Senior Research Scientist

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals
As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets.
At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People.
At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you'll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.
Making animals' lives better makes life better – join our team today
Your Role: In Silico Structural & Property Prediction Platform Leader
As the In Silico Structural & Property Prediction Platform Leader, you will drive the strategy, development, and integration of AI and ML–powered prediction models that accelerate early-stage drug discovery across Elanco's research portfolio. In this role, you will shape the platform vision, partner across scientific and technical teams, and enable computational approaches that support both small and large molecule innovation. This position plays a critical role in advancing scalable, data-driven research capabilities within pharmaceutical R&D.

Your Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute the technical strategy for Elanco's structural and property prediction platform in alignment with therapeutic and scientific priorities.
• Evaluate, select, and implement advanced AI/ML models, including generative and diffusion-based approaches, to support small and large molecule discovery.
• Lead cross-functional integration of new computational capabilities into existing discovery workflows and research pipelines.
• Establish best practices for model ingestion, benchmarking, validation, and deployment across discovery teams.
• Continuously evolve the platform by incorporating user feedback, monitoring performance indicators, and staying current with relevant scientific and technological advancements.

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications):

• Education: Master's or PhD in molecular biology, biotechnology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, cheminformatics, computational biology, data science, or a related discipline.
• Experience: 8 or more years in computational drug discovery, including at least 5 years leading AI/ML projects or platforms within pharmaceutical R&D.
• Demonstrated success applying and deploying advanced computational workflows that meaningfully accelerate drug discovery for large molecules.
• Ability to translate technical concepts into actionable insights for diverse scientific and business stakeholders.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (preferred qualifications):

• Expertise developing, benchmarking, and deploying state-of-the-art AI/ML models, including deep learning, generative models, graph-based networks, and diffusion models.
• Strong scientific programming experience (Python, R, or C++), including building and productionizing cheminformatics and bioinformatics workflows using tools such as RDKit, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Benchling (or similar), AlphaFold, Chai, Boltz, and Protein LLMs; experience with Git-based CI/CD.
• Solid understanding of the pharmaceutical or biotech drug discovery pipeline, including ADME/Tox, PK/PD modeling, and molecule design; experience in animal health is a plus.
• Proven leadership and communication skills with a record of influencing interdisciplinary teams and presenting complex computational topics to varied audiences.
• Hands-on experience building scalable or cloud-based computational platforms supporting virtual screening, large-scale data analysis, and model training.

Additional Information:

• Travel: 10%
• Location: Global Elanco Headquarters, Indianapolis, IN, Hybrid Work Environment

Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown underrecognized groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every qualification. At Elanco, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive work environment. If you believe you may be a strong fit, even if your experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this role or another opportunity.
Elanco Benefits and Perks:
We offer a comprehensive benefits package focused on financial, physical, and mental well-being while supporting employees in pursuing our purpose. Highlights include:

• Multiple relocation packages
• Two week-long shutdowns in the US (mid-summer and year-end), in addition to PTO
• 8-week parental leave
• 9 Employee Resource Groups
• Annual bonus offering
• Flexible work arrangements
• Up to 6% 401(k) matching

Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status