AbbVie Posted September 22, 2026

Research Associate Scientist II

Oxford, ENGLAND 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.co.uk. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

At DJS-AbbVie, we are committed to advancing new therapeutics and translating novel immunological science into innovative R&D programs. As a UK-based R&D hub within AbbVie Immunology, we combine the agility, scientific focus and entrepreneurial spirit of a specialist discovery team with the scale, resources and ambition of a global pharmaceutical company.

A critical part of achieving our vision is working with fantastic people, and as such we are looking for an enthusiastic and talented Associate Scientist II to join our Immunobiology team, whose goal is to deliver new insights into the biology and mechanisms of immunological disease, and valid targets for therapeutic intervention. For this role, candidates should be excited about working in a small, dynamic team; always keen to get involved with all aspects of immunobiology and drug discovery research; be a team player. This position represents an excellent opportunity for someone looking to solidify their career within an industry laboratory research environment working on innovative projects whilst developing a variety of new skills.

The initial focus of a successful candidate will be to develop and use assays, including complex in vitro models, to answer focussed biological questions. You will need to work independently on primary cell culture, flow cytometry, ELISA, imaging, and various assay techniques, with appropriate guidance from senior team members.

The successful applicant will be a practical person who is organised, detail-oriented and efficient, and who enjoys working on experimental design and interpretation, and is excited about understanding novel biology. Some previous experience in basic immunological techniques is required.

At DJS we want to foster innovative scientists performing cutting edge science and as such a successful applicant will have numerous opportunities to grow. You will have the space to develop as an increasingly independent experimentalist, and get exposure to scientists from a range of background including bioinformaticians, clinical scientists, pathologists and drug discovery experts including with colleagues in our on-site Novel Therapeutics group in Oxford. You will be expected to work closely with Abbvie R&D colleagues, gaining experience in cross-border collaboration, and will have the opportunity to travel to AbbVie’s US research sites and network with scientists across different disease areas and disciplines.

Successful applicant's key responsibilities

Bringing energy, enthusiasm and positivity to the company

Maintenance of cell cultures including advanced primary cells.

Techniques such as flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy and ELISA

Troubleshooting and execution of co-cultures and complex in vitro model systems

Work as a key member of the Oxford immunobiology team but collaborating and working on whatever project is necessary to advance our therapeutic programs.

Autonomously performing critical laboratory experiments and interpreting the data to drive the next series of experiments you will run and strategic decisions within you team.

Keeping up to date with developments in the literature in relation to technical aspects of drug discovery technologies

Day-to-day laboratory management as part of the team e.g. maintaining a safe and clean working laboratory environment, re-ordering laboratory consumables

Establishing and maintaining quality sample archives

Gathering, analysing and presenting data from a variety of sources to the Oxford team as well as to US-based colleagues.

Critical and impartial review of self and peer generated laboratory data

Maintenance of laboratory experimental records

Qualifications

Bsc in a relevant discipline plus 2 years of industry experience, which may include placement years or internships, or an Msc degree.

Enthusiasm for and commitment to drug discovery and drug development research

Proven recent experience in Mammalian cell culture

Cell biology techniques (such as flow cytometry; ELISA; fluorescence microscopy)

Evidence of excellent organizational and interpersonal skis including Ability to work both independently and as part of a team

Ability to work efficiently with strong attention to detail

Ability to build effective working relationships

Laboratory method development

Ability to work flexible hours when required

Proven written and oral communicative ability

Problem-solving skills

Strong IT skills

Desirable skills Experience in running functional in vitro or ex vivo biological assays on primary cells.

Good knowledge of statistics

Additional Information

About DJS Antibodies

At DJS Antibodies as part of AbbVie our ambition is to contribute world class novel antibody therapeutics for the treatment of severe diseases into AbbVie’s clinical pipeline. Our proprietary antibody discovery technology enables us to discover first in class antibodies to the key drivers of disease that have, until now, been intractable to drug discovery such as GPCR’s and other complex membrane and soluble targets.

Working at DJS will involve coming into a stimulating and entrepreneurial work environment with excellent exposure to industry-leading experts. Being part of a small team means that you will be exposed to all aspects of R&D and the broader business. You will benefit from working with a great team, a competitive remuneration package and significant opportunities for career development.

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
Associate
Function
Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Oxford, ENGLAND
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 174 comparable Associate Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 39 biopharma companies.

174Comparable roles tracked
159Currently active
39Companies hiring similar roles
17Countries represented

Salary context

60 of 174 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 Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Lab Associate Flow Cytometry · IQVIA $34,700/yr – $72,300/yr
Highest disclosed · Advisor - Isotopic Chemistry · Lilly $153,000/yr – $246,400/yr
Peer group range $53,500 – $199,700 (median $90,400)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 174 comparable roles

United States115
France13
Germany9
Belgium7
Switzerland5
United Kingdom5

+ 11 more countries

Seniority mix

174 of 174 peers have a known seniority level

Intern/Fellow/Postdoc83
Associate70
Manager21

Therapeutic area mix

17 of 174 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology8
Neuroscience4
Immunology3
Cardiovascular / CVRM2

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
GlaxoSmithKline Services Unlimited Uk, United Kingdom Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Labcorp Huntingdon, United Kingdom Associate
Same function Same seniority Same country
50%similar
IQVIA Livingston, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
IQVIA Livingston, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
50%similar
IQVIA Portishead, United Kingdom Manager
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
45%similar
Roche Basel, Basel-City, Switzerland Associate
Same function Same seniority

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%
Antibody Discovery Associate Scientist
GlaxoSmithKline Services Unlimited · Uk, United Kingdom · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
50%
Associate Manager - Immunology
IQVIA · Livingston, United Kingdom · Manager
Function Therapeutic area Adjacent seniority Country
45%
Associate Scientist – Digital Discovery: Antibody Bioinformatics
Amgen British Columbia ULC · Burnaby, Canada · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
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Associate Scientist, Pharmacology (Boston, US, 02210)
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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.