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Director Formulation Development Jobs in Indianapolis, IN

Demonstrated ability to lead without direct authority, acting as a high-level technical consultant and mentor to specialized R&D formulation teams. WHAT WE OFFER * Competitive salary * Retirement ...

Demonstrated ability to lead without direct authority, acting as a high-level technical consultant and mentor to specialized R&D formulation teams. WHAT WE OFFER * Competitive salary * Retirement ...

Manage product development projects, including directing the work of Scientists as appropriate ... Experience with polymers, polymer synthesis, micro/nanoparticle formulation, magnetic particles ...

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Director Formulation Development information

See Indianapolis, IN salary details

$85.1K

$183K

$274.8K

How much do director formulation development jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 11, 2026, the average yearly pay for director formulation development in Indianapolis, IN is $182,964.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $89,900.00 and $238,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a Director Formulation Development do?

As a Director Formulation Development, you will oversee the design and optimization of drug formulations, lead a multidisciplinary team of scientists, and ensure that projects meet quality, budget, and timeline expectations. Your daily activities often include strategic planning, reviewing progress reports, troubleshooting formulation challenges, and collaborating with regulatory, manufacturing, and quality assurance departments. You may also interact with upper management to report on key milestones and contribute to long-term product development strategies. This role offers opportunities to influence project pipelines and play a central part in bringing new therapies to market.

What is a Director Formulation Development?

A Director of Formulation Development leads the design and optimization of pharmaceutical formulations, ensuring they meet quality, regulatory, and performance standards. They oversee research, guide teams in developing new drug delivery systems, and collaborate with regulatory and manufacturing teams. This role requires expertise in chemistry, pharmaceutics, and process development to ensure successful product commercialization. Additionally, they manage project timelines, budgets, and technical challenges to drive innovation in drug formulation.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Director Formulation Development?

A Director Formulation Development typically requires an advanced degree in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, or a related field, along with significant experience in drug formulation and team management. Familiarity with industry-standard formulation software, regulatory compliance systems, and relevant certifications such as PMP or Six Sigma are highly valued. Excellent leadership, communication, and strategic planning skills help set high performers apart in this role. These skills and qualities are critical for driving innovative product development, ensuring regulatory compliance, and effectively leading cross-functional teams.

What are popular job titles related to Director Formulation Development jobs in Indianapolis, IN? For Director Formulation Development jobs in Indianapolis, IN, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Director Formulation Development jobs in Indianapolis, IN look for? The top searched job categories for Director Formulation Development jobs in Indianapolis, IN are:
Infographic showing various Director Formulation Development job openings in Indianapolis, IN as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 80% Full Time, 15% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $182,964 per year, or $88 per hour.

Director Engineering - Synthetic Molecule Design and Development

Eli Lilly and Company

Indianapolis, IN • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 13 days ago


