ExploR&D Clinical Program Lead

Company: Eli Lilly and Company
Location: San Francisco
Posted on: December 31, 2025

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. Overview Lilly Catalyze360 is Lilly's comprehensive approach to enabling the early-stage biotech ecosystem by democratizing access to infrastructure, expertise, and resources. Through its interconnected pillars—Lilly Ventures, Lilly Gateway Labs, Lilly ExploR&D, and Lilly TuneLabs—Catalyze360 strategically removes barriers that traditionally block bold science from becoming life-changing medicines, providing biotechs with flexible combinations of capital, physical lab space, R&D capabilities, AI/ML tools, and decades of enterprise learning. Lilly ExploR&D is a team of drug discovery and development experts who partner with biotechs from discovery through clinical proof-of-concept, putting Lilly's industry-leading capabilities behind their missions. We provide flexible support—from strategic consulting to full program execution—making it faster, easier, and more capital-efficient for innovators to transform bold science into life-changing medicines. Job Summary The ExploR&D Program Lead (EPL) serves as the single point of accountability for external collaboration projects within Lilly’s ExploR&D organization. The role focuses on defining strategy, developing aggressive timelines and budgets, and leading cross-functional teams from Catalyze360 and Lilly Research Laboratories to deliver high-quality results on time and on budget. Reporting within the Catalyze-360 Project Management structure, the EPL leads diverse, cross-functional teams to deliver innovation by pioneering novel science and technologies that advance future medicines and transform R&D collaboration models. Key Responsibilities Team Leadership and Project Management Lead multiple collaboration teams comprised of ExploR&D personnel, LRL subject matter experts and external biotech collaborators. Create a high-performing team with a culture of trust, autonomy, agency, collaboration, and inclusion. Deliver projects ‘on time, on budget’, and within scope from discovery/pre-clinical development through clinical proof-of-concept using contemporary project management tools and approaches. Scientific and Technical Leadership Identify and synthesize relevant, technical information from a variety of sources including scientific literature, internal and external subject matter experts, and experimental or trial data to address key questions and guide study design and program strategy. Provide and critically evaluate content within critical documents (e.g., Investigator Brochures, Risk Profiles, Study Protocols, Study Reports, Regulatory and Ethical filings and updates, Investigator updates, etc.). Serve as the ExploR&D scientific leader responsible for rationale, integration of cross-functional data, synthesis of the risk/benefit profile, strategic conclusions, and designs to drive data-driven decision making. Collaboration and Relationship Management: Serve as primary liaison between Lilly and external biotech collaborators, fostering strong relationships, transparent communication and ensuring alignment on project goals. Anticipate and resolve barriers to success by identifying potential roadblocks early, offering innovative solutions, and ensuring that collaboration programs are executed with excellence. Create a ‘partner of choice’ experience accounting for partner’s goals and priorities, optimizing strategic plans with the spirit of an entrepreneurial drug developer to enable stakeholder decision-making and value-creation. Operational Excellence and Process Improvement: Contribute to diligence and workplan development that optimize outcomes for Lilly and external collaborators. Drive operational excellence in program management by identifying and implementing process improvements that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of external collaborations. Basic Qualifications/Requirements Education: Advanced graduate degree (PhD, PharmD, or Masters) in a health-related, scientific or engineering field Experience: 10 years of work experience in the pharmaceutical industry including preclinical-translational sciences and/or clinical drug development across therapeutic modalities such as cell and gene, antibodies, peptides, oligonucleotides, vaccines, and small molecules. Additional Skills/Preferences Fluent Mandarin speaking and writing skills. Prior experience managing external collaborations with proven track record of overseeing complex, cross-functional and external partnering projects. Demonstrated ability to lead and influence teams in a matrixed environment, driving collaboration across diverse functions and geographies. Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with ability to clearly articulate project goals, strategies, and results to both internal and external stakeholders. Demonstrated ability to anticipate challenges, diagnose root causes, and implement creative solutions that drive project success. Strong intuition for business, with a deep understanding of asset strategy, portfolio management, and the broader pharmaceutical landscape. Practical experience or certification in project management. Intellectual agility to quickly adapt to changing circumstances, learn from past experiences, and apply learnings to new situations. Strong ability to think with a portfolio-level mentality, ensuring that individual program decisions align with the overall goals of ExploR&D and Catalyze360. Additional Information Location: San Francisco, CA Travel up to 25% 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 $187,500 - $275,000 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, Santa Clara , ExploR&D Clinical Program Lead, Science, Research & Development , San Francisco, California