Chief Inventor, Drug Discovery & Innovation

Your Responsibilities

1. Pioneer De Novo Breakthroughs

• Innovation "White Space" Exploration: Proactively identify and explore revolutionary external and internal scientific opportunities that are 10 years away from current market solutions.
• Novel Drug Targets & Pathways: Architecting first-in-class biological hypotheses and identifying untapped disease mechanisms.
• Innovative Drug Delivery Platforms: Solving high-barrier challenges such as oral delivery of large molecules and targeted intracellular delivery.
• Next-Generation Drug Modalities: Pioneering new therapeutic categories and molecular formats (e.g., protein degraders, advanced biologics).
• Advanced Target ID & Discovery Platforms: Building proprietary systems and methodologies to institutionalize a proactive discovery engine.
• Beyond "Me-Too" Science: Move past the adaptation of proven human health targets to engineer original, proprietary veterinary-specific biological hypotheses that don't yet exist in any market.
• Foundational IP: Secure and engineer proprietary Intellectual Property across all innovative domains by navigating around legacy patents to ensure Elanco owns the foundational IP for every high-value candidate.

2. Solve High-Barrier Biology & Platform Invention

• Complex Problem Solving: Tackle the most challenging technical hurdles in discovery, such as oral delivery of large molecules or intracellular targeting.
• Scientific Challenger: Act as an internal scientific challenger to existing programs, ensuring Elanco pushes the boundaries of what is biologically possible.
• Biological Firsts: Establish "biological firsts" that set the standard for the animal health industry.

3. Architect the 2030 Frontier

• Pipeline Refill: Ensure a constant state of high-value pipeline refill by architecting new therapeutic categories.
• Strategic Modality Optimization: Optimize known modalities while simultaneously inventing novel delivery platforms and proprietary platform builds.
• Innovation Strategy: Transform discovery into a proactive, strategic process that defines the market rather than following it.

4. Cross-Functional Partnership & R&D Integration

• Novel Platform Partnership: Collaborate extensively across R&D to drive the development of novel therapeutic platforms. This includes partnering with Technical Development, Small Molecule & Large Molecule Teams.
• Discovery Pillar Collaboration: Partner deeply across the Mechanistic and Translational Biology leadership pillars to transition revolutionary concepts into the pipeline. This includes working with Structural Biology, Target Intelligence & Discovery, and Translational Biology.
• Broader R&D Integration: Serve as a strategic scientific advisor across the wider R&D ecosystem, partnering with Global Clinical Stewardship (GCS), External Innovation (EI), and CMC/Manufacturing to ensure the scalability and technical feasibility of next-generation modalities.
• Scientific Challenger & Mentor: Act as a high-level scientific challenger during R&D program reviews, pushing the organization to maintain the highest standards of scientific rigor. Provide peer-to-peer mentorship to high-potential scientists across the Discovery organization.
• Special Strategic Projects: Lead special high-impact projects that require deep scientific expertise and visionary drug design.

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications)

• Education: PhD and/or DVM in a life sciences field (e.g., Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, or related discipline). A dual degree is highly preferred.
• Experience: 15+ years of distinguished experience in drug discovery and invention. A proven track record of moving from concept to successful candidate in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry.
• Scientific Pedigree: Recognized as a global expert in their field, with a documented portfolio of high-impact patents that have demonstrably moved the field forward. Must possess a track record of translating original concepts into protected, proprietary assets.
• Technical Mastery: Deep expertise in high-barrier biology, modality engineering, and predictive biological modeling.
• Individual Contributor Excellence: Ability to drive significant organizational impact without the need for a formal team structure; must be self-directed and capable of leading through influence and scientific authority.
• Strategic Vision: An innovation-focused mindset with the ability to foresee market needs a decade in advance.

Additional Information

• Department: Mechanistic and Translational Biology
• Role Type: Dedicated Individual Contributor (R5+ Level)
• Location: Based in US or EU (Hybrid)
• Travel: Up to 25% travel required