Lilly Posted July 24, 2026

Post-Doctoral Scientist– Molecular Pharmacology

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America FULL_TIME
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Intern/Fellow/Postdoc

Lilly is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

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.

The Molecular Pharmacology group in Lilly Small Molecule Discovery (LSMD) and Cardiometabolic research unit (CMR) is seeking an ambitious post-doctoral scientist with strong research and communication skills to contribute to highly visible research projects. Your work will focus on establishing and applying assays to evaluate mitochondrial uncouplers in a context- and system-dependent manner, and on screening for novel small molecule uncouplers with potential to treat metabolic disease. In this role, you will:

Develop and validate assays to identify small molecule uncouplers.

Characterize in vitro mitochondrial uncoupling activity across cell types, tissues, and disease-relevant systems.

Work with and be mentored by experts in bioenergetics, molecular pharmacology, and metabolic disease biology.

Design and execute small molecule screens to identify novel mitochondrial uncouplers, and characterize their mechanism of action, potency, selectivity, and safety margin using cutting edge industry technology and resources.

Identify areas of key need across clinical development and champion creative solutions to address those needs. Maintain external awareness and learning to benefit the organization.

Present findings at conferences and publish in high quality peer-reviewed journals.

Basic Qualifications

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Pharmacology, or a related field

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 Skills/Preferences

Demonstrated hands-on experience with molecular biology techniques, including CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing (e.g., guide RNA design, generation of knockout/knock-in cell lines, validation of edits)

Experience with plate-based assay technologies such as TR-FRET, BRET, AlphaLISA, or similar high-throughput biochemical/cellular assay platforms preferred

Familiarity with cellular target engagement assays (e.g., CETSA, NanoBRET target engagement, or similar approaches) preferred

Experience with cell-based imaging techniques, including high-content/high-throughput imaging, fluorescence microscopy, or confocal imaging, for applications such as target engagement, phenotypic profiling, or trafficking studies

Proficiency in RT-PCR/qPCR techniques for gene expression analysis

Experience with proteomics and/or chemical biology approaches (e.g., mass spectrometry-based proteomics, activity-based protein profiling, chemical probe development) is a plus

Strong scientific communication skills and a record of peer-reviewed publication.

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

$58,000 - $123,200

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

Job details

Seniority
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 56 comparable Intern/Fellow/Postdoc Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 17 biopharma companies.

56Comparable roles tracked
55Currently active
17Companies hiring similar roles
6Countries represented

Salary context

17 of 56 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject $58,000/yr – $123,200/yr
Lowest disclosed · Associate Scientist I/II, In Vivo Pharmacology · AbbVie $58,656/yr – $99,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor – In Vivo CAR Discovery · Lilly $138,000/yr – $224,400/yr
Peer group range $78,828 – $181,200 (median $90,600)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 56 comparable roles

United States49
Germany3
Netherlands1
Switzerland1
India1
Canada1

Seniority mix

56 of 56 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc33
Associate23

Therapeutic area mix

9 of 56 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Neuroscience3
Oncology2
Cardiovascular / CVRM2
Immunology1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly San Diego, California, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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60%similar
Lilly Boulder, Colorado, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly San Diego, California, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same seniority Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.