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Principal Scientist - In-vitro Display

BioSpace
San Diego, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 12/29/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 1/26/2026
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.

The Biotechnology Discovery Research group at Lilly’s Biotechnology Center in San Diego discovers medicines that address significant unmet needs by integrating biology with innovative scientific capabilities in protein engineering and computational sciences. We collaborate with colleagues in both the discovery and development organizations, including scientists in therapeutic area biology, biomolecule formulation and developability, ADME, Toxicology, PK/PD, Statistics, Computational Biology and clinical development.

We are seeking a highly motivated and organized scientist to contribute to the discovery and development of biotherapeutics. This individual will be responsible for working in a dynamic team environment and be a contributor to multiple work streams, including in vitro display systems for novel antibody discovery, flow cytometry applications, and recombinant antibody expression and characterization. This position requires hands-on experience with flow cytometry, experience in tissue culture, and an understanding of biochemistry and molecular biology especially pertaining to techniques for protein engineering.

The successful candidate is expected to set up and execute experiments, be detail oriented, skilled at data analysis and troubleshooting and will be accountable for preparing and presenting data at lab meetings with guidance regarding required tasks and expected results.

Key Responsibilities

  • Discover, engineer, and optimize antibodies using in vitro display technologies to improve biological function, developability, and immunogenicity profiles
  • Use biochemical and functional assays to evaluate antibody-antigen interaction including ELISA, cell binding and signaling assays, Octet or other SPR-based techniques,
  • Demonstrate strong expertise in molecular and cellular biology techniques including western blotting, PCR, cell culture, and site-directed mutagenesis.
  • Experience with antibody fusions, Fc-fusions, and conjugation to antibodies is highly desirable.


Basic Qualifications

  • B.S./M.S. in a relevant field with at least 6 years industry experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, or protein engineering
  • Proven hands-on experience with fundamental biology techniques, including: cell culture, viability assays, transfections, Western blot, affinity assays, image-based assays
  • Strong experience in molecular biology including standard cloning techniques, sequence analysis, DNA and RNA extraction, ligation, PCR.


Additional Skills And Preferences

  • Experience with flow cytometry is highly desirable
  • An understanding of antibody discovery, particularly with respect to in vitro display systems
  • Excellent communication skills with a desire to be involved in collaborative, cross


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

$110,250 - $187,000

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

Salary : $110,250 - $187,000

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