compensation will depend on a candidate's education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is
$166,500 - $266,200
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
