Lilly Posted September 5, 2026

Associate Director – Parenteral Engineering, Operations Expansion

Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, United States of America FULL_TIME
Manufacturing & CMC Associate Director
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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.

Eli Lilly and Company is seeking an Associate Director – Parenteral Engineering, Operations Expansion to lead the engineering and technical aspects of parenteral manufacturing expansion projects. This role will drive the design, implementation, and optimization of new and upgraded parenteral facilities, ensuring compliance with cGMP regulations and Lilly’s quality standards.

Job Responsibilities:

Lead and manage the engineering design, development, and execution of parenteral manufacturing expansion projects, from conceptual design through commissioning and qualification.

Oversee the selection, procurement, installation, and validation of new parenteral manufacturing equipment and systems, including aseptic filling lines, lyophilizers, isolators, and associated utilities.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, and Project Management to define project scope, technical requirements, and deliverable timelines.

Develop and implement engineering strategies to optimize manufacturing processes, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance product quality for parenteral products.

Ensure all engineering activities comply with internal Lilly standards, industry best practices, and applicable regulatory requirements (e.g., FDA, EMA).

Manage external engineering firms, vendors, and contractors, ensuring adherence to project specifications, budget, and schedule.

Conduct technical risk assessments and develop mitigation strategies for complex engineering challenges in a sterile manufacturing environment.

Provide technical expertise and mentorship to junior engineers and project team members.

Prepare and present project updates, technical reports, and proposals to senior leadership.

Drive continuous improvement initiatives in parenteral engineering and operations.

Basic Requirements:

Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related scientific discipline. Master's degree preferred.

Minimum of 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, with at least 5 years specifically in parenteral drug product manufacturing and aseptic processing.

Demonstrated experience leading large-scale capital projects for manufacturing expansions or new facility builds within the pharmaceutical industry.

Strong understanding of cGMP regulations, FDA/EMA guidelines, and industry standards related to aseptic manufacturing, sterile product fill/finish, and facility design.

Expertise in the design, qualification, and operation of parenteral manufacturing equipment (e.g., vial filling lines, pre-filled syringe lines, lyophilizers, isolators, cleanrooms, WFI/pure steam systems).

Proven ability to manage complex projects, budgets, and schedules in a fast-paced environment.

Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with diverse teams and stakeholders.

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Experience with process optimization and lean manufacturing principles in a pharmaceutical context.

Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required for project needs.

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

$123,000 - $180,400

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 Director
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 662 comparable Associate Director Manufacturing & CMC roles across 96 biopharma companies.

662Comparable roles tracked
612Currently active
96Companies hiring similar roles
36Countries represented

Salary context

189 of 662 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 $123,000/yr – $180,400/yr
Lowest disclosed · Associate Director, Digital Scientific Workflows · Merck $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Regional Manager - Megasys · Merck KGaA $220,000/yr – $250,000/yr
Peer group range $0 – $235,000 (median $151,700)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 662 comparable roles

United States354
India92
Ireland24
Netherlands24
United Kingdom21
Canada13

+ 30 more countries

Seniority mix

662 of 662 peers have a known seniority level

Senior323
Manager265
Associate Director74

Therapeutic area mix

5 of 662 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Rare Disease2
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1
Oncology1

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.

60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Associate Director
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
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60%similar
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. Foster City, United States Associate Director
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Amgen Inc. Remote, United States Associate Director
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60%similar
Biogen Cambridge, United States Associate Director
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Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

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.

60%
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Lilly · Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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.