AbbVie Posted September 1, 2026

Principal Engineer, SAP Global Trade Services

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

The Principal Engineer, SAP Global Trade Services, will be responsible for following AbbVie System Life Cycle (SLC) process to ensure compliance with delivering quality and validated systems. This position is responsible for demonstrating continuous improvement in the delivery of SAP GTS solutions. This role will stay on top of technological trends, agile project management and perform the required technical research and due diligence when necessary to recommend the use of new technology capabilities.

This Principal Engineer will also be responsible for evaluating alternatives to satisfy business objectives, estimate and plan projects. The successful candidate will be involved in solving complex problems that arise during the planning and execution of different IT programs and projects as well as managing SAP support activities.

This role will also be responsible for understanding business challenges faced in Global Trade & Compliance; Designing SAP GTS centric solutions that adhere to software architecture and quality standards followed at AbbVie; Partnering with Service Providers to implement the solution; Providing in-depth technical expertise & direction in the development and release of such solutions; And reviewing all the artefacts delivered by Service Providers throughout System Life Cycle.

Responsibilities: 

Serve as a technical expert in Global Trade & Compliance to design, develop, test, and implement SAP GTS E4H-centric solutions that address business challenges.

Lead technological proposals, generating innovative solutions to complex problems faced in Global Trade and compliance.

Evaluate technological advances in SAP GTS application and develop/implement response strategies accordingly.

Work with Global Trade & Compliance business to understand processes, drivers, and strategies, identifying areas for process improvement in SAP GTS.

Lead significant improvement programs, establishing requirements for major changes in business functions, processes, and technology.

Proactively seek out opportunities for applying new or existing technology.

Demonstrate mastery in software design and development, data integration, cloud environments, and more.

Review, validate, enhance, design, conduct performance monitoring and capacity planning.

Mentor and guide team members, facilitating effective performance and communication.

Ensure adherence to standards regarding code of conduct, safety, GxP compliance, data security, and the software development lifecycle.

Keep executive leadership, peers, and staff informed through effective communication.

Qualifications

Required:

Bachelor's Degree with 8 years’ experience; Master's Degree with 7 years’ experience; PhD with 3 years’ experience in application program development.

Deep expertise with Global Trade and Compliance Procedures.

Strong solution design experience with the following SAP GTS areas (Legal Control and Compliance, Customs Management for Import and Export transactions).

Strong Understanding of ABAP Programming.

Strong experience with software design and development, data integration and cloud environments such as SAP RISE.

Strong experience validating, enhancing, designing, and conducting performance monitoring and capacity planning.

Write functional specifications for custom programs.

Preferred:

Work experience in the pharmaceutical industry and academic background of International Trade is preferred.

Solution design experience with the following SAP GTS areas (Special Customs Procedures, Preference Management)

Experience in application program development preferably in the pharmaceutical industry

SAP S/4HANA Logistics and Supply Chain experience will be an added advantage.

Experience with AI tools.

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
Information Technology
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
North Chicago, IL
Employment type
Full-time

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Information Technology role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 577 comparable Principal Information Technology roles across 55 biopharma companies.

577Comparable roles tracked
535Currently active
55Companies hiring similar roles
32Countries represented

Salary context

106 of 577 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
Highest disclosed · Director, Product Management · $260,000/yr – $305,200/yr
Peer group range $98,050 – $282,600 (median $190,050)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 577 comparable roles

United States221
India207
Spain27
Poland21
United Kingdom18
Philippines11

+ 26 more countries

Seniority mix

577 of 577 peers have a known seniority level

Senior406
Principal103
Director68

Therapeutic area mix

5 of 577 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology4
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

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
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Renss, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Renss, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) Boston, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) Boston, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Roche Santa Clara, California, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country

Notify me about similar jobs

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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%
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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.