Director/Sr Director, Long-Acting Injectable & Bio-Nano Interface Characterization

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.  Organization Overview: The Drug Delivery group at Lilly studies physiological barriers across routes of administration to create novel, patient-centric delivery solutions, serving as a center of excellence in injection physiology, device ideation, novel drug delivery technologies across modalities and routes of administration, nanomedicine and targeted delivery, and connected devices/digital biomarkers.

Overview: The Director/Sr Director, Long-Acting Injectable & Bio-Nano Interface Characterization anchors a growing technical capability in long-acting injectable (LAI) and depot delivery — spanning polymer and lipid depot platforms (microspheres, in situ forming depots, and liquid-crystal systems, etc.) together with the physicochemical and biological characterization of injectable particle systems, including protein-corona (biocorona) formation at the bio-nano interface — intended to extend dosing intervals, enable higher-concentration and needle-sparing delivery, and de-risk the in vivo fate of injectable biologics, peptides, and nucleic-acid medicines. We are seeking a senior technical leader to define and drive the scientific and translational strategy for these platforms at Lilly, operating at the enterprise level: setting technical direction across programs, representing Lilly externally with academic, clinical, CDMO, and regulatory stakeholders, and mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers. The role carries accountability for translating long-acting-injectable and bio-nano-interface science from mechanistic understanding into IND- and design-control-ready delivery platforms.

Define the scientific vision and multi-year technical strategy for long-acting injectable and depot delivery, aligned with the group's portfolio bets and enterprise R&D priorities, including build-vs-buy and external innovation decisions (licensing, partnerships, sponsored research). Serve as Lilly's internal and external technical authority on injectable depot systems and the bio-nano interface — including release-rate engineering, burst-release control, and protein-corona and biodistribution behavior; lead cross-functional and cross-company teams to translate platform concepts from feasibility through design control, leveraging AI/ML-enabled modeling and data-analysis tools to accelerate technical decision-making. Build and leverage an external network of academic collaborators, CDMOs, consortia, and regulatory bodies (e.g., FDA); represent Lilly's long-acting-injectable and nanoparticle-characterization work in publications, conferences, and regulatory discussions. Design and oversee preclinical release, PK/IVIVC, and biodistribution study strategy with CRO and academic partners to de-risk IND-enabling and design-control decisions; champion breakthrough approaches and make data-driven, sometimes bold, decisions under scientific and technical ambiguity where no precedent exists. Actively mentor and coach scientists and engineers, including staff outside your direct reporting line; identify and help lead scientific or process improvements that draw on diverse thinking across DDCS's broader technical portfolio.

Earned PhD in pharmaceutical sciences, chemical or biomedical engineering, materials science, biophysics, or a related