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.
About the Role
The Analytical Automation Scientist will partner with external vendors to design, develop, and deploy high-throughput analytical automation modules (i.e., PCR, LC and LC/MS, etc.) to support the high-throughput chemistry/biology automation workcell. This role is pivotal in enabling rapid, high-quality analytical data generation that fuels iterative learning.
Working in Shanghai, the scientist will partner with external engineering companies to deliver state-of-the-art automation systems and collaborate internally to ensure consistent analytical strategy, workflow integration, and alignment with global standards.
Key Responsibilities
Automation System Development & Integration
Partner with external automation and engineering vendors to design, build, and validate high-throughput analytical automation systems (i.e. LC and LC/MS).
Define analytical workflow specifications and ensure seamless integration with the synthetic chemistry/structure biology automation workcell.
Oversee installation, qualification, and performance verification to ensure robust data quality and operational reliability.
Integrate analytical systems with other automation systems.
Automated Analytical Operations
Develop automated workflows for compound identification, purity assessment, structural elucidation, and high-throughput screening.
Establish and maintain SOPs aligned with relevant Lilly global standards.
Optimize analytical turnaround time to accelerate data generation.
Ensure structured FAIR data capture, semantic contextualization, and full data traceability within the Enterprise Data Lake (EDL).
Technical Leadership
Apply deep expertise in LC, LC/MS, NMR, and related analytical techniques to guide automation design and scientific strategy.
Evaluate and implement emerging analytical and automation technologies to enhance lab capability and throughput.
Collaborate closely with global Data Foundry teams to connect analytical data streams with additional systems and models.
Qualifications & Experience
Required:
Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or related field.
7+ years of experience in an analytical lab, supporting compound characterization, identification, and structure elucidation.
Proven hands-on expertise with LC and LC/MS systems (Agilent, Waters, Sciex, Thermo).
Strong understanding of data automation, system integration, and analytical digitalization.
Excellent communication skills in English and Mandarin with demonstrated cross-functional collaboration.
Preferred:
Experience in NMR, high-throughput screening, and early discovery analytical workflows.
Background in automation design or robotics integration.
Familiarity with data analytics and informatics platforms (e.g., Spotfire, R-Shiny, Pipeline Pilot).
Prior experience collaborating with global teams and managing external engineering vendors.
Experience establishing new analytical lab infrastructure is highly desirable.
Why Join Us
Build and lead a state-of-the-art analytical automation platform within Lilly’s global discovery network.
Collaborate with world-class scientists and engineers globally across chemistry, biology, and data science.
Shape the future of autonomous drug discovery together with global teams, by integrating advanced analytics, automation, and computation.
Be part of a mission-driven team accelerating the path from molecule design to life-changing medicines.
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 does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.
#WeAreLilly
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 3432 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 177 biopharma companies.
Salary context
816 of 3432 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.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 3432 comparable roles
+ 55 more countries
Seniority mix
1535 of 3432 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
19 of 3432 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
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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.
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.