Senior Director, Early Development Portfolio and Platform Lead

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: Indianapolis
Posted on: April 5, 2026

Job Description:

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. Organization Overview: Delivery, Devices, and Connected Solutions (DDCS) sits within Eli Lilly's Product Research & Development organization. We are a diverse team of scientists and engineers responsible for discovering, designing, and developing patient-centric drug delivery solutions across a broad range of modalities — from injection devices to novel routes of administration and nanomedicines. DDCS drives the drug delivery innovation agenda across early and late development to meet the needs of an expanding portfolio that spans small molecules, biologics, and nucleic acid therapeutics. DDCS is organized around a matrix model with strong disciplinary and functional horizontals supporting innovation and commercialization verticals. Our vision is to get our medicines to more patients faster by accelerating reach and scale, guided by three strategic pillars: Delivery Systems, Robust & Sustainable, and Patient Experience Outcomes. Position Overview: The Senior Director, Early Development Portfolio and Platform Lead sets the strategic direction for delivery system innovation across DDCS, integrating external ecosystems with internal development capabilities to build and advance a differentiated, patient-centric delivery system pipeline. This senior leadership role includes defining and driving the DDCS early-phase innovation strategy with a strong emphasis on external innovation sourcing and partnerships, providing strategic oversight of the full early development portfolio and serving as an interface with Lilly enterprise functions and external innovation communities. Key responsibilities: External Innovation Leadership: Define and drive the DDCS delivery system innovation strategy, establishing the vision, priorities, and sourcing mix (internal and external) for the early-phase pipeline in alignment with Lilly’s therapeutic and commercial objectives. Build and lead Lilly’s external delivery system innovation ecosystem—forging strategic relationships with academic institutions, venture-backed startups, technology accelerators, CDMOs, and device partners to access and in-license best-in-class delivery technologies ahead of the industry. Establish and own the governance framework, stage-gate criteria, and investment decision process for the DDCS early innovation portfolio, ensuring disciplined, data-driven advancement from ideation through proof-of-concept and into formalized development. Provide strategic counsel to DDCS senior leadership and the broader Device organization on external innovation trends, competitive landscape, emerging technologies, and portfolio gaps; translate insights into actionable investment theses. Champion a culture of innovation and external curiosity across DDCS, building organizational capability in technology scouting, opportunity assessment, and cross-sector collaboration. Early Development Portfolio Oversight: Accountable for the overall health, prioritization, and performance of the DDCS early-phase development portfolio—setting direction for program leads and ensuring alignment between portfolio investments and strategic priorities. Integrate portfolio intelligence across internal programs and external partnerships into a unified, leadership-ready view of pipeline status, resource requirements, risks, and investment opportunities for annual business planning and capital allocation. Drive DDCS-wide adoption of standardized early development processes, governance frameworks, and innovation metrics, institutionalizing best practices across internal and externally sourced programs. Cross-Functional & Enterprise Leadership; Serve as an interface with Lilly enterprise functions—Global Business Development, Corporate Strategy, Research, and Therapeutic Business Units—to ensure alignment between delivery system innovation and drug development priorities. Represent DDCS at external conferences, industry consortia, and partner forums; build Lilly’s reputation as a preferred innovation partner in the delivery system and drug-device combination space. Influence resource allocation, organizational design, and capability investment decisions within DDCS in support of early-phase innovation strategy. Basic Requirements: Advanced degree (PhD, MD, or equivalent) in engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, or a related technical field 10 years of progressive leadership in delivery system development, medical device innovation, or drug-device combination product development in a regulated environment, with demonstrated accountability at a senior director or equivalent level. Strategic thinking with the ability to synthesize complex technical, commercial, and competitive inputs into clear priorities and decisive recommendations. Exceptional communication and influence skills; able to engage effectively with C-suite and Board-level stakeholders, external partners, and cross-functional leadership. Additional Preferences: Proven track record of building and leading external innovation programs at enterprise scale, including deal sourcing, technology evaluation, partnership structuring, and integration of externally originated programs into internal development pipelines. Demonstrated ability to define and execute innovation strategies across a large organization, with experience translating strategic priorities into portfolio investment decisions, stage-gate governance, and resource allocation. Deep expertise in the external innovation ecosystem relevant to drug delivery: knowledge of startup and venture landscapes, academic technology transfer, CDMO innovation capabilities, and industry consortia in the delivery system space Established external network in the delivery system, medical device, or drug-device combination space; recognized as an industry thought leader or active participant in relevant professional communities. Expert-level ability to evaluate and communicate the technical, regulatory, and commercial viability of novel delivery technologies to both technical and non-technical senior leadership audiences. Strong business acumen with experience constructing investment cases, structuring partnership agreements, and managing external spending at a portfolio level. Demonstrated record of intellectual property portfolio development, including patent strategy and prosecution, or technology in-licensing in delivery system innovation; published thought leadership or speaking engagements at major industry forums (e.g., Drug Delivery Partnerships, PDA, AAPS) Experience with international innovation sourcing, partnership models across regulatory jurisdictions, and global development programs Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP, or equivalent advanced project and quality management credentials Other Information: Estimated travel is approximately 20% per year. Position is open for either the Indianapolis or the Boston location 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 Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups. Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $156,000 - $253,000 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

Keywords: Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis , Senior Director, Early Development Portfolio and Platform Lead, Science, Research & Development , Indianapolis, Indiana