Associate Director, Operational Readiness, Lilly Medicine Foundry

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: Indianapolis
Posted on: January 14, 2026

Job Description:

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. 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 35,000 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. Lilly recently announced a $4.5 billion investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development. The first-ever facility of its kind, combining research and manufacturing in a single location, the Medicine Foundry will allow Lilly to further develop innovative solutions to optimize manufacturing processes and increase capacity for clinical trial medicines, while also reducing costs and environmental impact. Position Description: The Associate Director Operational Readiness is responsible for managing the delivery of operational readiness aspects of the Foundry site. This role works in partnership with front line resources, leadership, and project stakeholders to ensure site deliverables to support startup are appropriately planned, scheduled, and executed to enable on-schedule and on-budget project delivery. The scope of operational readiness deliverables is expansive, stretching across all functional areas of the site, requiring the Associate Director Operational Readiness to build breadth of knowledge and work well cross-functionally. This role also works across teams to enable successful integration of the operational readiness schedule with the construction and qualification schedules. Key Responsibilities: Partner with leaders and SMEs to develop operational readiness scope across multiple technical areas simultaneously. Lead cross-functional project teams to develop operational readiness scope into an integrated schedule. Manage and track execution of operational readiness deliverables and provide required metrics for stakeholder accountability. Integrate operational readiness schedules with the overall project schedule to enable integrated critical path tracking. Act as a Subject Matter Expert for Project Management, driving good Project Management best practices across all areas of influence. Basic Requirements: Bachelor’s degree required in Engineering, Chemistry, or other relevant scientific discipline Minimum of 8 years of experience in multidisciplinary business functions within pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry and project management Additional Preferences: Experience managing projects in pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry, preferably in an API pilot plant environment Bring multidisciplinary experience/understanding from various business units (e.g. Engineering, Automation, Facility, Safety, Quality, Operations, etc.) to support overall operational readiness CAPM or PMP Certification Experience with Oracle Primavera P6 and Smartsheet for project scheduling software Experience working in a GMP environment Experience with capital project execution. Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work as a team leader to execute multi-disciplined projects. Strong organizational skills. For internal Lilly employees - LRL/Product Research Development experience preferred Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. WeAreLilly 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 $111,000 - $162,800 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. WeAreLilly

Keywords: Eli Lilly and Company, Noblesville , Associate Director, Operational Readiness, Lilly Medicine Foundry, Science, Research & Development , Indianapolis, Indiana