Lilly Posted October 9, 2026

Discovery Toxicology Project Leader

Indianapolis, Indiana, 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.

Job Title: Discovery Toxicology Project Leader within Investigative Toxicology

OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE

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 can also count on us to support communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.

The Investigative and Discovery Toxicology Organization is searching for a motivated and detail-oriented individual to join our team as a Discovery Toxicology Project Leader. In this role, you will be responsible for leading toxicology projects to support the discovery of new pharmaceutical small molecule products while working closely with cross-functional teams to ensure the successful execution and interpretation of toxicology studies toward successful clinical candidates.

What we are looking for:

Small Molecule Discovery Toxicology Project Leader experience.

A skilled and creative scientific investigator to serve a vital role in our mission to provide innovative medicines.

Strong leadership, mentorship and communication skills with the ability to engage cross-functionally with key stakeholders across the discovery and development enterprise.

A motivated individual looking to collaborate and excel in a cross-functional team setting.

Key Responsibilities:

Drive team level Discovery Toxicology project strategies, and design effective toxicology plans to identify hazards and address risk of toxicity for compounds moving into development.

Plan Discovery Toxicology studies from initiation to completion, ensuring adherence to deliverable and timelines.

Collect, analyze, and interpret toxicological data (In Silico, In Vitro and In Vivo).

Prepare and present project findings, updates, and reports, to internal and external stakeholders.

Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to deliver candidates molecules into the development pipeline.

Identify and address any issues or challenges that arise during toxicology studies.

 

EDUCATION, BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS:

PhD in Toxicology, Pathology or related field with 5+ years of relative experience or MS/BS degree in related field with at least 15 years of applicable experience.

Project Management

Experience in the drug discovery and development process.

Experience with regulatory guidelines and standards (e.g., GLP, FDA, EMA).

Additional Skill:

Established leadership skills.

Strong organizational and project management skills.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Proficiency in data analysis and interpretation.

Strong problem-solving skills.

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

$153,000 - $264,000

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
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, 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 1022 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 81 biopharma companies.

1022Comparable roles tracked
937Currently active
81Companies hiring similar roles
31Countries represented

Salary context

428 of 1022 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $153,000/yr – $264,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Vice President, Therapeutics Immunology · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $0 – $381,150 (median $159,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 1022 comparable roles

United States692
Germany50
China44
Switzerland36
United Kingdom35
France26

+ 25 more countries

Seniority mix

739 of 1022 peers have a known seniority level

Senior235
Principal171
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc84
Associate78
Director62
Associate Director43
Senior Director26
Manager26
Executive/VP14

Therapeutic area mix

134 of 1022 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology54
Oncology41
Neuroscience23
Cardiovascular / CVRM6
Vaccines & Infectious Disease3
Respiratory3
Dermatology & Aesthetics2
Gastroenterology1
Rare Disease1

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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.

40%similar
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40%similar
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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.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

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.

40%
Executive Director, Global Product Lead, Immunology Research and Development
AstraZeneca · Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America · Executive/VP
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Advisor / Senior Advisor, Cardiovascular NAMs – Investigative Toxicology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
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.