Senior Research Scientist - Product Development

Elanco • Indianapolis, IN

32d • Hybrid

About The Position

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals! As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People. At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights. Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today! About the Role As the Senior Packaging Engineer, you will be a key contributor to Elanco’s global Packaging Development team, collaborating with colleagues across Indianapolis, Switzerland, and Germany. You will lead the development and implementation of packaging solutions for development-stage products across small molecule, biopharma, and vaccine portfolios. Your work will directly support Elanco’s global product development pipeline, advancing technology platform goals and ensuring high-quality packaging solutions from early development through commercial scale-up.

Requirements

• Education: Master’s degree in Packaging Technology or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Experience: Minimum of 5 years in pharmaceutical drug product development with extensive exposure to parenteral packaging and associated regulatory expectations.
• Strong technical expertise in packaging development, packaging materials, and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate cross-functionally with global teams and external partners.
• Familiarity with GMP principles, standards, and regulatory frameworks.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting biopharma and vaccine product portfolios.
• Hands-on experience with sterile manufacturing environments and container closure integrity (CCI) principles.
• Prior experience authoring or supporting regulatory submissions for packaging.
• Demonstrated ability to innovate within packaging development.
• Proven ability to manage multiple global projects with adaptability and learning agility.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging from early development through CT material supply, registration and commercial readiness.
• Serve as the packaging Subject Matter Expert across multidisciplinary project teams, with emphasis on parenteral and sterile packaging.
• Partner with R&D and Manufacturing to evaluate feasibility, processability, and seamless transfer of packaging solutions into commercial production.
• Plan and execute packaging studies, machine trials, data evaluation, conclusions, and documentation, including authoring regulatory submission components.
• Scout innovative materials, technologies, and suppliers to strengthen packaging strategies and drive creative, compliant, and efficient solutions.
• Author packaging registration documents and interact with our registration team as appropriate.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees