AbbVie Posted November 3, 2026

Associate Scientist I/II, In Vivo Pharmacology

North Chicago, IL Full-time
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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

We are seeking a highly motivated in vivo Scientist who will make contributions to the design, execution, and communication of novel multi-disciplinary research in a highly collaborative Migraine and Pain drug discovery program. Primary responsibilities of the successful candidate will be to conduct basic science studies for the pharmacological evaluation of novel compounds and biologics, as well as to assist in the development of approaches for target engagement and translational biomarkers. He/She will also contribute to the development of new animal models of human disease and will generate high-quality data reports to support the identification and development of novel therapeutics.

Key Responsibilities Include: 

Contribute to the in vivo (rat behavior) evaluation of novel therapeutics to treat migraine and other pain related disorders.

Contribute to the development of translatable models.

Effectively organize schedule to facilitate acute and longitudinal studies.

Formulate and administer novel therapeutics to rats and mice.

Generate detailed and accurate reports of study outcomes.

Adaptable, creative, and think quantitatively.

Opportunities to learn additional investigational techniques will be available.

The successful candidate will be responsible for being an active contributor to Pain related programs in an exciting, fast-paced team environment.

Qualifications

Associate I: Bachelor’s Degree (no additional experience).

Associate II: Bachelor’s Degree, or equivalent education, with typically 3 or more years’ experience or Master’s Degree or equivalent education (no additional experience).

Minimum requirement is a Bachelor’s degree or similar in Neuroscience, Biology or other relevant natural sciences.

Key Competencies: 

Builds strong relationships with peers to enable higher performance.

Learns fast, grasps the "essence" and can change course quickly where indicated.

Raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo.

Open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement.

Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality.

Ability to independently generate precise, reliable and reproducible in vivo data in a timely manner. Be able to interpret and effectively communicate results of these studies.

Hands-on experience in the laboratory working with rodents (e.g., rats) is essential. Including administration of compounds.

A track record in conducting studies with behaving animals is also essential.

Additional experience with cellular assays (e.g., qPCR, calcium flux) would be an asset.

The individual must be able to read and adapt scientific literature to advance models and programs and to form innovative approaches.

Ability to contribute independently, but also integrate well into a team to work across multiple scientific disciplines and functions.

Desire to take on additional responsibilities to progress career.

Ability to work in a highly collaborative scientific environment with strong communication skills.

Experience in drug discovery would be desirable.

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
Associate
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
North Chicago, IL
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 156 comparable Associate Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 39 biopharma companies.

156Comparable roles tracked
149Currently active
39Companies hiring similar roles
15Countries represented

Salary context

55 of 156 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject $58,656/yr – $110,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Lab Associate Flow Cytometry · IQVIA $34,700/yr – $72,300/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor, Bio Sample Operations - DMPK · Lilly $153,000/yr – $268,400/yr
Peer group range $53,500 – $210,700 (median $90,200)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 156 comparable roles

United States105
France16
Germany9
United Kingdom6
Canada4
Switzerland3

+ 9 more countries

Seniority mix

156 of 156 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc73
Associate58
Manager25

Therapeutic area mix

24 of 156 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology9
Oncology9
Neuroscience5
Cardiovascular / CVRM1

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.

60%similar
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. Cambridge, United States Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Servier Boston, United States Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Pfizer Groton, United States Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Pasadena, California, United States of America Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, United States Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research job in the United States, and choose locations and companies.

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.

60%
Associate Scientist, In Vivo Pharmacology
E.R. Squibb & Sons,L.L.C. · Cambridge, United States · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Advisor Chemistry
Lilly · Pasadena, California, United States of America · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Scientist - Biology
Amgen Inc. · Thousand Oaks, United States · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Process Development Associate- Attribute Sciences
Amgen Inc. · Thousand Oaks, United States · Associate
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.