Lilly Posted September 11, 2026

Advisor Chemistry

Pasadena, California, United States of America FULL_TIME
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Lilly is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

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 

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.

Protomer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co. based in Pasadena, CA. The team operates as a group within Lilly Research Laboratories (LRL). LRL is focused on the discovery and development of new therapeutics for the treatment of a plethora of diseases. The scientists in LRL work cross-functionally between therapeutic target area disciplines, including Diabetes, Heart Failure, Renal, Neuroscience, ASCVD, Incretins and Insulins. The team at Protomer is working on responsive biotherapeutics that can be controlled using small molecule modulators. We are currently expanding the team to advance several programs, including responsive siRNA and ASOs using sensing elements, and are looking for a research scientist with a proven record of accomplishment in chemistry, biochemistry, synthesis, bioconjugations, and purification/characterization of therapeutic compounds of interest.

The ideal candidate will have a degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, biology, or a related field, as well as in-depth understanding of basic biochemistry and chemistry techniques and experience with development, validation, and implementation of experiments in a biomedical research setting. Ideal candidate will have great working knowledge of synthetic routes for RNA molecules that can be conjugated or synthesized with small molecule or short peptides. The applicant must be a fast-learning, task-oriented, and self-motivated person who can perform detailed work with minimal supervision. A requirement of this role is to work well as a team player in a fast-paced research setting. The applicant will be responsible for synthesis, bioconjugation, purification, and characterization of compounds of interest. The successful candidate will actively participate and present in team meetings and is expected to contribute to the team’s progress and success.

Demonstrated ability to make decisions in the midst of ambiguity, seeking appropriate level of information from Protomer leadership and enabling workforce to execute for and contribute to Protomer team’s strategic priorities.

Open, transparent and able to communicate equally well with employees, team members and cross-functional and/or senior leadership. Team oriented mindset, pleasant to work with and a leader that develops next generation talent as well as delivers results.

Ability to think strategically, actively identifying gaps in competencies or capabilities within the organization and taking initiative to drive continuous improvement across Protomer.

Responsibilities:

·         Work closely with the Protomer team to accomplish team objectives and research milestones

·         Use knowledge and technical expertise to complement and enable core capabilities and help drive development of preclinical and clinical candidates

·         Purify and characterize compounds using HPLC, FPLC, and various biochemical methods

·         Introduce and maintain state-of-the-art technologies with respect to peptide therapeutics, including developing and implementing assays and maintaining critical instruments.

·         Perform data analysis. Critically evaluate data and results and troubleshoot experiments.

·         Demonstrable ability to function independently, work within a team-oriented lab environment, and work within cross-functional project teams.

·         Maintain accurate record keeping, perform independent data analysis, and report data in written and oral formats and retain excellent electronic lab notes.

·         Perform work in compliance with Lilly Research Policies.

·         Demonstrate proactive and flexible behaviors and develop skills for competency in conducting independent research projects.

Basic Qualifications:

·         PhD degree in chemistry or a closely related field with relevant graduate or post-graduate level research experience.

Additional Skills/Preferences:

·         Responsibilities will reflect the level of experience and competency of the candidate and can span from early research and development execution to overseeing larger efforts depending on experience

·         Proven ability to work in a flexible, team-oriented environment.

·         Experience with standard biochemistry techniques in a graduate level academic research setting and preferably in an industry setting.

·         Individuals with significant industry experience will be considered and responsibilities will reflect the level of experience of the candidate.

·         Experience in the development and validation of in vitro biochemical and data evaluation, especially in the areas of cardiorenal and metabolic diseases.

·         Strong communication skills and experience presenting data in a team environment.

·         Strong relationship-building and interaction skills with peers and management.

Additional Information:

Some domestic and international travel is anticipated and expected. Work is on-site and the team is located in Pasadena, California.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form ( https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation ) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

$141,000 - $231,000

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for 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; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

#WeAreLilly

Job details

Seniority
Associate
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Pasadena, California, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 189 comparable Associate Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 43 biopharma companies.

189Comparable roles tracked
154Currently active
43Companies hiring similar roles
18Countries represented

Salary context

70 of 189 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject $141,000/yr – $231,000/yr
Lowest disclosed · Lab Associate Flow Cytometry · IQVIA $34,700/yr – $72,300/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor, Bio Sample Operations - DMPK · Lilly $153,000/yr – $268,400/yr
Peer group range $53,500 – $210,700 (median $88,850)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 189 comparable roles

United States126
France15
Germany13
Belgium5
United Kingdom5
Switzerland4

+ 12 more countries

Seniority mix

189 of 189 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc94
Associate72
Manager23

Therapeutic area mix

23 of 189 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology8
Oncology8
Neuroscience5
Cardiovascular / CVRM1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

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How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

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Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.