AbbVie Posted October 13, 2026

Principal Research Scientist I – Analytical Development – PDST – Late-Stage Process Analytics

Waltham, MA 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 Scientist I will be an integral part of the Process Analytics team in the Operations – Product Development Science and Technology – Biologics division. The role involves leading analytical activities within a high-throughput testing group supporting biologics products with a focus on advancing AbbVie’s late-stage clinical programs. This position calls for an individual with a strong technical analytical background, demonstrated leadership and organizational skills and the ability to effectively communicate and work cross-functionally.

Responsibilities:

Lead analytical activities within a high-throughput testing group supporting biologics process development for late-stage programs.

Serve as the subject matter expert for separation-based methods, including HPLC and capillary electrophoresis.

Evaluate and select effective fit for purpose analytical technologies and methods to meet process development needs.

Provide expertise and support for method development, execution, and troubleshooting. Provide direct technical guidance and oversight to scientists executing sample testing with hands on lab support when needed.

Partner with process development SMEs for interpretation and understanding of analytical data.

Oversee sample testing schedule and prioritization; drive timely delivery of high-quality testing results.

Support implementation of automation and high-throughput experimentation workflows.

Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance lab efficiency and capability.

Mentor, train and supervise junior scientists.

Qualifications

PhD in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or related technical discipline with 6+ years of relevant professional experience working in analytical development or process analytics; MS degree with minimum of 10+ years of relevant experience.

Proven experience leading analytical development activities for biologics development, including mAbs, multi-specifics, antibody-drug conjugates, and fusion proteins.

Hands on method development experience in protein and impurity analysis techniques such as HPLC, capillary electrophoresis, and other relevant methods for biologics required. Experience with mass spectrometry and ELISA is a plus.

Previous experience with automation is a plus.

Highly organized with ability to multitask and drive efficient workflows.

Ability to think critically and demonstrate troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.

Strong people leadership skills and demonstrated ability to foster an engaging, inclusive and collaborative team environment. Direct people management experience required.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to work effectively across functions, anticipating and addressing overall program development needs.

An independent, self-motivated, proactive individual who thrives in a fast-paced team environment.

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
Waltham, MA
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 634 comparable Principal Manufacturing & CMC roles across 88 biopharma companies.

634Comparable roles tracked
588Currently active
88Companies hiring similar roles
29Countries represented

Salary context

228 of 634 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 Technician Calibration - Maintenance · Mylan Technologies, Inc. $37,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Peer group range $58,500 – $288,000 (median $149,863)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 634 comparable roles

United States413
India45
Ireland30
Netherlands16
Germany15
China13

+ 23 more countries

Seniority mix

634 of 634 peers have a known seniority level

Senior403
Principal125
Director106

Therapeutic area mix

6 of 634 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease3
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Respiratory1
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
Merck West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Sanofi US Services Inc. Waltham, United States Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) Tarrytown, 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
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America 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.

Or follow a whole field: get every new Manufacturing & CMC 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 Principal Scientist/Engineer, Medical Device and Combination Products, Analytical
Merck · West Point, Pennsylvania, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (USA) · Renss, United States · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Lilly · Lebanon, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
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Principal Engineer I, Process Development
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · 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.