AbbVie Posted July 24, 2026

Scientist 1, Oncology | Drug Discovery

San Francisco, CA Full-time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research Oncology

AbbVie is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Company Description

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at  www.abbvie.com . Follow @abbvie on  X ,  Facebook ,  Instagram ,  YouTube ,  LinkedIn  and  Tik Tok .

Job Description

Scientist 1, Oncology | Drug Discovery, AbbVie Biotherapeutics Inc., South San Francisco, CA: Onsite (onsite 5 days per week).

Key Responsibilities

Develop & optimize complex bioassays & target-binding potency assays critical for development of complex biotherapeutics. Investigate, identify, develop, and optimize new methods and techniques to generate reliable and reproducible data in a timely manner.

Develop new techniques, explore new approaches & technologies, perform troubleshooting & optimization experiments, & present your work to various cross-functional teams.

Read and adapt scientific literature to accomplish assignments and demonstrate broad and versatile technical expertise within discipline.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

Must possess a MS degree in biology, biochemistry, cell/molecular biology, pharmacology, &/or toxicology or a related field & 1 year working in an academic &/or industry setting as a development scientist.

Of work experience required, must have 1 year:

developing binding potency assays including ELISA, TR-FRET, Octet, flow cytometry, & other cell-based formats, to characterize & test protein therapeutics including monoclonal antibodies, ADCs, &/or other biologic modalities;

independently designing and conducting critical experiments that further project goals;

working in a matrixed organization within a cross-functional scientific environment within an oncology discovery research organization; &

authoring technical reports, drafting SOPs, writing biology sections of regulatory filings, & giving scientific presentations to peers & management.

Work experience may be gained concurrently.

Additional Information

Pay Rate: $112,549 per year.

Apply online at https://careers.abbvie.com/en or send resume to Job.opportunity.abbvie@abbvie.com . Refer to Req ID: REF49861T

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We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.   This job is eligible to participate in our short-term and long-term incentive programs.

AbbVie is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives, serving our community, and embracing diversity and inclusion. It is AbbVie’s policy to employ qualified persons of the greatest ability without discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected group status.

AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community.  Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit  https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Oncology
Location
San Francisco, CA
Employment type
Full-time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 383 comparable Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 47 biopharma companies.

383Comparable roles tracked
345Currently active
47Companies hiring similar roles
16Countries represented

Salary context

136 of 383 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Lowest disclosed · Associate Scientist I/II, In Vivo Pharmacology · AbbVie $58,656/yr – $99,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Head, Oncology Drug Discovery – San Diego · Novartis $248,500/yr – $461,500/yr
Peer group range $78,828 – $355,000 (median $165,300)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 383 comparable roles

United States303
India17
Germany13
United Kingdom9
Canada9
Switzerland6

+ 10 more countries

Seniority mix

297 of 383 peers have a known seniority level

Senior111
Principal57
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc34
Director26
Associate23
Associate Director21
Senior Director12
Executive/VP8
Manager5

Therapeutic area mix

53 of 383 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology30
Cardiovascular / CVRM10
Immunology6
Neuroscience4
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Respiratory1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

80%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America Principal
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Novartis Cambridge (USA), United States Associate Director
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Novartis LaJolla/SD, United States Senior
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country
80%similar
Cambridge Discovery Hub Cambridge Crossing, United States Senior
Same function Same therapeutic area Same country

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

80%
Postdoctoral Researcher in Translational Oncology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Associate Director, ADC platform in Oncology Drug Discovery
Novartis · Cambridge (USA), United States · Associate Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Principal Scientist, AI-Driven Oncology Target Discovery
Cambridge Discovery Hub · Cambridge Crossing, United States · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
80%
Senior Associate Scientist, Translational Research, Oncology
MyoKardia, Inc. · Brisbane, United States · Senior
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.