AbbVie Posted August 26, 2026

Scientist I, Automation

North Chicago, IL Full-time
Notify me about similar jobs

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 Molecular Profiling and Drug Delivery (MPDD) function within the Small Molecule CMC organization is accountable for a broad range of deliverables across various stages of drug discovery and development. During lead optimization and through candidate selection, MPDD scientists utilize state of the art automation and computational tools supported by expertise in biopharmaceutics, drug delivery, and solid-state chemistry to collaboratively progress candidates with higher probability of success into development and advise clinical formulation strategy. From candidate selection through clinical proof of concept and product launch, MPDD scientists work in cross functional teams to identify the commercial solid form of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and establish structure-property-performance correlations to help deliver robust commercial processes and align control strategies across drug substance and product. They also transition drug substance isolation processes and relevant physical characterization methods to commercial manufacturing sites and work within teams to ensure successful regulatory submissions.

Drug Delivery scientists within AbbVie's MPDD organization work collaboratively with other functions within Development Sciences and Discovery to conduct developability assessment to select molecules with higher probability of success for clinical development and eventual commercialization.  This includes profiling of physicochemical properties, development of preclinical formulations, identifying solutions to in vivo absorption challenges, and advancement of novel drug delivery strategies across multiple routes of administration that are aligned with program target product profiles and downstream partners.  Modalities of interest include traditional small molecules as well as complex chemically synthesized modalities such as PROTACs and peptides.  In this role, you will work in cross-functional teams in matrixed environments and engage in multidisciplinary problem solving.

Job Description

AbbVie’s MPDD organization is seeking a highly motivated, creative, and collaborative scientist with expertise in assay development, chemical automation, and integrated workflow design for an Scientist I position. The primary role of this position will emphasize analytical chemistry, HPLC–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS), laboratory automation, and implement automated and data-enabled workflows that accelerate decision-making and improve throughput in early development sciences. This individual will contribute to the profiling of physiochemical properties, screening and development of preclinical formulations, and the advancement of platform workflows for emerging modalities of interest. This role will work closely with cross-functional partners across discovery and development sciences to build and optimize integrated capabilities that support faster, data-driven, more efficient pipeline progression. The successful candidate will have strong hands-on experience in HPLC–MS , assay development, automation, and the generation and interpretation of physicochemical data to inform developability. Experience with preclinical formulation strategies, workflow optimization, and enabling technologies for novel or complex modalities is highly desirable.

Qualifications

Scientist I typically requires Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent education with typically 5 years of experience, or Master’s Degree or equivalent education with typically two years of experience in pharmaceutical or related industry. Preferred educational backgrounds include but are not restricted to Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Engineering, Chemical/ Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Materials Science.

Familiarity and preferred hands-on experience in physicochemical property assessment related to understanding CMC developability profile and potential risk mitigation strategies. Experimental and automation techniques of interest include but are not limited to: plate-based optical spectroscopy, liquid handler operation, custom scientific programming and scripting, machine learning and model-building concepts, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry, powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), optical microscopy, light scattering techniques, thermal analysis, and other biophysical characterization techniques. Experience with automated data capture, laboratory instrumentation integration, assay miniaturization, and data analysis workflows is desirable.

Hands-on Experience with HPLC–MS, high-resolution mass spectrometry, or related analytical platforms.

Hands-on experience in assay development, automation, and workflow optimization, with an ability to design and implement efficient, reproducible, and scalable laboratory processes.

Strong understanding of physiochemical property profiling and its application to early developability assessment, including methods relevant to solubility, stability, and other compound attributes that inform pipeline decisions.

Familiarity with preclinical formulation development and screening strategies, including support for enabling formulations for emerging or complex modalities.

Familiarity with analytical, biophysical, and in vitro techniques used to generate high-quality data for early development decision making.

Experience collaborating with data scientists, computational chemists, or informatics partners.

Excellent organizational skills, self-management, and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Key Competencies

Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functional partners to enable higher performance.

Learns fast, grasps the "essence”, and can change course quickly where indicated.

Connects ideas from disparate fields, integrates data and information quickly, and takes risks to achieve the highest performance.

Raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo. Demonstrates scientific curiosity and problem-solving ability.

Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement.

Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality.

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 short-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
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 2402 comparable Manufacturing & CMC roles across 163 biopharma companies.

2402Comparable roles tracked
2290Currently active
163Companies hiring similar roles
52Countries represented

Salary context

651 of 2402 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 $75,000/yr – $142,500/yr
Highest disclosed · Executive Director, CMC Regulatory Science · ModernaTX, Inc. $224,900/yr – $404,600/yr
Peer group range $0 – $314,750 (median $124,100)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 2402 comparable roles

United States1162
India150
Germany117
France91
Netherlands89
Ireland85

+ 46 more countries

Seniority mix

1099 of 2402 peers have a known seniority level

Senior324
Manager248
Associate131
Intern/Fellow/Postdoc110
Principal92
Director82
Associate Director74
Senior Director31
Executive/VP7

Therapeutic area mix

12 of 2402 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Vaccines & Infectious Disease9
Rare Disease2
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.

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 Senior 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 Director
Same function Same country
40%similar
Lilly Louisville, Colorado, United States of America Principal
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.

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%
Development Scientist III, Analytical Development and Clinical Quality Control
AstraZeneca · New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America · Seniority not listed
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Director, Analytical Chemistry - Peptides
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Advisor, Data Scientist - CMC Data Products
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Associate
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
40%
Scientist - Molecular Biology, Cell Culture Upstream Process Development
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Seniority not listed
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.