Director – Discovery ADME Project Leader (Bioconjugates)

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.

We are seeking an experienced, accomplished drug hunter as a Discovery ADME Project Leader focused on Antibody Drug Conjugates. The ideal candidate will provide deep mechanistic understanding of drug disposition, PK, and translational science, plus the ability to integrate biology, chemistry, and modeling. Experience with Bioconjugates Discovery and in project teams with antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and small format drug conjugates is advantageous. The successful candidate will bring exceptional scientific depth and acumen as an integral member of the project team to create bold Target Product Profiles, help establish design strategy and expectations, partner globally and cross-functionally and ensure teams are advancing The Right Molecule to The Right Study at The Right Time (our three R’s). Geography for this position is open to Indianapolis IN, Louisville CO or Boston MA.

What You Will Do

• Keep Safety as a priority.
• Develop and implement integrated preclinical ADME strategies aligned with discovery stage, target product profile (TPP), design hypotheses being tested, and regulatory expectations.

As a Bioconjugates ADME Project Leader, bring integrated ADME subject matter expertise, driving comprehensive ADME strategy by aligning pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and mechanistic disposition data with early safety signals; interpret exposure–toxicity relationships, therapeutic index, and off-target liabilities to proactively de-risk programs and enable data-driven candidate selection decisions. Integrate ADME, pharmacology, and toxicology to enable translational simulations and modeling to support dose selection, design of PK/PD, efficacy and safety studies. Define stage-, modality-, and issue-appropriate screening, decision funnels (in silico, in vitro, in vivo to translational modeling). Guide compound design and optimization through data-driven design principles (clearance, permeability, solubility, DDI risk, transporter liabilities). Serve as the ADME strategy and science single-point-of-accountability on cross-functional program teams, translating ADME findings into actional design and test hypotheses. Collaborate closely with Medicinal Chemistry, DMPK, Toxicology, Pharmacology, and other Discovery Functions to drive high quality candidate selections. Contribute to go/no-go decisions using quantitative PK/PD, IVIVE, and mechanistic interpretation. Represent ADME in portfolio governance discussions and leadership reviews. Implement best practices, assay innovation, and automation where appropriate. Drive continuous improvement in data reporting, knowledge management, and decision frameworks. Seek and leverage AI and agentic tools where possible to pipeline data, interpret data and share results. Maintain inspection-ready documentation and alignment with regulatory expectations. Mentor, teach and grow junior scientists and contribute to functional capability building.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD (or equivalent) in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacometrics, Systems Pharmacology, Preclinical or Clinical Pharmacology, Drug Metabolism, Toxicology, Chemical Biology, or related field.
• 6+ years of post-graduation industry experience in a drug discovery environment, driving discovery teams with understanding of the life cycle/flywheel (Design, Make, Test, Analyze) of a discovery project.

Additional Skill/Preferences

• Deep subject matter ADME expertise, a working knowledge of medicinal chemistry and bioconjugates.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to successfully navigate ambiguity and/or global cross-functional collaborations.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical concepts into strategic value for senior leadership and cross-functional partners.

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

$177,000 - $308,000

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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