Senior Principal Engineer - Automation Engineering – Systems and Digital Integration-Lilly Medicine Foundry

Lilly recently announced a $4.5 billion investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development. The first-ever facility of its kind, combining research and manufacturing in a single location, the Medicine Foundry will allow Lilly to further develop innovative solutions to optimize manufacturing processes and increase capacity for clinical trial medicines, while also reducing costs and environmental impact.

The Senior Principal Engineer - Automation Engineering will work as a member of the Automation Engineering Department at Eli Lilly, Foundry. The engineer will provide automation support for one or more operating areas across site and/or for capital projects. Process Automation is core to delivering a right first time facility start up and continued support of ongoing manufacturing operations into the future. 

The Senior Principal Engineer is also responsible for the productivity and mentorship of the employees with the purpose of ensuring that reliable and compliant control applications and systems are used in the manufacturing at Foundry.  Additionally, the Senior Principal Engineer as a key technical expert with partners to influence and implement within the process control organization and across functional disciplines to support the process control technical agenda, business plan priorities, and compliance objectives. 

In the project delivery phase and startup phase of the project (startup expected 2025 to 2028), automation engineering roles will be fluid and dynamic as we endeavor to support the project delivery, build a new organization, develop and implement the necessary systems and business processes required to support GMP operations, and build the site culture. This will require significant collaboration, creativity and resilience as the site grows to a full scale GMP manufacturing through start up. 

Key Objectives/Deliverables: 

• Technical Leadership 

• Mentor process control team, including design, controls philosophy, implementation and commissioning 

• Process control work implementation and coordination 

• Develop and implement the Automation Engineering Project Plan. 

Operational Excellence 

• Technically lead and oversee the work of Site Area leads and System Integrator including Functional Requirements, Design Specifications, DCS Application Software, Test Specifications. 

• Lead/Participate in design reviews and Automation application software reviews, attend equipment and software FATs 

• Lead a team of automation engineers supporting commissioning 

• Provide periodic status updates to Project Management 

• Devising functional requirements and process control strategies for control systems in collaboration with Process Engineering 

• DCS software design, coding/configuration and testing (sequence logic, graphics, batch software etc.) 

• Automation Engineering including design, tuning and troubleshooting of system integration across platforms and sites 

• Implementing and supporting electronic systems (such as plant historians) used to capture process automation related production data 

• Maintain the validated state of the site control systems in line with Lilly quality standards including the development and execution of validation strategies and associated documentation 

• Automation support for capital projects including new product introductions 

• Promoting the use of automation to improve productivity, operational efficiency and compliance 

• Developing a ‘network’ of corporate contacts and leveraging corporate expertise when needed 

Organizational Capability 

• In coordination with automation and compliance consultants, set and reinforce standards for appropriate rigor in automation work products. 

• Demonstrated initiative, good planning and organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks, commitment to task completion and timelines. 

• Possess a keen technical curiosity and has demonstrated strong problem-solving skills and a desire for continuous improvement 

• Demonstrated ability to influence peers and business partners 

• Good written and verbal communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences 

• Knowledge of GMP, regulatory requirements, computer system validation 

Basic Requirements: 

• Minimum B.S. in Engineering and experience in Automation Engineering, preferably in major pharmaceutical manufacturing handling System integration of applications, systems and platforms 

• 8+ years working experience in Biopharma engineering, operations, or manufacturing.

• 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:

Experience in design, development, commissioning and qualification of highly automated greenfield manufacturing sites utilizing SCADA, DCS, MES, LIMS, Site Historian systems, middleware applications (DeltaV, Rockwell, Syncade, LabVantage, OSI PI, OPC). 

• Experience in developing native and custom application interfaces for data communication, ETL and data parsing for non-standard equipment, applications and communication protocols. 

• Experience in commissioning, qualifying and supporting systems between SCADA, DCS, MES, LIMS, Historian and other applications for interconnectivity 

• Experience in facilitating and driving decision-making at an organizational level. 

Other Information:

• Current location Parkwood West-Indianapolis, IN. 
• Permanent location at the new Lilly Medicines Foundry in Lebanon, Indiana. 

Lilly is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

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