Advisor - Protein Biochemist for Computational Design

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Lilly’s Biotechnology Discovery Research (BioTDR) organization has a track record for delivering novel biotherapeutic medicines to advance into clinical research in key areas of unmet medical need in a variety of therapeutic areas. This position is at the interface of the Protein Biosciences and computational design groups at the Lilly Biotechnology Center in San Diego. The scientist will be part of a team responsible for building capabilities to take full advantage of Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML)–based design of new therapeutic modalities. We are searching for a highly motivated and creative research scientist with a PhD degree in biochemistry, protein chemistry or related field to join a talented multidisciplinary team. This position provides an outstanding opportunity to transform ideas to clinical candidates.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Working collaboratively to leverage existing platforms to expand as well as build capabilities to make, test and redesign molecules from our AI/ML platform.
• Designing and implementing high-throughput expression and characterization of proteins to enable AI/ML therapeutic protein and antibody design efforts to shorten cycle time without affecting data quality.     
• Collaborate with computational science team and technology team to ensure proper data capture from the test and redesign cycle.
• Embrace and celebrate diversity by using a relevant and unique background and set of experiences to provide new ideas to deliver innovative solutions drugging novel targets.
• Bring new and useful concepts, methods, and ideas for how research can be improved and share these to make our group better.

Basic Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in biochemistry, protein chemistry, or related field with a minimum of 2 years relevant experience in a Biotech/Pharmaceutical company.
• Experience with biophysical and biochemical techniques for protein and antibody characterization.
• Demonstrated application of innovative high throughput methods in the context of antibody discovery or protein engineering.

Additional Skills and Preferences:

• Strong core proficiency in high throughput protein production and characterization including cell free systems, with a focus on the characterization of antibodies & proteins using a variety of biochemical and biophysical approaches. 
• Familiarity with AI/ML application in biologics discovery.
• Familiarity with use of automation equipment.
• Experience moving biologics projects from Discovery to Lead Optimization.
• Demonstrated self-initiative and appropriate risk-taking behaviors.
• Exceptional problem solving and decision-making skills. Must be able to work productively and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team environment.
• Ability to prioritize multiple activities and thrive in a setting that requires quick movement between scientific challenges and comfort with ambiguity.
• An active scientific curiosity and interest for complementary disciplines within the pharmaceutical industry.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.

Additional Information:

• Location: San Diego, CA

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