Lilly Posted November 10, 2026

Sr. Biologist – In Vivo Obesity Research

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America FULL_TIME
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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.

In Vivo Sr. Biologist – Obesity Research

Role overview

The Cardiometabolic Research unit (CMR) of Eli Lilly and Company discovers biologic, small molecule and genetic medicines for diabetes, obesity and related complications.

We are seeking a skilled, motivated and versatile in vivo biologist to join the Obesity research group in Indianapolis. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience performing in vivo studies using models and phenotyping assays relevant to research focused on obesity and diabetes.  The applicant must be a task-oriented and self-motivated worker capable of conducting detailed research protocols without constant supervision, strong written and oral communication skills, and be able to work in a team-oriented environment.

Key responsibilities

Design and run acute and chronic in vivo studies in rodent models of obesity, to evaluate targets and pathways in energy metabolism and adipose tissue.

Perform rodent handling, dosing (including multiple routes of administration) and necropsy with tissue collection.

Measure in vivo endpoints such as body weight, food intake, body composition, energy expenditure and glucose and insulin tolerance.

Run molecular and biochemical assays on ex vivo samples, such as qPCR, Western blot, ELISA, etc.

Work independently and within a team-oriented lab and cross-functional project teams.

Keep accurate records, analyze data independently and report results in written and oral formats. Perform all work in full compliance with Lilly Research Policies and complete required training on time.

This is a full-time role with occasional weekend work, typically a few hours at a time.

Minimum qualifications

Bachelor's degree in biology, pharmacology, physiology or a closely related field

2+ years of hands-on experience performing in vivo studies in rodent models

Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT,J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional skills and preferences

Masters degree

2 + years hands on experience in vivo studies in rodent models of obesity or metabolic disease

Experience in the biopharmaceutical industry

Familiarity with ex vivo models of adipose tissue

Experience writing IACUC protocols and knowledge of animal welfare regulations

Ability to prioritize work across multiple projects independently and effectively

Strong communication skills and experience presenting data to internal and external partners

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

$66,000 - $171,600

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
Senior
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 396 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 55 biopharma companies.

396Comparable roles tracked
375Currently active
55Companies hiring similar roles
21Countries represented

Salary context

182 of 396 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 $66,000/yr – $171,600/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Primate Behavior Specialist · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Toxicology Senior Research Fellow · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $232,000/yr – $348,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $290,000 (median $159,125)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 396 comparable roles

United States304
China14
India13
United Kingdom9
Switzerland8
Germany7

+ 15 more countries

Seniority mix

396 of 396 peers have a known seniority level

Senior215
Principal149
Associate Director32

Therapeutic area mix

40 of 396 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology16
Immunology10
Neuroscience9
Cardiovascular / CVRM4
Vaccines & Infectious 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.

60%similar
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60%similar
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60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Senior
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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.

60%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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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.