AbbVie Posted August 25, 2026

Principal Engineer I, Process Development

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

AbbVie's PDS&T organization is seeking a highly motivated, talented Principal Engineer I, Process Development with a proven track record and expertise in developing small molecule drug products for our site based in North Chicago, IL. This individual will serve as a technical expert by leading studies aimed at delivering robust pipeline assets and commercial products. The candidate is also expected to foster productive collaboration and demonstrate effective communication within scientific teams.

Responsibilities

Lead project cross functional teams to deliver robust process for late-stage small molecule solid dosage assets and commercial products by solving complex engineering challenges

Collaborate within functions to integrate scientific objectives into activities associated with development of new/improved products or technology.

Function as a technical expert by anticipating, recognizing, and resolving problems. Demonstrate understanding of the issues relevant to the broad organization and business.

Conceptualize and implement novel approaches using combinations of engineering scientific principles.

Design and coordinate experiments to test hypothesis related to project outcomes; extract the full relevance of scientific observations while assuring experimental quality through sound experimental design and provides advice on experimental design.

Champion new technologies and demonstrate applicability departments/business units. Implement new technical alternatives for research from literature review, industry knowledge, and extensive development experience. Proactively advise and share knowledge and expert opinions with subordinates, peers, and senior management. Mentor and train functional colleagues.

Consistently and effectively present complex technical data to large and diverse groups. Author technical report, documentation and regulatory submission.

Maintain and develop broad external and internal contacts to maintain technical knowledge as required to accomplish strategic needs of the business.

Responsible for compliance with applicable Corporate and Divisional Policies and procedures.

Qualifications

Bachelors, Masters, or PhD in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or related field with 14+ (Bachelors), 12+ (Masters), or 6+ (PhD) years of related work experience with strong engineering background.

Deep technical background in pharmaceutical development. Solid oral dosage process development experience is highly preferred. Must be very experienced in the lab as well as in the production environment.

Demonstration of creative 'out of the box' thinking to solve complex technical problems and champion new technologies to achieve project goals.

Interacts well with diverse groups within function and maintains strong working relationships with internal and external collaborators. Demonstrated ability to influence others across areas of scientific disciplines.

Key Competencies

Delivers business results while also positioning AbbVie for long-term success.

Builds strong relationships with peers and cross functionally with partners outside of team 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.

Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement.

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

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 long-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
Principal
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
North Chicago, IL
Employment type
Full-time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Manufacturing & CMC role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 497 comparable Principal Manufacturing & CMC roles across 84 biopharma companies.

497Comparable roles tracked
483Currently active
84Companies hiring similar roles
32Countries represented

Salary context

208 of 497 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 $124,500/yr – $236,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Manufacturing Technician · Genz. Therap Product LP $24/hr – $32/hr (≈ $49,920–$66,560/yr)
Peer group range $58,240 – $288,000 (median $150,600)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 497 comparable roles

United States322
India40
Ireland22
Netherlands20
Singapore8
United Kingdom8

+ 26 more countries

Seniority mix

497 of 497 peers have a known seniority level

Senior324
Principal91
Director82

Therapeutic area mix

3 of 497 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Oncology1

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
Lilly Louisville, Colorado, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Merck Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Principal
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.

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%
Senior Principal Scientist - Bioanalytical Research
Lilly · Louisville, Colorado, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Associate Principal Scientist, Upstream Process Development
Merck · Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Electrical Engineer, Connected Systems & Combination Product Development, R&D
AbbVie · Pleasanton, CA · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Scientist, Formulation Development (DPDT)
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Tarrytown, United States · Principal
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.