AbbVie Posted August 3, 2026

Scientist I, In Vivo Pharmacology

Cambridge, MA Full-time
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research

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

About AbbVie

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 including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at  www.abbvie.com . Follow @abbvie on  LinkedIn,   Facebook ,  Instagram ,  X  and  YouTube.

Job Description

The Discovery Neuroscience In Vivo Pharmacology group at AbbVie’s Cambridge Research Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is seeking a highly skilled, self-motivated in vivo scientist to join a dynamic team supporting Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery programs. This individual will contribute to the design and execution of in vivo studies and support target identification, target validation, PK/PD, and efficacy studies.

Key Responsibilities:

Collaborate with team members to design and execute in vivo experiments supporting drug discovery efforts, including target identification, target validation, and evaluation of novel molecules

Conduct in vivo studies in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease animal models

Perform data analysis, interpretation, and put together presentation of results

Develop and implement new technologies and methods to advance understanding of disease pathophysiology and target biology

Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent education with typically 5 years of experience, or Master’s Degree or equivalent education with typically two years of experience.

Demonstrated hands-on experience conducting in vivo mouse studies

Proficiency in rodent handling, with prior surgical experience; stereotaxic surgery experience highly preferred

Experience in dosing techniques (e.g., IP, SC, and RO), and rodent necropsy required

Experience working with transgenic models of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease preferred, but not required

Experience with imaging techniques such as fluorescence, confocal, or two-photon microscopy is preferable, but not required

Ability to work independently and conduct studies with minimal supervision

Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet timelines

Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate across functions and sites

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law: ​

The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at  the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors  including  geographic location, and we may ultimately  pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be  modified in the future. ​

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 incentive programs.  ​

Note: No amount of pay is  considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned,  vested,  and determinable. The amount and availability of  any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a   particular employee  remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be  modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion,  consistent with applicable law.

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
Not listed
Location
Cambridge, MA
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
346Currently 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 $75,000/yr – $142,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Scientist 1, Oncology | Drug Discovery · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Head, Oncology Drug Discovery – San Diego · Novartis $248,500/yr – $461,500/yr
Peer group range $0 – $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

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

Oncology31
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.

40%similar
AstraZeneca Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America Principal
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly San Francisco, California, United States of America Executive/VP
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Executive/VP
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly San Diego, California, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function 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.

40%
Principal Scientist Drug Product Development
AstraZeneca · Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Postdoctoral Researcher in Translational Oncology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Advisor / Senior Advisor, CNS/PNS NAMs – Investigative Toxicology
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director / Sr / Exec Dir - Applied Intelligence for Discovery (AI4D)
Lilly · San Francisco, California, United States of America · Director
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.