ExploR&D Program Lead (EPL)

Eli Lilly and Company • Us, IN

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Lilly Catalyze360 is Lilly’s comprehensive approach to enabling the early-stage biotech ecosystem by democratizing access to infrastructure, expertise, and resources. Through its interconnected pillars — Lilly Ventures, Lilly Gateway Labs, Lilly ExploR&D, and Lilly TuneLab — Catalyze360 strategically removes barriers that traditionally block bold science from becoming life-changing medicines, providing biotechs with flexible combinations of capital, physical lab space, R&D capabilities, AI/ML tools, and decades of enterprise learning. Lilly ExploR&D is a team of drug discovery and development experts who partner with biotechs from discovery through clinical proof-of-concept, putting Lilly’s industry-leading capabilities behind their missions. We provide flexible support — from strategic consulting to full program execution — making it faster, easier, and more capital-efficient for innovators to transform bold science into life-changing medicines.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in biology or a STEM-related field
• 5+ years of work experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including preclinical-translational sciences and/or clinical-stage drug development, across therapeutic modalities such as cell and gene therapies, antibodies, peptides, oligonucleotides, vaccines, and small molecules.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced graduate degree (PhD, PharmD, MS, or MBA in combination with a scientific/technical background) in a health-related, scientific, or engineering field.
• 10+ years of work experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including preclinical-translational sciences and/or clinical-stage drug development, across therapeutic modalities such as cell and gene therapies, antibodies, peptides, oligonucleotides, vaccines, and small molecules.
• Recognized as an internal subject matter expert within a therapeutic or technical discipline, with the credibility to influence program strategy and decisions across ExploR&D and Lilly leadership.
• Deep scientific fluency across the drug discovery and development continuum (preclinical-translational through clinical proof-of-concept), with a demonstrated ability to critically evaluate complex technical and clinical data.
• Intellectual agility to rapidly build scientific and strategic fluency across multiple modalities, indications, and emerging therapeutic areas, applying learnings from past programs to new situations.
• Experience with science-driven business decisions, with a deep understanding of asset strategy, portfolio management, and the broader pharmaceutical landscape.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence teams and senior stakeholders in a matrixed environment, driving alignment across diverse functions, geographies, and organizational levels.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate project goals, strategy, and results to internal leadership, external partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Prior experience managing external collaborations and alliances, with a proven track record of overseeing complex, cross-functional partnering projects that consistently meet partners’ needs and expectations.
• Demonstrated ability to understand biotech partners’ needs and constraints and translate into clear scope of work, workplans, program execution, and ExploR&D deliverables.
• Acts with a portfolio-level mentality, ensuring individual program decisions align with and advance the overall goals of ExploR&D and Catalyze360.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate challenges, diagnose root causes, and build stakeholder consensus around creative solutions that drive program success.
• Experience leading through ambiguity and uncertainty, maintaining program momentum and stakeholder confidence amid evolving data, priorities, or circumstances.
• Practical experience or certification in project management (e.g., PMP or equivalent), with demonstrated application of contemporary project management tools and methodologies.
• Proven track record forecasting resource needs, managing budgets, and delivering large-scale, cross-functional programs ‘on time, on budget,’ and within scope.
• Experience developing work plans and supporting contract negotiation, with the operational discipline to execute post-signature from discovery through preclinical development and clinical proof-of-concept.
• Demonstrated commitment to operational excellence, driving process improvements that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of portfolio delivery.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the single point of accountability for external collaboration projects spanning discovery, preclinical development, and clinical proof-of-concept within Lilly’s ExploR&D organization.
• Defines program strategy, forecasts resource needs, and develops aggressive, attainable timelines and budgets.
• Leads large-scale, cross-functional programs with significant risk and complexity to deliver high-quality results on time and on budget.
• Makes complex technical and business decisions within functional, company, and industry guidelines.
• Collaborates with and influences peers, Lilly leadership, senior management, regulators, and external partners on key program decisions.
• Demonstrates learning agility and the ability to lead through ambiguity, pioneering novel science, technologies, and R&D collaboration models to advance future medicines across multiple indications, modalities, and therapeutic areas.
• Lead multiple collaboration teams comprised of ExploR&D personnel, LRL subject matter experts, and external biotech collaborators.
• Create a high-performing team with a culture of trust, autonomy, agency, collaboration, and inclusion.
• Define and shape program scope based on partner needs, available data, and program goals, translating strategic objectives into clear, executable work plans.
• Develop work plans and assist with contract negotiation prior to execution.
• Execute work plans post-signature, including delivering projects ‘on time, on budget,’ and within scope from discovery/preclinical development through clinical proof-of-concept using contemporary project management tools and approaches.
• Forecast resource needs and manage allocated budgets for large-scale programs with significant risk, financial/resource requirements, and complexity to achieve critical business objectives.
• Identify and synthesize relevant, technical information from a variety of sources — including scientific literature, internal and external subject matter experts, and experimental or trial data — to address key questions, lead internal subject matter experts in essential program elements, and guide study design and program strategy.
• Serve as the ExploR&D program lead responsible for rationale, integration of cross-functional data, synthesis of the risk/benefit profile, strategic conclusions, and designs to drive data-driven decision making across the discovery-to-clinic continuum.
• Demonstrate the learning agility to rapidly build scientific and strategic fluency in areas that extend beyond existing Lilly expertise, positioning ExploR&D to lead confidently into new therapeutic area (TA) ‘white space,’ emerging modalities, and novel indications.
• Serve as primary liaison between Lilly and external biotech collaborators, fostering strong relationships, transparent communication, and ensuring alignment on project goals.
• Anticipate and resolve barriers to success by identifying potential roadblocks early, offering innovative solutions, and ensuring that collaboration programs are executed with excellence.
• Cultivate a true alliance mindset, aligning strategic plans to the goals and priorities of both Lilly and the external partner to drive program success and create outcomes where both parties win.
• Bring an entrepreneurial, solutions-oriented approach that pushes beyond conventional boundaries to find a way forward on the field’s most difficult scientific and operational challenges.
• Serve as the integrating point across regulators, vendors, customers, and other external stakeholders — synthesizing diverse input and perspectives to guide program strategy and inform key decisions, rather than simply tracking developments.
• Contribute to diligence and workplan development that optimize outcomes for Lilly and external collaborators.
• Proactively identify gaps and inefficiencies in existing processes, tools, and ways of working, bringing forward practical, well-reasoned solutions with means to deliver.
• Drive operational excellence in process and program management by designing and implementing improvements that enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability of portfolio delivery.
• Champion the adoption of new tools, templates, and ways of working that elevate ExploR&D’s project management capabilities to a world-class standard of professionalism and rigor.
• Apply program insights across multiple functions and, where relevant, large geographic areas to strengthen consistency and impact across the ExploR&D portfolio.

Benefits

• company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance)
• company-sponsored 401(k)
• pension
• vacation benefits
• 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
• well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior