Chemist/Senior Chemist ADC Drug-Linker Synthetic Process Development

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: Indianapolis
Posted on: January 16, 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 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. Organization Overview: The current position focuses on small-molecule drug-linker synthetic chemistry. The current opportunity is within the Bioproduct Research and Development (BR&D) organization, which is a multidisciplinary organization focused on the development and commercialization of biologic therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies and bioconjugates. Due to a strategic commitment to the growth of novel modalities such as Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) and an exciting pipeline of investigational medicines within the Lilly portfolio, we are seeking outstanding candidates to work at this exciting small molecule – biologics interface. The successful candidate will interface closely with the biologics development in BR&D and with the Synthetic Molecule Design and Development organization (SMDD) at Lilly. Position Summary: To meet the needs of Lilly’s expanding and diverse portfolio of ADCs, our team is tasked with growing the chemistry infrastructure to conduct the synthesis and process development of highly-potent and/or cytotoxic ADC drug-linkers. We will utilize a combination of in-house and external development, while building the capabilities to develop and transfer processes to internal and external manufacturing partners. A successful applicant should bring a skillset and knowledge to help grow our team’s capabilities, research facilities, and infrastructure. Lilly has an expanding and diverse portfolio of ADCs that require thorough drug-linker process development. Responsibilities: Synthesize complex payloads and drug-linkers for preclinical tox studies and collaborate across internal Lilly networks to implement and deliver material and information via technical reports. Collaborate with members of the Lilly Discovery chemistry teams to understand and validate requirements for synthesis scale up. Work closely with early phase Discovery and Toxicology groups to support new and emerging assets in the portfolio via synthetic material supply Independently problem-solve in the laboratory setting to overcome synthetic challenges and improve upon existing workflows. Maintain laboratory equipment and manage laboratory inventory/consumables. Serve as key point of contact for laboratory troubleshooting and develop chemistry solutions for process development problems in ‘real-time.’ Execute laboratory experiments to obtain data to support process development, process characterization, and range-finding experiments. Support generating data to be used in regulatory filings. Author technical reports and CMC related documents. Basic Requirements: Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a related field with 0 – 2 years of experience in synthetic organic chemistry laboratory environment. Additional Preferences: Experience working in a high-potent laboratory environment, with experience handling and manipulating high-potent and/or cytotoxic compounds is a plus. Experience working with Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) is a plus. An active scientific curiosity and interest in complementary disciplines within the pharmaceutical industry. Familiarity with preparative scale chromatographic purification and lyophilization of small molecules. Additional Information: Potential exposure to chemicals, allergens, and loud noises. Physical Demands/Travel: The physical demands of this job are consistent with a lab environment . Travel: 0–20% The physical demands here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Work Environment: This position’s work environment is in a laboratory environment. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. *To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the role and responsibilities satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 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 - $116,600 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 , Chemist/Senior Chemist ADC Drug-Linker Synthetic Process Development, Science, Research & Development , Indianapolis, Indiana