Abbott Posted November 2, 2026

Research Operator

Columbus, Ohio, United States FULL_TIME
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Abbott 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

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 122,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Working at Abbott

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You’ll also have access to:

Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of.

Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year.

An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution

Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree.

A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.

A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.

Our location in Columbus, OH, currently has an opportunity for a Research Operator.  In Research & Development (R&D) our ambition is providing innovative high-quality products, creating sustainable value, delivering superior user experience and enhancing health outcomes at all stages of life.

The Research Operator is responsible for the processing and sterilization of liquid and powdered infant and adult nutritional products in the Columbus PRC. Primary functions include, but not limited to: material handling, hand cleaning, clean-in-place (CIP), routine housekeeping, and operation of equipment used in manufacturing research product from start to finish: kettles, heat treatment processing systems, fillers, capper, seamer, retorts, aseptic processing and filling equipment, spray dryer and other powder handling equipment, etc.

This position is accountable for accurately following all procedures relating to the manufacture of products in the Columbus PRC. Failure to follow all procedures could result in the loss of product or a project. Accountable for the safety of self and other employees while operating equipment.

This position is accountable for complying with applicable regulations, policies, procedures, or guidelines.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Meet departmental standards and expectations for teamwork and customer service

Comply with the Abbott Quality System as it applies to the PRC

Demonstrate consistency in retaining and applying learned skills

Perform tasks or job functions accurately and in a timely manner

Demonstrate accountability and responsibility for EHS performance and compliance through active participation and support of Abbott’s EHS program

Adhere to all policies, procedures, and expectations for each area of responsibility

Execute manufacturing steps per the approved work order documents

Complete tasks associated with cleaning, CIP, and setup of necessary equipment

Maintain good housekeeping in work areas

Execute environmental monitoring sampling

Perform in-process testing using lab equipment such as pH meters, leak tester, can seam vision system, total solids analyzer, etc.

Operate all manufacturing and product handling equipment

Effectively communicate project execution issues and/or observations and provide recommendations to Product Development, support roles such as Engineering and QA, and management.

Obtain Better Process Control certification

Minimum Education/Professional Experience:

Required:

High school diploma/GED required. Bachelor’s degree in Technical field preferred.

Preferred:

Three years’ experience in a plant production environment (preferably within drug, food, or beverage manufacturing).

Knowledge of applicable regulatory standards and requirements for infant formula, adult nutrition, and performance nutrition.  Knowledge of food processing techniques and documentation requirements.

Ability to read and follow work order documents, troubleshoot equipment breakdowns, and operate powered industrial vehicles. Should possess good mechanical aptitude and solid problem-solving skills.

Apply Now

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives:  www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Military/Veteran friendly Employer, committed to employee diversity.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott , and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

The base pay for this position is $20.85 – $41.75 per hour. In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted.

Job details

Seniority
Not listed
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Columbus, Ohio, United States
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 3305 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 168 biopharma companies.

3305Comparable roles tracked
3129Currently active
168Companies hiring similar roles
60Countries represented

Salary context

798 of 3305 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 Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Operator – Plant Utilities · Lilly $13/hr – $28/hr (≈ $26,998–$58,302/yr)
Highest disclosed · Head of Analytical Development · ModernaTX, Inc. $272,200/yr – $490,100/yr
Peer group range $42,650 – $381,150 (median $129,480)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 3305 comparable roles

United States1508
Germany215
India156
France149
Ireland122
China121

+ 54 more countries

Seniority mix

1472 of 3305 peers have a known seniority level

Senior399
Manager339
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc198
Associate152
Principal127
Associate Director104
Director99
Senior Director48
Executive/VP6

Therapeutic area mix

23 of 3305 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease15
Rare Disease3
Oncology2
Respiratory1
Immunology1
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.

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 Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
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 Associate
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%
Director, Global Regulatory Affairs – Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC), Platform Innovation – Synthetic Peptides and Oligonucleotides
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Postdoctoral Fellow - AI/ML Upstream Cell Culture Modeling & Process Development
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Analytical R&D Fellowship – Formulation and Solubility Studies (Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellow)
Merck · West Point, Pennsylvania, United States · Intern/Fellow/Postdoc
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Associate Director, CMC Portfolio Management
AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Associate Director
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.