Director/Sr. Director/Exec. Director Computational Chemistry, Advanced Molecular Design

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.

Overview:

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.

The Lilly Small Molecule Discovery group is an organization purpose-built to create molecules that make life better for people. We focus on using cutting edge science to unlock new approaches that can treat people suffering from diseases with poor treatment options. We continually challenge ourselves to deliver molecules that can provide breakthrough efficacy with the highest possible safety margins. We are dedicated to optimizing our mindset, technology, and processes for faster, more nimble execution. Our success is built on a culture that empowers innovative problem solving through open collaboration and individual accountability.

Position Summary:

Lilly’s Advanced Molecular Design (AMD) team is responsible for small molecule lead optimization with rapid progress toward new clinical candidates for patients in need. We are currently looking for experienced drug discovery experts who will apply cutting edge computational chemistry tools in our close collaborative efforts with our colleagues across medicinal chemistry and structural biology.  The ideal candidate will be passionate about a holistic approach to drug discovery, where all aspects of molecular design are considered and thoughtfully anticipated up to and including clinical trials.  Interactive communication and interpersonal collaboration will be essential to successfully fulfilling this important leadership role in Lilly Small Molecule Discovery.

Responsibilities:

• Structure-based design efforts for the lead/late-stage optimization of small molecule therapeutics across a range of therapeutic areas
• Play a key role in prioritizing medicinal chemistry efforts through critical analysis and effective decision-making leading to highly focused work and rapid progress
• Ensure the timely delivery of data and results to project teams to enable rapid iterative design cycles
• Maintain critical timelines and set team expectations for efficient delivery of clinical candidates       
• Contribution to decision-making at higher levels, up to and including prioritization of our overall small-molecule discovery portfolio
• Work closely with other AMD and therapeutic area leaders to move our portfolio of molecules from leads to quality drug candidates that have a strong potential to become breakthrough drugs
• Contribute to the ongoing evaluation of external technologies and related business development opportunities

Basic Requirements:

• PhD in Chemistry, Biophysics or related discipline with 6 -15 years of Drug Discovery research experience.

Additional Preferences:

• A deep scientific background in computational chemistry technology to guide compound optimization for medicinal chemists.
• Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines to achieve project goals and timelines.
• Proactive and effective collaboration with medicinal chemists, structural biologists, and other disciplines to achieve project goals and timelines
• A commitment to mentoring earlier career computational chemists
• Strong core desire to help patients in need
• Proven track record of success in drug discovery
• Deep-thinking that leads to creative hypotheses for the optimization of lead series across multiple projects
• A strong desire to establish a deeper understanding of all aspects of drug discovery, including small molecule-protein interactions, ADME, and toxicological considerations
• A proactive and highly engaged approach to solving challenging problems in discovery is essential
• A desire to continually stay up to date with the latest industry developments and novel techniques employed in discovery including AI and machine learning models
• Deep knowledge of lead optimization using structure-based design and other aspects of computational chemistry
• Agility and adaptability t