Advisor/Sr. Advisor - Macrocycles Chemical Biology

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.

The Protomer team at Lilly focuses on chemical biology, molecular switches and (oral) peptidic macrocycles platforms. This position is focused on deep technology development in chemical biology, specifically peptides and macrocycles with a particular focus on peptide libraries, and oral macrocyclic peptides.   

 

The Protomer team engages in disease-relevant biological systems in order to test preclinical and clinical pipeline of innovative medicines. The candidate is expected to help develop strategy, direction and manage scientific group milestones and objectives based on an ambitious long-term strategic plan which the candidate helps to develop.  

 

The ideal candidate is a significant contributor and leading a highly integrated, agile, and collaborative team effort and expected to manage the scientific portfolio, the business supporting the portfolio, and mentoring of junior scientists within the oral macrocycles group at Protomer. Ideal candidate is expected to have demonstrated success in similar roles with proven track record of leading both scientific rationale, planning and execution leading to success in making medicines. 

 

This individual will also be expected to be able to independently lead projects, help shape the team and strategy of the group, contribute significantly to prioritization of the team objectives and interact with and create and nurture the cross-functional relationships interacting with various therapeutic areas such diabetes and obesity, neuroscience, immunology and oncology. 
 
Responsibilities: 

• Contribute to projects in oral macrocycles, chemical biology or peptide frameworks combining aspect of molecule design and conjugation at the interface of small molecules and peptides.
• Work on (both directionally and operationally) molecule engineering efforts from lead identification to lead optimization and contribute along the way to phase 1b and beyond. 
• Lead display screening efforts from lead finding to lead optimization of oral macrocyclic peptide discovery projects
• Learn about and enhance the platform technology efforts at Protomer to accelerate the lead finding and optimization process.
• Work collaboratively in the group to achieve a common goal but also provide independent perspective and scientific rationale and contribute to strategy and execution.  
• Take on dedicated molecular engineering efforts towards targets of high conviction and use speed and prioritization to advance synthetic efforts both at Protomer and wider Lilly groups and through collaboration with the rest of LRL. 
• Inspire people to collaborate in inventing great medicines by removing barriers, committing to high quality scientific hypotheses, and accelerating where possible. 
• Keep safety as a top priority at all times, striving toward a proactive safety culture. 
• Be an advocate for diversity and inclusion in our recruiting, retaining and developing scientists, with a commitment to coaching and development of scientists. 
• Be a good teammate and work effectively, responsibly and professionally with colleagues at Protomer and across Lilly.  

 
Qualifications: 

PhD or post-doctoral degree in chemistry, synthetic chemistry, chemical biology or related field with significant experience in these fields and a proven track record of research success.  ·      

Additional Skills

• Knowledge of some of the latest developments in developing oral macrocyclic peptides or library based selection approaches. 
• Proven track record of library-base screening or lead optimization efforts using display technologies/OBOC libraries/DEL technologies, and ideally both in oral macrocycles or alternative experience working with peptides demonstrating an understanding of biophysical and biochemical properties that impact these types of molecules.  
• Experience in bioinformatics, NGS analysis, peptide library designs.
• Deep knowledge and understanding of molecular biology techniques. Proficient in experimental design, assay execution, troubleshooting, data analysis, and data interpretation.
• Knowledge of lab automation systems to streamline the experimental protocols and create workflows.
• Familiarity with innovative computational and structural efforts for hit identification and lead optimization in macrocyclic peptides. 
• Basic understanding of computational and AI/machine learning techniques used for the development and engineering of oral macrocyclic peptide medicines. 
• Understanding the whole drug discovery process including lead generation and lead optimization and will partner with cross functional groups including other areas within Medicine Innovation Hub, therapeutic areas, ADME, nonclinical safety assessment and PK/PD. 
• Open, transparent and able to communicate equally well with employees, team members and cross-functional and/or senior leadership. 
• Must be an excellent teammate, strong attention to detail, strong problem-solving skills, a high level of learning agility, with the ability to lead within a globally matrixed organization and across functions. 
• Ability to think strategically, actively identifying gaps in competencies or capabilities within the organization and taking initiative to drive continuous improvement across Protomer. 

 

 Additional Information: 

• ·       Some domestic and international travel is anticipated and expected.  

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.

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Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

$133,500 - $250,800

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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