AbbVie Posted November 4, 2026

Principal Research Scientist II

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 Operations Parenteral Product Development Science & Technology (PDS&T) Department is a global organization responsible for all CMC activities related to the development and commercialization of AbbVie's parenteral products.  Our scope includes AbbVie's diverse pipeline of innovative therapeutic biologics medicines, including monoclonal antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADC), and other novel modalities, and spans from clinical proof of concept through commercial product launch.  We are a world-class team of scientists and leaders driving the advancement of industry-leading analytical capabilities and AbbVie's pipeline of innovative medicines.  Careers in AbbVie Parenteral PDS&T provide opportunities to work with global and cross-functional teams to develop innovative products and drive exceptional science.

The Biologics Analytical group in Parenteral PDS&T is responsible for programs that are transitioning from development stage to optimization and commercialization.  We lead final method development, optimization, and validation, ensuring all analytical methods are fit for use in commercial QC laboratories.  Key deliverables include product control strategies informed by analytical data and method understanding; robust analytical methods suitable for commercial QC labs; comprehensive data packages that drive product and process understanding; stability studies to establish commercial product dating; and approvable marketing application submission content.

We are looking for a highly motivated person who can oversee laboratory activities within the Biologics Analytical group in Parenteral PDS&T.

Key Responsibilities

Provide leadership and talent development for a team of scientists responsible for a suite of late-stage biologics products including monoclonal antibodies, antibody drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, etc.

Lead activities associated with analytical characterization of late-stage biologics compounds including assessment of process/formulation development samples, feasibility studies, clinical and commercial in-use, etc.

Demonstrate a critical mindset for method troubleshooting, examining data wholistically, and guiding and advising scientists through study execution.

Responsible for management of lab activities including established lab standards and best practices, documentation and verification.

Independently responsible for project activities within area of expertise while also contributing within the project team to the overall progress of the program.

Deliver results in a team-oriented setting and willing to work across scientific disciplines to drive programs through critical milestones.

Effectively organize and present scientific plans and data.

Author technical documents (e.g., methods, protocols, reports, etc.), scientific publications, presentations, and regulatory documents.

Qualifications

PhD (8+ years), Master’s Degree (14+ years), or Bachelor’s Degree (16+ years) in scientific discipline (e.g., Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, or Biology) with previous laboratory experience.  Previous supervisory experience managing teams required.

Practical experience with method validation and working in a GMP environment is required including designing studies, authoring protocols and reports, laboratory notebook documentation, etc.

Experience with investigations, validation events, out of specification, or out of trend evaluations preferred.

Familiarity with analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) preferred.

Practical experience and strong knowledge of protein HPLC (e.g., SEC, IEX, HIC), capillary electrophoresis, and other separation techniques as applied to protein analysis is preferred.

Solid understanding of protein chemistry and biochemistry, particularly as related to biologics drug development, is preferred.

Ability to multitask and work within timelines.

Demonstrated scientific writing skills and strong verbal communication skills.

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
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 423 comparable Principal Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 59 biopharma companies.

423Comparable roles tracked
403Currently active
59Companies hiring similar roles
22Countries represented

Salary context

192 of 423 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 $141,500/yr – $268,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Primate Behavior Specialist · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $322,000 (median $169,700)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 423 comparable roles

United States314
China22
India19
United Kingdom10
Germany9
Switzerland9

+ 16 more countries

Seniority mix

423 of 423 peers have a known seniority level

Senior210
Principal151
Director62

Therapeutic area mix

50 of 423 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology20
Immunology14
Neuroscience8
Cardiovascular / CVRM5
Vaccines & Infectious Disease2
Dermatology & Aesthetics1

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 Indianapolis, Indiana, 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
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie San Francisco, CA Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
AbbVie Worcester, MA 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 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%
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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.