AbbVie Posted October 12, 2026

Senior Scientist I - Pharmacology

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

The Translational Sciences group, within Neuroscience Discovery Research, is actively engaged in an innovative research program dedicated to identifying and strengthening biomarkers and translational endpoints to support AbbVie’s therapeutic programs. Working across the Neuroscience portfolio, with assets in neurodegeneration, movement disorders, psychiatry, and migraine, our comprehensive approach includes discovering and developing novel positron emission tomography (PET) radioligands, and their application (along with known radioligands) in drug discovery and development.

Within Translational Sciences the Molecular Imaging team leads pre-clinical and translational imaging activities working closely with other groups in AbbVie (e.g., medicinal chemists, biologists, pharmacologists, and clinicians), leading academics, and CROs. The responsibility of the In Vivo Imaging Scientist will be to lead and conduct preclinical PET imaging studies. The candidate will have access to state-of-the-art instrumentation and the opportunity to work with novel PET radioligands, animal models, and therapeutic drug approaches. This role operates in a collaborative culture and requires a high degree of matrix working both within the imaging function and across research departments.

Major Responsibilities:

Function as the study coordinator of several preclinical imaging studies.

Provide experimental support for preclinical PET imaging studies in rodents and large animals (e.g., formulation and administration of radiotracer/contrast agent/compound, image data acquisition, and blood sampling).

Operate various imaging systems, including a Mediso LFER 150 PET/CT and a Mediso Nanoscan PET/CT.

Handling & processing of plasma samples for, e.g., radiometabolite analysis via HPLC.

Perform analysis of imaging data using specialized software.

Develop and ensure high quality study protocols.

Ensure maintenance of imaging equipment, in close collaboration with vendor support team.

Communicate key results to team members and project stakeholders and contribute to study reports/publications.

Qualifications

PhD in neuroscience, pharmacology, biomedical engineering, or a related field with typically 0-2 years of experience, or master’s degree or equivalent education with typically up to 8 years of experience.

Demonstrated skills in preclinical PET imaging.

Ability to execute deadlines in multidisciplinary teams and deliver high quality data.

Good publication record in international peer reviewed journals.

Capacity to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.

Track record of successful collaborations/ building partnerships.

Pharmaceutical industry experience preferred.

Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

Excellent oral and written 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 thisp osting 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

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
Senior
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 448 comparable Senior Drug Discovery & Preclinical Research roles across 53 biopharma companies.

448Comparable roles tracked
406Currently active
53Companies hiring similar roles
18Countries represented

Salary context

224 of 448 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 $96,500/yr – $183,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Animal Behaviorist - Primate · Labcorp $70,000/yr – $80,000/yr
Highest disclosed · Toxicology Senior Research Fellow · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (US) $232,000/yr – $348,000/yr
Peer group range $75,000 – $290,000 (median $165,150)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 448 comparable roles

United States338
China15
India14
United Kingdom14
Belgium10
Switzerland10

+ 12 more countries

Seniority mix

448 of 448 peers have a known seniority level

Senior234
Principal171
Associate Director43

Therapeutic area mix

49 of 448 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology17
Oncology14
Neuroscience13
Cardiovascular / CVRM3
Gastroenterology1
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
Merck Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America Senior
Same function Same seniority Same country
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Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Groton, United States Senior
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60%similar
Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Groton, United States Senior
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60%similar
AbbVie South San Francisco, CA Senior
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60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Senior
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60%similar
AbbVie North Chicago, IL Senior
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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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.