AbbVie Posted August 26, 2026

Project Engineer - API Pilot Plant

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 API Pilot Plant in North Chicago, IL is seeking a project engineer to provide capital project management and technical support to the pilot plant and laboratories within AbbVie’s Synthetic Molecule CMC organization.  The API Pilot Plant supports the pharmaceutical pipeline through process development and manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) for pre-clinical toxicology studies, clinical trials, formulation development, and registration runs.

This function will primarily lead the planning and execution of small to medium sized capital projects related to process equipment, facilities, and utilities for the API Pilot Plant.  In addition, this role will support AbbVie’s R&D pipeline by providing day-to-day technical support of the plant and collaborating with process engineers, chemists, and operations technicians on the introduction of new processes and plant improvements.

Core Job Responsibilities

Plans and conducts small to medium sized capital projects within an engineering specialty and through all aspects of the project life cycle including scope development, cost estimating, execution planning, preparation of requests for capital expenditure, design, procurement, construction, cost/schedule control, commissioning, qualification, operator training, startup, and financial closeout.

Responsible for the successful completion of projects within the stated parameters of scope, cost, and schedule with the assurance that all functional, regulatory, end-user, and good engineering practice requirements are met.

Monitors project progress to plan and implement corrective actions or contingencies as needed to maintain commitments. Provides management with regular project status updates and variances to plan.

Leads the design of process equipment, facilities, and utilities by applying standard engineering theories, concepts, and techniques.  Leads the procurement and installation of process equipment through development of equipment specifications and participation in FATs and SATs.

Supports the commissioning and qualification of equipment, facilities and utilities including development of user/system/functional requirement specifications and execution of installation and operational qualification protocols.

Provides technical support for the pilot plant including troubleshooting of equipment problems, performing root cause analysis, and identifying corrective actions.

Support AbbVie’s quality policies through engineering support of investigations and implementation of corrective actions.

Assist AbbVie in achieving environmental, health, safety, and energy (EHS&E) goals by working safely, participating in Process Hazard Analysis and Pre-Startup Safety Reviews (PSSRs), complying with process safety management of change procedures, and observing all corporate and department safety policies.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in chemical or mechanical engineering or equivalent with a desired 2+ years of relevant engineering and/or operational experience.  Additional post-graduate education may contribute towards the desired years of experience.

Possesses a working technical knowledge and application of concepts, practices, and procedures.  Ability to work on problems of moderate scope where analysis of situations or data requires a review of identifiable factors.  Demonstrates judgment within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action.

Working knowledge in the areas of process equipment and system design, P&ID development, process equipment sizing and selection, preparation of equipment specifications, instrumentation, and control systems.

Strong teamwork skills and the ability to establish and maintain constructive relationships with personnel from various disciplines at all levels in the organization.

Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Technical background in health care, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biologics, or similar industries (preferred).

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 roleat  the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on manyfactors  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 isearned,  vested,  and determinable. The amount and availability of  any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that areallocable 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 absolutediscretion,  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
Not listed
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 3753 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 173 biopharma companies.

3753Comparable roles tracked
3372Currently active
173Companies hiring similar roles
64Countries represented

Salary context

920 of 3753 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.

This roleSubject $65,500/yr – $125,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Biologics Support Operator I (3rd Shift) · AbbVie $14/hr – $26/hr (≈ $29,099–$54,122/yr)
Highest disclosed · Head of Analytical Development · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $41,610 – $381,150 (median $125,550)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 3753 comparable roles

United States1738
Germany251
India166
France146
Ireland137
China123

+ 58 more countries

Seniority mix

1670 of 3753 peers have a known seniority level

Senior431
Manager381
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc259
Associate162
Principal138
Associate Director119
Director115
Senior Director57
Executive/VP8

Therapeutic area mix

24 of 3753 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease15
Rare Disease3
Oncology3
Respiratory1
Dermatology & Aesthetics1
Immunology1

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.

40%similar
AstraZeneca New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Same function Same country
40%similar
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
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Same function 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.

40%
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AstraZeneca · New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director - Analytical Chemistry
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Merck · West Point, Pennsylvania, United States · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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.