Eli Lilly and Company rating

8.8

Company rating: 8.8 out of 10

Based on 63 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

11th of 86 rated pharmaceutical


Job description

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work-but it's work worth doing. If you're driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.
At Lilly, Synthetic Molecule Design and Development (SMDD) is involved in key activities for the development of synthetic active pharmaceutical ingredients from pre-clinical phases through commercialization of drug substances and drug products. Our scientists and engineers develop key technical and business solutions across the portfolio using their deep technical expertise to accelerate testing of the clinical hypothesis and overall drug development. SMDD delivers on these responsibilities by recognizing diverse talent and cultures are necessary to bring the next generation of life changing medicines to patients.
Position Summary:
Our team is looking for experienced, creative, and energetic candidates to lead unit operation development and process optimization of synthetic drug candidates to support clinical trials, regulatory submission, and product commercialization. The position presents an opportunity to lead dynamic teams comprised of process chemists, analytical chemists, formulation scientists, and engineers.
Responsibilities:
  • Possess fluent knowledge in unit operation design, process modeling, process equipment selection, and scale-up methodologies with a drive to challenge existing methods; create and apply cutting edge technology and novel platforms within a time constrained environment.
  • Familiarity and working knowledge of modern synthetic organic chemistry.
  • Demonstrate high learning agility with the ability to understand and exploit new scientific concepts and methods across multiple disciplines; be able to apply these learnings to a portfolio of small molecule, oligonucleotide, and synthetic peptide modalities.
  • Lead and/or supervise the design and development of new synthetic routes for the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients using the most modern technologies, including continuous processing, automated reaction screening, PAT, and modeling and simulation.
  • Ability to lead a cross-disciplinary team to evaluate and refine new manufacturing routes, manufacturing technologies, and practices to deliver a challenging portfolio.
  • Comfortable with scientific uncertainty and the ability to translate hypotheses into action.
  • Encourage team members to take initiative and accountability to achieve goals; draws out and encourages others to share knowledge.
  • Provide technical guidance in the scale-up and demonstration of new chemical processes in development and commercial scale equipment. Participate in technology transfer activities to CRO/CMO organizations and Lilly manufacturing to ensure processes are technically sound, well developed and characterized, and safe.
  • Design laboratory experimentation in support of process design, definition, optimization, and technology transfer objectives. Ability to generate process (and property design) data based on a fundamental understanding of the underlying physical processes. Utilize advancements in technology (PAT) and modeling platforms to understand and direct experimental protocols.
  • Plan and manage short term and long-term development activities. Develop and/or review technical agendas and timelines for project work. Recommend resource allocation to accomplish projects according to plans, communicate progress and propose changes in timeline, objectives, or direction.
  • Collaborate with internal and external manufacturing partners to develop robust chemical process that are readily amenable to efficient drug substance manufacturing.
  • Collaborate closely with Product Delivery, Project Management, Quality, Manufacturing, and Regulatory scientists to execute and deliver material and information for clinical trials and regulatory submissions.
  • Embrace diverse thought, background, and experience to deliver innovative solutions.
  • Possess strong communication (oral, written), organizational, and leadership skills.
  • Supervise, mentor and develop scientific staff. Ensure continued technical and professional growth of group members, encourage efforts towards excellence and knowledge sharing.
  • Active participant in the external environment and the ability to recognize and apply external innovation and across the Lilly synthetic portfolio.
  • Possess deep understanding of the external global regulatory climate and emerging requirements. Ability to address key CMC regulatory questions that enable clinical studies and support marketing authorization applications.

Basic Qualifications:
  • Ph.D. in chemical engineering or a closely related field with 8+ years of experience; or MS degree with 15+ years of experience.
  • Experience developing chemical processes the from mid-development cycle (proof of concept) to product commercialization required
  • Experience with technical transfer of processes into manufacturing operations required

*Experience within the pharmaceutical sector is desired; however, other relevant experience may meet expectations. Prior experience in the development of an active ingredient and associated formulated product is acceptable. Relevant industrial sectors include agrochemicals, nutraceuticals, specialty chemicals, and personal care products.
Additional Skills/Preferences:
  • Experience with authoring regulatory submissions and responding to regulatory questions.
  • Experience with modeling and simulation tools, data analytics, and predictive analytics.
  • Experience with online and offline analytical techniques and process analytical technologies (PAT).
  • Strong technical skills to supply business value.
  • Creativity and ability to transform ideas into marketable products and processes.
  • Knowledge and experience with management of a technical project.
  • Demonstrated leadership capabilities especially in a team environment.
  • Demonstrated ability to drive and accept change.
  • Demonstrated success in persuasion, influence and negotiation.
  • Good interpersonal skills and a sustained tendency for collaboration.
  • Ability to prioritize multiple activities and manage ambiguity.
  • Ability to influence others to promote a positive work environment.
  • Understanding and awareness of the external scientific and regulatory landscape.
  • Demonstrated initiative and risk-taking.
  • Demonstrated technical proficiency and ability to create ideas for future work plans.
  • Established external publication record.

Additional Information:
  • Travel: 0 -10%
  • Position Local: Indianapolis, IN; Lilly Technology Center-North (LTC-N)

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 (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women's Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).
Actual compensation will depend on a candidate's education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is
$151,500 - $264,000
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.
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About Eli Lilly

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Eli Lilly, based in Indianapolis, IN, US, is one of the pioneers in the pharmaceutical industry with a rich history dating back to 1876. This global pharmaceutical company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and selling pharmaceutical products in approximately 120 countries. The company's product categories include endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience, and immunology. Having invested over $9 billion in research and development in the past decade, Eli Lilly is also committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs. As a recipient of several awards and recognitions, Eli Lilly is known for its focus on life-saving research and drug development. Their mission is to make medicines that help people live longer, healthier, and more active lives.

Industry

Pharmaceutical product wholesalers

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Indianapolis, IN, US

Year founded

1876