Lilly Posted September 2, 2026

Pharmaceutical Scientist (R2-R4)

Boston, Massachusetts, 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 Pharmaceutical Scientist (R2-R4) to develop nucleic acid-based formulations for therapeutic candidates. Design, implement, and troubleshoot laboratory experiments for lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations from small scale to mid-scale. Perform daily characterization of LNPs, assessing stability using particle sizing, Ribogreen assay, and osmometry. Optimize current formulation methods and processes for delivery of nucleic acids. Screen optimal process to enable midscale production which supports large animal studies. Develop comprehensive standard operating procedures (SOPs) and generate test method documentation. Interpret and analyze data and maintain comprehensive records of multiple laboratory projects. Support downstream processing of nucleic acid-based formulations. #LI-DNI

Position requires a Master’s degree in Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Science, or a related scientific field, and 1 year of experience with researching nucleic acid formulation and characterization or 1 year of experience with polymeric nanoparticles formulation and characterization. Experience must include a minimum of: 1 year of experience with analytical techniques for characterizing nanoparticles, including Dynamic Light scattering, Zeta potential, and Ribogreen; 1 year of experience with preparation of nanoparticle-based formulations at scales sufficient to support in vitro and in vivo studies; 1 year of experience with wet lab biology techniques; and 1 year of experience with designing formulation methods, composition, and process parameters. Up to 10% domestic and international travel required. #LI-DNI

Job location: Boston, MA

To apply, please visit https://jobsearch.lilly.com/ and enter job requisition number R-107953 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

$101,026.00 - $122,845.00 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
Not listed
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

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

We currently track 6622 comparable roles across 193 biopharma companies.

6622Comparable roles tracked
6389Currently active
193Companies hiring similar roles
80Countries represented

Salary context

1523 of 6622 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 $101,026/yr – $122,845/yr
Only peer reporting · · $0/yr – $0/yr
Peer group range $0 – $475,500 (median $177,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 6622 comparable roles

United States2660
Germany511
China454
India320
France226
United Kingdom225

+ 74 more countries

Seniority mix

3496 of 6622 peers have a known seniority level

Manager1076
Senior608
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc524
Director414
Associate Director324
Principal211
Associate154
Senior Director138
Executive/VP47

Therapeutic area mix

518 of 6622 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology218
Neuroscience109
Immunology64
Dermatology & Aesthetics39
Rare Disease35
Cardiovascular / CVRM19
Vaccines & Infectious Disease14
Respiratory8
Gastroenterology6
Ophthalmology6

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
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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.

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%
Scientific Lead, Molecular Characterization
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Research Advisor, Drug Product - SMDD
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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.