RNA Automation Specialist (Biology Focus)

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.

RNA Automation Specialist (Biology Focus)

Location: Shanghai Job Type: Full-time

About the Role

We are seeking a highly motivated RNA Biology Automation specialist to design, optimize, and operate cutting-edge automation platforms to enable novel high-throughput RNA therapeutics research workflows. The individual hired into this role will be a mission-critical bridge between wet-lab biology and automation engineering— developing scalable, accurate, and efficient systems for RNA synthesis, purification, quality control, and functional assays.

The ideal candidate will bring at least 7 years of hands-on experience in RNA biology, combined with deep expertise in laboratory automation. If you are passionate about transforming biological research through automation, this is your opportunity to make a significant impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute validated automation roadmaps for end-to-end RNA biology workflows, including cell culture, RNA extraction, RT-qPCR, siRNA/miRNA synthesis, cell transfection, and NGS sample preparation.

• Optimize manual RNA biological protocols for automated execution, reducing hands-on labor, mitigating human error, and enhancing overall process consistency and experimental reproducibility.

• Collaborate closely with RNA biologists, assay development scientists, and process engineers to translate scientific research requirements into robust, stable automated lab solutions.

• Develop standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for automated workflows and deliver professional training to laboratory teams to ensure safe, standardized, and efficient system operation.

• Integrate and operate robotic platforms and automated liquid handling systems to streamline full-cycle RNA biology research workflows.

• Partner with automation, informatics, and data science teams to enable closed-loop RNA research.

• Uphold high standards of data quality, experimental reproducibility, and standardized technical documentation; lead continuous iteration and optimization of automated workflows.

• Build and implement robust data management strategies, including LIMS integration, to support standardized and digitalized automated RNA research workflows.

• Evaluate, benchmark, and adopt emerging automation technologies to continuously upgrade internal RNA biology R&D capabilities.

• Ensure all automated workflows and instrument operations comply with laboratory safety specifications and internal R&D regulatory requirements.

• Collaborate with global LAL teams to establish unified cross-site automated workflow standards and quality metrics.

• Maintain regular technical alignment with global LAL teams; occasional domestic and international business travel is required.

Qualifications & Experience

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Synthetic Biology, RNA Biology, Biochemistry, or a related life science discipline.

• 7+ years of hands-on wet-lab experience in RNA-focused research, including cell culture, RNA extraction, RT-qPCR, siRNA/miRNA synthesis, cell transfection, and NGS method development, with solid experience in automation system operation and workflow deployment.

• Deep expertise in fundamental RNA biology mechanisms, including RNA transcription, splicing, translation, structural stability, and RNA-mediated gene regulation (miRNA, siRNA, lncRNA, etc.).

• Proficient in mainstream automated liquid handling platforms (Tecan, Hamilton, Labcyte Echo) with hands-on automation workflow design, configuration and debugging experience preferred.

• Strong command of RNA biology core principles, including RNA structural characteristics, stability properties, and common technical pitfalls in RNA sample handling and processing.

• Familiar with genomic and transcriptomic analytical tools, including RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, qPCR, Northern blotting, and Western blotting, with solid data interpretation capabilities.

• Excellent automated protocol design, analytical troubleshooting, and process optimization skills for RNA biological workflows.

• Practical experience operating and integrating automated laboratory instruments such as qPCR and NGS platforms.

• Prior R&D working experience in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry is preferred.

• Hands-on experience with Design of Experiments (DOE) and statistical analysis for systematic assay optimization.

• Exceptional communication and cross-functional teamwork skills to support global cross-team collaboration and project delivery.

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 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.

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