Sr. Principal Associate – Environmental – Global HSE

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.

This role provides strategic and technical environmental expertise within Global HSE, driving enterprise-level environmental strategy, governance, and performance across global manufacturing operations. The position advances company standards and long-term strategies across air, water, and waste, translating regulatory requirements and emerging industry developments into practical, risk-based global solutions. The role provides senior-level expertise for complex and high-risk environmental issues and contributes to enterprise policy, permitting strategy, capital project support, and long-term environmental risk reduction through technical judgment, governance, and cross-functional leadership. 

Key Objectives / Deliverables 

• Define, own, and advance global environmental programs, standards, and governance frameworks aligned with enterprise HSE priorities and business needs. 

• Establish and drive consistent implementation of environmental standards and expectations across sites, ensuring compliant and risk-based execution while enabling operational flexibility. 

• Lead development and execution of complex environmental permitting strategies (Air, Water, Waste), including regulatory engagement, to enable capital projects, site expansions, and business growth. 

• Lead interpretation and application of global environmental regulations, partnering with Legal to define enterprise positions and proactively address regulatory risk and emerging requirements. 

• Anticipate and translate evolving environmental regulations and industry trends into actionable internal standards, guidance, and strategies. 

• Identify, prioritize, and mitigate enterprise-level environmental risks, driving proactive visibility, escalation, and resolution of high-risk issues across the network. 

• Conduct environmental assessments and provide site support to identify systemic gaps, evaluate compliance, and drive sustainable corrective actions. 

• Own and evolve environmental data systems, tools, and performance metrics to enable risk-based decision-making and enterprise performance management. 

• Influence Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Legal, and other functions to integrate environmental considerations into business decisions, capital planning, and operational strategies. 

• Represent the company in regulatory interactions, industry forums, and technical networks to influence environmental policy and remain current on emerging issues. 

Basic Requirements 

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Environmental Science, or related technical discipline. 

• 10+ years of progressive experience in environmental compliance, permitting, and risk management within complex regulated environments. 

• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders. 

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects and influence outcomes in ambiguous situations. 

• Demonstrated success evaluating complex environmental risks and developing business-aligned solutions. 

• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Preferences 

• Deep expertise in air, water, and/or waste regulatory frameworks.

• Demonstrated experience operating in a multi-site or global organization. 

• Experience in pharmaceutical or other highly regulated manufacturing environments. 

• Experience working with international environmental regulations. 

• Experience leading environmental audits, assessments, and regulatory inspections. 

• Experience supporting capital projects, site expansions, or major permitting efforts. 

• Advanced ability to translate complex technical and regulatory concepts into clear recommendations for senior leadership. 

Other Information 

Domestic and/or international travel is required (<10%).

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

$115,500 - $184,800

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