Lilly Posted August 16, 2026

Sr/Principal Automation Engineer

Lebanon, 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.

Job Description

Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for production of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) located in Lebanon, IN.  This facility is intended to provide current and future products, including new modalities.  This is a unique opportunity to be a part of the startup team for a greenfield manufacturing site, and the successful candidate will help to build the processes and facility to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations.

Responsibilities:

As an Automation Engineer you will provide automation design and oversight to the delivery of Lilly's new Lebanon LP2 facility. Collaborate with system integrators to deliver all aspects of Automation. Support key corporate initiatives such as life cycle management, Engineering information management, and cyber security. Drive automation governance and replication Tier 1 equipment, architecture, and Automation/IT systems and solutions.

Safety – Work safely and continually looks for improvements in personnel and equipment safety, ensure safe design and operation of new equipment, ensure automation design reflects safety concerns for operations and maintenance.

Automation Design

Design and implement Automation Strategies that allow the operators to interact and manipulate the process in compliance with cGMP batch manufacturing requirements.

Generate/Update Design SDLC documentation.

Automation/Control Discipline

Partner with colleagues to properly support and enhance the Automated Systems and Equipment including the adjustments on PID Control Parameters.

Perform solution assessment and performance reviews and verified the proper and efficient operation of the automated systems.

Partner with colleagues to support the discipline through solution assessment, replication, and development.

Manage tools, and implement engineering standards, master specifications and best practices.

Provide technical coaching and consultation to other Lilly engineers and facilitate shared learning forums.

Support Projects and the integration of new equipment/technologies to the manufacturing workflow.

Support Automated System Commissioning and Qualifications.

Technology and Innovation. Keep current on external trends and practices to evaluate technology for application within Lilly.

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or related field.

5+ years of experience in automation or process control.

Additional Skills and Preferences related to the roles we are recruiting:

Experience with Rockwell Automation, OSI/PI Historian, or related automation and control platform.

Expertise in Rockwell Automation Platforms including FactoryTalk View SCADA and ControlLogix PLC's.

Knowledge of Drug Product manufacturing processes including formulation, equipment preparation, and filling.

Knowledge of Drug Substance manufacturing processes including large and/small molecule and Batch.

Knowledge of plant utility systems including purified water, clean steam, process air, and recovery and environmental systems.

Knowledge of building management systems (HVAC) and qualified building management systems for critical monitoring.

Knowledge related to ISE S95 principles and IT/Automation integration.

Experience in a pharmaceutical or GMP industry.

Experience in OSI/PI Data Historians or related technology.

Experience in Microsoft operating systems, virtual environments, and networking.

Communicate effectively with internal customers, business partners, and leadership including written and visual presentations.

Experience in Automation Project Delivery related to Major Capital delivery.

Technical leadership on automation project delivery

Additional Information: 

This is an onsite position that requires onsite presence the majority of the time, with some flexibility for working from home depending on business need.

This position is based in Lebanon, IN and is not a fully remote role. This would require relocation to Lebanon, IN area (within commuting distance).

Some business travel will be required for this role including OUS.  Business travel typically includes design review meetings at A&E firms and equipment OEM’s, Factory Acceptance Testing, and training.  Travel is not expected to exceed 10-20%.

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
Principal
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

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

We currently track 504 comparable Principal Manufacturing & CMC roles across 77 biopharma companies.

504Comparable roles tracked
444Currently active
77Companies hiring similar roles
29Countries represented

Salary context

193 of 504 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 · Sr Manufacturing Technician · Genz. Therap Product LP $2,400/yr – $3,200/yr
Peer group range $2,800 – $288,000 (median $147,000)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 504 comparable roles

United States313
India51
Ireland20
Netherlands16
China's Mainland10
Singapore10

+ 23 more countries

Seniority mix

504 of 504 peers have a known seniority level

Senior320
Principal98
Director86

Therapeutic area mix

1 of 504 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology1

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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.

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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.