Sr. Director - Ventures - AI/ML & Biotech Innovation

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.

Lilly Ventures (LV) is a pan-therapeutic, global innovation organization embedded within Eli Lilly & Company. Our mission is to identify and integrate breakthrough science - including the rapidly maturing spaces of AI/ML, computational biology, and platform technologies that drive medicine advancement - into Lilly Research Labs (LRL) to accelerate drug discovery and development. We operate at the intersection of venture capital, biotech innovation, and R&D transformation. 

We are seeking a Sr. Director with deep expertise in AI/ML and its application to biotech and pharmaceutical R&D. This role will be pivotal in sourcing, evaluating, and advancing external innovation opportunities, particularly those leveraging data science, machine learning, and computational platforms, to address unmet patient needs and enhance Lilly’s internal capabilities.

You will report to the Vice President of Lilly Ventures and will be a critical member of the team defining strategy and tactics to expand AI/ML external innovation efforts.  You will be part of our global team working closely with peers in Boston, Indianapolis, San Francisco, San Diego, UK/EU, China and Japan on the real time tracking and execution of external innovation opportunities. A strong relationship with Lilly’s Search and Evaluation colleagues responsible for individual therapeutic and functional areas (TA/FAs), and other BD and Catalyze360 colleagues will be important.  Excellent communication, time-management and relationship-building skills will be required in this global matrixed environment.

You will lead and co-lead venture fund interactions, collaborate with global geography leads, and work closely with our strategic VC partners, accelerators, and academic institutions. You will also help support Lilly’s Catalyze360’s broader innovation models, including ExploR&D and Lilly Gateway Labs, with a focus on AI-native or AI-augmented biotech startups. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Identify and evaluate AI/ML-driven biotech opportunities across the venture and innovation ecosystem.
• Prioritize emerging technologies such as large language models (LLMs), foundation models, and agentic AI systems that can transform life sciences workflows—from target discovery, molecule design/optimization, to clinical development.
• Conduct rigorous scientific and technical assessments of platforms, assets, and technologies, including computational pipelines, predictive models, and data infrastructure.
• Lead due diligence efforts and prepare investment recommendations for governance review.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of AI/ML-enabled innovation aligned with Lilly’s R&D priorities.
• Represent Lilly’s strategy in external engagements, including conferences, pitch sessions, and partner meetings.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders across Search & Evaluation, Therapeutic Areas, and Data Science to ensure seamless integration of external innovation.

Facilitate the development and maintenance of strong external networks to enhance Lilly’s potential for productive business relationships with external companies:

• Build a strategy to regularly engage in opportunity and deal flow discussions with a prioritized group of external VC funds which create the most promising AI companies to complement our existing Lilly Ventures biotech VC network
• Maintain formal contact channels with key venture funds and biotech companies (such as in meetings and conference calls) that discuss potential new opportunities, working with the Venture fund and project leads and updating them as opportunities advance through the different stages of the Lilly evaluation process.
• Support Lilly’s visibility at conferences and partnering meetings, including prior analysis of opportunities, planning of logistics, and follow-up communications. Some attendance at events will be expected.
• The ideal candidate will be both an excellent scientist and will have demonstrated the ability to find new opportunities, thoroughly evaluate them and advance projects and initiatives to a successful conclusion.
• Should possess outstanding EQ, problem-solving, analytical, project management, communication, and leadership skills. Must also be highly organized and ab