Advisor - CAR-T Therapeutics

Eli Lilly and Company • Indianapolis, IN

1d • Onsite

About The Position

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 The BioRx group operates at the interface of molecule design and biological function. We advance engineered antibodies, CARs, mRNA-encoded proteins, and nanoparticle delivery systems across autoimmune disease, oncology, neurodegeneration, and pain. Our team is fast and technically deep. Every scientist has direct impact on molecule selection and program decisions. We are building the screening and characterization tech stack that will power rapid design–make–test cycles for new platforms—which means you’ll be building the workflow from the ground up. We are building an industry-leading in vivo CAR-T platform that delivers mRNA-encoded chimeric antigen receptors to a patient’s T cells directly in the body via targeted nanoparticles—democratizing patient access to cell therapy. Getting this to work requires answering hard biological questions about delivery efficiency, CAR expression kinetics, T cell activation thresholds, and effector function that require new science to answer. Job Responsibilities This is a hands-on, lab-based role. You will be the biological engine of our in vivo CAR-T program. Specifically: Drive molecule SAR Own the biological arm of the design–make–test cycle: generate, interpret, and translate screening data into actionable SAR insights that directly inform the next round of molecule design across CARs, mRNA constructs, and TNP/LNP formulations. Drive CAR screening activities, including in vitro functional assays, phenotypic characterization, and molecule down-selection to support therapeutic programs. Advance pipeline programs by integrating screening data with translational insights to enable clear and timely decision-making. Ensure on-time delivery of program objectives and milestones by managing timelines, resources, and cross-functional dependencies. Partner with cross-functional groups (e.g., protein engineering, mRNA engineering, formulation, in vivo pharmacology) to ensure alignment on molecule profile and selection criteria. Contribute to platform innovation initiatives to improve DMT cycle, screening throughput, assay design, and predictive relevance. Communicate progress and data clearly to internal stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and program leadership. Design and iterate multiparameter flow cytometry panels to evaluate CAR expression, T cell activation, memory/exhaustion phenotype, and cytotoxicity across construct formats and delivery modalities. Screen and rank CAR constructs delivered via mRNA (TNP/LNP). Build structure–activity relationships between CAR architecture and biological function in primary human and non-human primate T cells. Evaluate TNP/LNP formulations for delivery efficiency, correlating particle properties with transfection, expression kinetics, and cell viability. Run and continuously improve reporter-based functional assays for high-throughput CAR screening. Own assay sensitivity, dynamic range, and throughput. Build the screening infrastructure Engineer and maintain target-expressing cell lines, reporter lines, and primary T cell assay platforms (co-culture, serial restimulation, multi-day killing kinetics) that bridge in vitro to in vivo. Establish B cell immunophenotyping panels for pharmacodynamic readouts in preclinical study samples. Characterize the biology deeply Characterize in vitro–generated CAR-T cells deeply: subset distribution, exhaustion, metabolic fitness, and the relationship between transient CAR expression kinetics and effector function. Analyze samples from NHP and mouse studies to support translational biology. Interpret pharmacodynamic data and contribute to go/no-go decisions at project milestones. Innovate and lead scientifically Generate, evaluate, and champion novel hypotheses. Read voraciously. Connect findings across disparate fields. Propose experiments that aren’t in the project plan. Integrate emerging technologies—lab automation, spectral flow, single-cell RNA-seq, high-content imaging—and AI tools (automated gating, dimensionality reduction, ML-guided experimental design) into workflows. Contribute to data visualization, presentations, patent filings, and publications. Comfort with Python, R, FlowJo, and Prism is expected. Facility with AI-assisted coding (Claude, Copilot) is valued.

Requirements

• PhD or MS/Bachelors with 10+ years of industry experience in drug discovery or biotech environment.
• Strong working knowledge of T cell and B cell biology: activation, differentiation, exhaustion, memory formation.
• Experience in primary human immune cell isolation, culture, and functional assays (cytotoxicity, cytokine release, proliferation).

Nice To Haves

• Proven ability to drive SAR across the full DMT cycle.
• Fluency across biology and molecular design.
• Expert‑level multiparameter flow cytometry.
• Strong scientific judgment, rigor, and documentation.
• Experience with CAR‑T biology, mRNA therapeutics, and nanoparticle delivery.
• Cell line engineering and/or antibody engineering experience.
• Familiarity with spectral flow, high‑content imaging, and transcriptomics.
• Lab automation and data‑pipeline ownership experience.
• Advanced data analysis in Python or R; comfort using AI tools for analysis and design.
• Demonstrated scientific originality (publications, patents, or significant internal impact).
• Cross‑disciplinary collaborator with sharp biological intuition.

Responsibilities

• Drive molecule SAR
• Own the biological arm of the design–make–test cycle: generate, interpret, and translate screening data into actionable SAR insights that directly inform the next round of molecule design across CARs, mRNA constructs, and TNP/LNP formulations.
• Drive CAR screening activities, including in vitro functional assays, phenotypic characterization, and molecule down-selection to support therapeutic programs.
• Advance pipeline programs by integrating screening data with translational insights to enable clear and timely decision-making.
• Ensure on-time delivery of program objectives and milestones by managing timelines, resources, and cross-functional dependencies.
• Partner with cross-functional groups (e.g., protein engineering, mRNA engineering, formulation, in vivo pharmacology) to ensure alignment on molecule profile and selection criteria.
• Contribute to platform innovation initiatives to improve DMT cycle, screening throughput, assay design, and predictive relevance.
• Communicate progress and data clearly to internal stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and program leadership.
• Design and iterate multiparameter flow cytometry panels to evaluate CAR expression, T cell activation, memory/exhaustion phenotype, and cytotoxicity across construct formats and delivery modalities.
• Screen and rank CAR constructs delivered via mRNA (TNP/LNP).
• Build structure–activity relationships between CAR architecture and biological function in primary human and non-human primate T cells.
• Evaluate TNP/LNP formulations for delivery efficiency, correlating particle properties with transfection, expression kinetics, and cell viability.
• Run and continuously improve reporter-based functional assays for high-throughput CAR screening.
• Own assay sensitivity, dynamic range, and throughput.
• Build the screening infrastructure Engineer and maintain target-expressing cell lines, reporter lines, and primary T cell assay platforms (co-culture, serial restimulation, multi-day killing kinetics) that bridge in vitro to in vivo.
• Establish B cell immunophenotyping panels for pharmacodynamic readouts in preclinical study samples.
• Characterize the biology deeply Characterize in vitro–generated CAR-T cells deeply: subset distribution, exhaustion, metabolic fitness, and the relationship between transient CAR expression kinetics and effector function.
• Analyze samples from NHP and mouse studies to support translational biology.
• Interpret pharmacodynamic data and contribute to go/no-go decisions at project milestones.
• Innovate and lead scientifically Generate, evaluate, and champion novel hypotheses.
• Read voraciously.
• Connect findings across disparate fields.
• Propose experiments that aren’t in the project plan.
• Integrate emerging technologies—lab automation, spectral flow, single-cell RNA-seq, high-content imaging—and AI tools (automated gating, dimensionality reduction, ML-guided experimental design) into workflows.
• Contribute to data visualization, presentations, patent filings, and publications.
• Comfort with Python, R, FlowJo, and Prism is expected.
• Facility with AI-assisted coding (Claude, Copilot) is valued.

Benefits

• 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).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree