Associate Director, Operational Readiness, Lilly Medicine Foundry

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: Indianapolis
Posted on: February 15, 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. 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. Position Description: The Associate Director Operational Readiness is responsible for managing the delivery of operational readiness aspects of the Foundry site. This role works in partnership with front line resources, leadership, and project stakeholders to ensure site deliverables to support startup are appropriately planned, scheduled, and executed to enable on-schedule and on-budget project delivery. This role ensures alignment and coordination across key stakeholders to deliver a fully integrated and executable plan for operational readiness. This role will focus on risk identification, mitigation oversight, and governance at the tactical level, ensuring that startup activities are delivered safely and on time. The scope of operational readiness deliverables is expansive, stretching across all functional areas of the site, requiring the Associate Director Operational Readiness to build breadth of knowledge and work well cross-functionally. This role also works across teams to enable successful integration of the operational readiness schedule with the construction and qualification schedules. Key Responsibilities: Strategic Planning and Performance Monitoring: Partner with leaders and SMEs to develop operational readiness plan across multiple technical areas simultaneously. Lead cross-functional project teams to develop operational readiness scope into an integrated schedule. Manage and track execution of operational readiness deliverables and provide required metrics for stakeholder accountability. Integrate operational readiness schedules with the overall project schedule to enable integrated critical path tracking. Process Optimization: Identify gaps and implement improvements in readiness frameworks, tools, and processes to enhance efficiency and scalability. Risk Management: Assess operational risks and develop mitigation plans to support successful delivery of critical programs. Leadership & Project Management: Provide direction and mentorship to readiness teams, site leadership team, fostering collaboration and continuous improvement. Act as a Subject Matter Expert for Project Management, driving good Project Management best practices across all areas of influence. Basic Requirements: Bachelor’s degree required in Engineering, Chemistry, or other relevant scientific discipline. Minimum of 8 years of experience in multidisciplinary business functions within pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry and project management. Prior experience in pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry with knowledge of various manufacturing business functions. 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 working on large-scale capital projects or plant startups is highly desirable. Experience managing projects in pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry. Strong understanding of project management principles and startup readiness frameworks. Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. Bring multidisciplinary experience/understanding from various business units (e.g. Engineering, Automation, Facility, Safety, Quality, Operation etc) to support overall operational readiness Skilled in stakeholder engagement and relationship building across diverse functions. Experience working with Smartsheet for project scheduling software Demonstrated ability to identify risks, develop mitigation strategies, and drive implementation. Excellent organizational and communication skills; able to translate complex issues into clear actions. Collaborative mindset with strong interpersonal skills to influence and align cross-functional teams. 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 $111,000 - $162,800 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

Keywords: Eli Lilly and Company, Lafayette , Associate Director, Operational Readiness, Lilly Medicine Foundry, Science, Research & Development , Indianapolis, Indiana