Sr. Director/ Executive Director/AVP Medicinal Chemistry-6

Role Summary

Lead the Advanced Molecule Design (AMD) team within Lilly's Small Molecule Discovery group to optimize molecules into strong drug candidates across oncology, immunology, pain, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and obesity. This senior leader reports to the Head of Medicinal Chemistry and will supervise medicinal chemistry project leaders and scientists, guide challenging med chem problems, and excel at synthetic execution. The role fosters a highly collaborative culture that rewards teamwork, growth, and accountability as programs advance toward clinical candidates.

Responsibilities

• Scientific Leadership: Champion rigorous science by overseeing a portfolio of small molecule programs across therapeutic areas, advancing projects from lead identification to quality drug candidates with strong potential to become breakthrough therapies.
• Scientific Leadership: Make sound scientific decisions that advance programs while maintaining quality—balance speed with scientific rigor and make timely no-go decisions based on evolving science and the clinical landscape.
• Scientific Leadership: Focus teams on the highest-impact activities that move programs toward patients, balancing short-term execution with long-term program strategy.
• Scientific Leadership: Build scientific credibility and influence across the organization through deep expertise and strategic thinking.
• Scientific Leadership: Build "ONE TEAM, SAME TEAM" collaboration across Lilly—break down silos and foster partnerships that accelerate programs.
• Scientific Leadership: Collaborate closely with cross-functional and therapeutic area leaders to align on program strategies, establish actionable goals, and communicate plans and challenges in real-time with radical transparency.
• Scientific Leadership: Apply innovative solutions to challenging targets using modern computational methods, including AI/ML, to analyze data, prioritize compounds, and accelerate program advancement.

People Leadership

• Elevate individual and team performance consistently—provide coaching, feedback, and development that increases impact and consistency across Deep Thinking, Execution & Delivery, Culture & Teamwork, and Growth Mindset.
• Create growth opportunities that build skills while advancing programs—align development with real project challenges.
• Be accessible—make time for your team, be approachable, and create an environment where people feel comfortable bringing challenges forward.
• Make fair, evidence-based performance assessments and differentiate based on impact and consistency.
• Have courageous conversations—celebrate excellence and address performance gaps directly and constructively.
• Create conditions where scientists can be successful—remove barriers, provide resources, and empower the team.
• Foster a culture of mentorship and accountability where scientists' project impact continues to grow.

Personal Performance

• Lead by example—model the behaviors expected of scientists: ownership, integrity, collaboration, and growth mindset.
• Demonstrate hard work with a sense of urgency and deliver highest impact contributions with consistency.
• Show continuous growth and learning agility—stay curious about emerging science, methods, and leadership approaches.
• Balance scientific excellence with people development—excel in both dimensions, not just one.
• Successfully manage internal and external collaborative relationships.
• Contribute to a work environment that fosters integrity, support, collaboration, professionalism, mutual respect, and unwavering focus on creating value for patients.

Qualifications

• Required: PhD in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry or related scientific field with 8+ years academic/research/industry exp (may include post-doc experience); MS in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry or related scientific field with 10+ years industry/academic/research exp; or BS in Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry or related scientific field with 12+ years industry/academic/research experience within the pharmaceutical sector
• Preferred: Experience across a range of different mechanisms, modalities and therapeutic areas
• Preferred: A proved track record of success in leading successful medicinal chemistry teams to advance strong drug candidates into pre-clinical development
• Preferred: Strong experience leading team of scientists to achieve cross-disciplinary goals
• Preferred: Extensive experience in structure-based-design, ADME PK optimization and achieving challenging target product profiles

Additional Requirements

• Travel may be required.