Lilly Posted September 2, 2026

Molecular Biologist (R6 – R7)

San Diego, 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.

Eli Lilly and Company seeks a Molecular Biologist (R6-R7) to develop cutting-edge molecular biology methods as a part of Lilly Small Molecule Discovery. Develop and implement molecular biology workflows to expedite discovery. Design and construct comprehensive mutagenesis libraries for deep scanning mutagenesis libraries. Implement and optimize high throughput cloning and expression strategies in yeast and mammalian display systems. Ensure high-quality documentation, data integrity, and communication of experimental outcomes. #LI-DNI

Position requires a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, or a related STEM field and 5 years of academic or employment experience working on mutagenesis, protein engineering, or display technologies. Academic or employment experience must include a minimum of: 5 years of experience with molecular cloning, library design, and next-generation sequencing-based analysis; 5 years of experience with phage, yeast, and mammalian surface display platforms; 5 years of experience with independently designing and executing complex molecular biology experiments; and 5 years of experience with developing high diversity libraries for deep mutational scanning. Up to 5% domestic and international travel may be required. #LI-DNI

Job location: San Diego, CA.

To apply, please visit https://jobsearch.lilly.com/ and enter job requisition number R-107941 when prompted. Alternatively, please send your resume, cover letter, and a copy of the ad to: Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Drop Code 1093, Indianapolis, IN 46285.

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

$135,304.00 - $172,690.00 per year

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
San Diego, 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 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 $135,304/yr – $172,690/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

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.

40%similar
AstraZeneca Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Executive/VP
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America
Same function Same country

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%
QSP postdoctoral scientist
Lilly · Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Sr. Scientist / Principal Scientist, Global Sample Management
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Scientist - Analytical Method Development SMDD Foundry Readiness
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Seniority not listed
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.