Associate Director - Infrastructure Architect

What You’ll Be Doing

You will be part of Technology at Lilly MQ (Manufacturing and Quality), an organization that drives manufacturing operational excellence and productivity efforts through utilization of technology. Technology at Lilly MQ strives to enable the making of medicine “with safety first and quality always.” The Infrastructure Architect will be reporting to the Sr. Director Technology at Lilly for Houston.

As Infrastructure Architect, you will lead the strategy, delivery, and lifecycle management of site IT infrastructure, including business and manufacturing workstations, peripherals, printers, telecommunications, and related systems. You will support Manufacturing Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, and Technical Services/Manufacturing Science, serve as the primary site contact for Global Infrastructure Delivery Teams, lead site infrastructure projects, and ensure alignment with Lilly cybersecurity and compliance standards.

How You’ll Succeed

• Infrastructure & Site Operational Readiness Lead the design, deployment, and qualification of site IT/OT infrastructure, ensuring readiness for GMP manufacturing operations across small molecule, oligonucleotide, and Warehouse areas.

• Drive site start-up and integration of IT systems including: Infrastructure, Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Data Historian and Real Time Floor Tracking, Data Integration and Analytics, Data Integrity, Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), CAPA systems, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Warehouse Management and Logistics, Access Security, Building Monitoring, and Risk Management.

• Monitor datacenter and virtual server environments, ensuring high availability, performance, and preventive maintenance.

• Manage storage, backup, and disaster recovery systems to safeguard data integrity and system resilience.

• Lead the full lifecycle of manufacturing computers, including procurement, qualification, patching, and decommissioning, in compliance with GxP and data integrity standards.

• Ensure network reliability and security across IT and OT environments, coordinating upgrades and troubleshooting activities.

• Collaborate with Automation and Engineering teams to integrate OT systems (DeltaV DCS, process historians) with enterprise IT layers, ensuring secure and reliable data flows aligned to ISA/IEC 62443 and Lilly cybersecurity standards.

• Coordinate with facilities, construction, and vendors to ensure infrastructure is installed, tested, and qualified in step with construction phases (fit-out through C&Q/IV/OV).

• Team Coordination Direct the day-to-day work priorities of a team of Infrastructure Analysts, assigning tasks and sequencing work aligned to project phases, site milestones, and operational needs. Serve as the technical point of contact for the analyst team, providing guidance, removing blockers, and ensuring work is executed to the required quality and timeline. Adjust workload allocation across the team as site priorities evolve through construction, commissioning, and production ramp phases.

• Compliance & Security Ensure all infrastructure designs and implementations comply with Lilly cybersecurity standards, GxP data integrity requirements, and applicable regulatory guidelines (FDA, EMA). Maintain compliance with cybersecurity policies, IT standards, and documentation requirements including SOPs, system descriptions, and change control records.

• Operational Excellence Oversee IT vendors and service providers to ensure SLA performance and drive continuous infrastructure improvement. Develop runbooks, escalation paths, and support models to sustain infrastructure from production ramp-up through steady-state operations. Establish monitoring, alerting, and capacity planning processes to meet manufacturing uptime requirements. Partner with local and global teams to define and execute the site IT infrastructure roadmap. Evaluate internal and external solutions and adjust plans based on site needs, strategic priorities, and emerging trends. Support site and enterprise initiatives focused on digital transformation, modernization, and operational efficiency. Maintain a safe work environment.

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of IT infrastructure experience, preferably in a regulated manufacturing or pharmaceutical environment.
• GxP/GMP.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience.

Additional Preferences

• Experience supporting process automation infrastructure.
• PREFERRED CERTIFICATIONS: ITIL, VMware VCP, Microsoft Azure Administrator, CompTIA Security+, or GICSP.
• Technical knowledge of OT/IT convergence, industrial control systems (ICS/SCADA/DCS), and OT security frameworks such as ISA/IEC 62443.
• Experience with Emerson DeltaV, OSIsoft PI Historian, Citrix, or similar manufacturing and infrastructure systems is preferred.