Associate Vice President, Automation, Discovery Oncology

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.

Position Summary

The Associate Vice President, Automation will establish, build and lead the Discovery Oncology automation capability within the New York City research facility. This leader will define the end-to-end automation strategy, build the operating model, and deliver the initial portfolio of integrated automation platforms that accelerate discovery and early development.

This role is designed for a hands-on builder who combines enterprise leadership with deep technical credibility and a roll-up-sleeves execution mindset. The successful candidate will directly engage in automation development and integration efforts, particularly during the early build-out phase, setting the technical standards and delivery culture for the organization. The AVP will partner across Discovery functions (biology, chemistry, pharmacology, translational research), as well as informatics, IT, and enterprise automation groups to deliver scalable automation platforms that improve throughput, data quality, reproducibility, and cycle time.

Discovery Oncology scope includes support for both large and small molecule therapeutic modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), T cell engagers (TCEs), and small molecule / medicinal chemistry programs.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

* Develop and execute a comprehensive laboratory automation strategy aligned with organizational research and development goals

* Build strong partnerships with discovery scientists, team leaders, and functional heads to align automation investments with scientific priorities.

* Deliver multiple high-impact automation platforms from concept to production use, including integrated workcells.

* Reduce experimental cycle time and increase throughput through automation, miniaturization, and workflow standardization.

* Influence stakeholders across a large organization to drive adoption, standardization, and sustained use of automation platforms.

* Build and maintain partnerships with automation vendors and technology providers

* Manage automation capital and operational budgets

Technical Operations

* Serve as the senior technical authority for automation architecture, integration design, and platform execution across Discovery Oncology.

* Lead by example through direct hands-on engagement in high-impact automation development and integration efforts, particularly during the early build-out period.

* Personally drive critical-path technical execution when necessary, including platform prototyping and workflow development, integration design and debugging, method optimization and stabilization, root-cause analysis of complex system failures, and performance tuning (throughput, reliability, data quality).

* Oversee the operation, maintenance, and optimization of automated laboratory systems including liquid handlers, high-throughput screening platforms, and robotic systems

* Establish and enforce engineering best practices including design reviews and technical gate reviews, structured troubleshooting standards, qualification/verification approaches and change control (as appropriate), and software/code standards (version control, release management, documentation).

* Ensure automation solutions are scalable, safe, reliable, and scientifically fit-for-purpose.

* Ensure integration of automation systems with laboratory information management systems (LIMS), electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN), and data analysis platforms

* Enable end-to-end digital connectivity for automated workflows (ELN/LIMS integration, scheduling, instrument data pipelines, analytics readiness).

* Demonstrate measurable performance…