Sr. Director - Ecosystem Growth and Contributor Partnerships

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. 

Organization Overview 

Lilly Catalyze360 is a comprehensive approach to enabling the early-stage biotech ecosystem by democratizing access to infrastructure, expertise, and resources. Through its interconnected pillars—Lilly Ventures, Lilly Gateway Labs, Lilly ExploR&D, and Lilly TuneLab—Catalyze360 strategically removes barriers that traditionally block bold science from becoming life-changing medicines, providing biotechs with flexible combinations of capital, physical lab space, R&D capabilities, AI/ML tools, and decades of enterprise learning.  

Lilly TuneLab is an artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) platform that provides biotech companies access to drug discovery models trained on years of Lilly's research data. Lilly estimates that this first release of AI models includes proprietary data obtained at a cost of over $1 billion, representing one of the industry's most valuable datasets used to train an AI system available to biotechnology companies.  By integrating advanced in silico modelling and federated learning, we connect pioneering machine learning algorithms, substantial computational power, exclusive datasets, and Lilly’s domain-specific knowledge to drive innovation in drug discovery and facilitate access to optimal therapies for patients.  

Job Summary 

In this role, you will lead engaging the early-stage drug discovery community which includes startups, established biotechs, mid-cap pharma, VCs, and emerging model developers. You will serve as the primary interface for TuneLab user activation, feedback and early-stage partnerships. You will help shape the strategy of the best approaches to grow TuneLab. This role is essential to expanding the platform’s reach, ensuring frictionless participation, providing feedback on future platform development, and developing an ecosystem of contributors and users who accelerate AI-powered drug discovery. You will be our eyes and ears on the ground, discovering emerging technologies, building trusted relationships with founders and C-suite executives, and representing our company at major industry conferences and events.

Key Responsibilities

• User Growth and Platform Activation

• Develop and execute strategy to identify, reach out, attract, and activate Biotech users and contributors

• Build mechanisms to support frictionless onboarding, including self-service tools, community forums, and scalable support in collaboration with the Product Lead Design and implement user activation programs, such as training sessions, demo days, and working groups

• Contributor Collaboration Strategy

• Build repeatable collaboration models for biotech startups, academic groups, and mission-driven organizations

• Collaborate with product and tech teams to ensure that contribution processes are technically feasible and well-supported

• Inbound Innovation and Deal Execution

• Serve as the first point of contact for inbound interest from biotechs, labs, or researchers interested in joining the platform

• Qualify and prioritize leads based on platform strategy and scientific fit

• Collaborate with legal, product, and technical teams to formalize engagements and support execution

• Partner Support and Management

• Support TuneLab partners to ensure technical success

• Build partner case studies and champions to demonstrate how TuneLab is impacting biotech companies

• Identify high need product improvements from partner discussions and share with Product team

• Community Building and Visibility

• Represent the platform at scientific meetings, AI/ML community gatherings, and academic events

• Build visibility through storytelling, case studies, and public programming

• Cultivate a sense of identity and shared purpose among ecosystem participants

Minimum Requirements

• Graduate degree (PhD) in biology, chemistry, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience in drug discovery and/or development

• 4+ yr experience in business development, scientific partnerships, or ecosystem development

Additional Skills/Preferences 

Functional and Technical Expertise

• Familiarity with drug discovery in life sciences and using various models and tools to accelerate research

• Experience with partnerships with academic institutions, biotech startups, or philanthropic organizations

• Understanding of contributor incentives, open innovation frameworks, and community engagement strategies

Influence and Leadership

• Strong relationship-builder with credibility across scientific, academic, and venture ecosystems

• Capable of translating scientific and technical value into collaborative opportunities

• Confident public speaker and platform evangelist with a collaborative, user-first approach

Skills

• Self-starter mentality: Highly independent, proactive, and resourceful with ability to work autonomously

• Exceptional communication skills: Clear, persuasive communicator who can translate complex science into compelling business narratives

• Relationship builder: Naturally likable, authentic, and trustworthy with ability to establish genuine connections quickly

• Scientific curiosity: Passionate about innovation and genuinely excited to learn about new technologies in AI/ML drug discovery

• Strategic thinker: Able to see both the big picture and execute tactical plans effectively

Additional Information

• Travel requirement: 30%

• Conference attendance: Regular presence at major industry events (6-10 conferences per year)

• Lilly may provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role for internal applicants only.

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

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