R&D Intern (Summer 2027)

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: R&D Intern (Summer 2027)

As an R&D Intern, you will lead a project that supports Elanco’s clinical development, regulatory, and innovation processes through data-driven insights and advanced analytics. In this role, you will help Elanco deliver products to customers by:

• Identifying and characterizing target indication areas and biological mechanisms of disease
• Applying statistical and AI/ML approaches to clinical and real-world data
• Designing data structures and workflows that enable discovery and decision-making across species
• Evaluating regulatory or clinical pathways and study designs to support product development

Interns may be placed in one of several teams, including but not limited to:

• Mechanistic Biology
• R&D AI & Data Strategy
• Clinical & Non-Clinical Development
• Statistics
• Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance

Your Responsibilities:  

• Execute project deliverables with an innovative, hypothesis-driven approach and a focus on clear business impact
• Manage and curate data sets (e.g., biological, clinical, or real-world data) to identify key trends and insights
• Apply quantitative methods (e.g., statistical modeling, AI/ML, or mechanistic reasoning) to answer R&D and clinical development questions
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders (scientists, clinicians, data scientists, regulatory experts) to refine questions and interpret results
• Participate in regular check-ins, presenting progress and interim results to your supervisor and project team
• Deliver a final presentation summarizing your project objectives, methods, results, and key learnings to R&D colleagues and the intern community

What You Need to Succeed (Minimum Qualifications):

• Education: Currently enrolled in a STEM or quantitative field such as chemistry, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, biomedical engineering, bioinformatics, computational biology, computer science, data science, statistics, biostatistics, applied mathematics, or other related fields
• Degree: Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD
• Academic Progress: Students must return to a degree seeking program for the fall semester following the completion of the internship.
• Technical Skills and Core Competencies:
  • Strong critical thinking skills and the ability to translate scientific or business questions into analytical approaches
  • High attention to detail and commitment to data quality and reproducibility
  • Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences
  • Collaborative mindset and ability to work effectively on multidisciplinary teams
  • Comfort working with data (e.g., organizing, cleaning, exploring, and summarizing datasets)
  • Ability to learn and apply analytical tools (e.g., statistical software, scripting languages, or data visualization tools)

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):

• Academic Progress: Expected graduation date between December 2027 and August 2028 with intention of entering industry following degree completion.
• Area-Specific Experience (depending on interest and placement):
• Mechanistic Biology: PhD, DVM, or DVM/PhD student with a background in life sciences (e.g., biology, molecular biology, immunology, bioinformatics) with experience working with scientific data sets and a strong interest in connecting biological mechanisms to disease and therapeutic targets.
• R&D AI & Data Strategy: Graduate student with degree focus that bridges biology and computation (e.g., bioinformatics, computational biology, data science, computer science with strong biological exposure), proficiency in Python and scientific data packages, and interest in graph-based data integration or machine learning.
• Statistics: Graduate student with training in statistics/biostatistics or related quantitative field, proficiency with statistical software (e.g., R, SAS, Python), and interest in modern methods such as innovative study designs and AI statistical methods for clinical data.
• Clinical & Non-Clinical Development: Exposure to or strong interest in clinical trial design and non-clinical development disciplines such as pharmacokinetics, DMPK, safety, and toxicology; comfort working with structured study data from preclinical and clinical studies, and motivation to apply quantitative and evidence-based thinking to support dose selection, safety/efficacy assessments, and overall development strategies.
• Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance: Interest in regulatory science, safety monitoring, and structured evaluation of benefit-risk profiles for medicinal products; familiarity with regulatory or pharmacovigilance concepts is a plus.

Additional Information: 

• Travel:  0% 
• Location: Indianapolis, IN – Elanco Headquarters (hybrid flexibility may depend on team and project)

Elanco’s Internship Program 

Our internship program is designed to give students meaningful, hands-on experience as they kickstart their careers. Internships are project-based and focused on business-critical needs, giving every intern the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on Elanco’s success over the summer. At the heart of the experience is our belief that making life better for animals makes life better.

• Internship Dates: May 17th – August 6th, 2027

• Competitive Salary: $20-$40/hour (dependent upon major and year in school) 
• Professional Development: Networking events, assigned mentors, and learning resources are provided.
• Housing: Financial support and help securing housing is available
• Future opportunities: High-performing interns may be considered for full-time roles or additional internships, based on business needs.

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

Elanco may use automated tools, including AI, to support parts of our recruitment process, such as reviewing applications against job‑related criteria and/or transferrable skills. These tools help ensure a consistent, structured evaluation, but they do not make hiring decisions. All decisions involve a human reviewer. For more information on how we handle personal data, please see our Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.