Solution Architect – Research & Development Systems

Role Summary

As a Solution Architect within Elanco IT, you will help lead the digital transformation of Elanco’s global R&D organization. You will drive the adoption of modern pharmaceutical development platforms, including High-Performance Computing, AI/ML systems, Electronic Lab Notebooks, and Laboratory Execution Systems, to accelerate drug discovery and development in areas such as bioinformatics, computational chemistry, genomics, and systems biology. In this role, you’ll shape Elanco’s scientific technology landscape by guiding architecture decisions, influencing technology investments, and aligning solutions with enterprise standards and research innovation goals.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver the architecture vision for Elanco’s R&D digital ecosystem, aligning with enterprise architecture principles and technology roadmaps.
• Partner with Product Managers and Principal Engineers to design scalable, compliant, and secure scientific computing solutions.
• Architect and implement integrated R&D systems (ELN, LIMS, LES, CDS, Informatics) using SaaS and cloud-native platforms.
• Apply emerging technologies such as AI, cloud-native applications, and HPC to optimize research workflows, data pipelines, and predictive modeling.
• Collaborate across IT and R&D to ensure systems support FAIR data principles and scientific reproducibility.

Qualifications

• Required: Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field.
• Required: Experience: Minimum 5 years architecting and delivering enterprise IT systems.
• Required: Key Skills: Proven experience supporting pharmaceutical development systems (ELN, LIMS, CDS, LES, Informatics, HPC).
• Required: Key Skills: Strong technical expertise integrating SaaS and cloud-native solutions using modern architecture frameworks (API-first, service-oriented, event-driven).
• Required: Key Skills: Exceptional communication and leadership skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value.
• Preferred: Experience designing architectures for High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments and scientific workload management (e.g., SLURM, Nextflow).
• Preferred: Familiarity with FAIR data principles and scientific data lifecycle management.
• Preferred: Knowledge of regulatory and data integrity requirements in GxP environments (e.g., 21 CFR Part 11).
• Preferred: Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and modern DevSecOps practices (CI/CD, TDD).
• Preferred: Solution architecture certifications in Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform.

Additional Requirements

• Location: Global Elanco Headquarters – Greenfield, IN (Hybrid Work Environment)
• Travel: Occasional