Principal Research Scientist I, Biologics Drug Product Development

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 – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.

Summary:

Biologics Drug Product Development (Bio DPD), a part of Development Sciences within AbbVie’s R&D, is a global organization that is responsible for drug product formulation and process development, and definition of the product presentation for biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides, neurotoxins etc.) and genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, Cell Therapy).

AbbVie is seeking a highly motivated candidate for the position of Principal Research Scientist I, located in North Chicago, IL. We are seeking an accomplished scientist with a proven track record in biologics drug product formulation development, predictive stability, and quality risk management (QRM). This position will be an integral part of the product development and CMC teams and will have strong collaborations with several stakeholders, including discovery research, analytical research and development, bioprocess development, combination products development, product development science and technology, pilot plants and third-party manufacturers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as subject matter expert in biologics predictive stability modeling, in-use and administration procedures, and QRM.
• Lead the design and execution of biologics drug product formulation development, characterization and robustness studies.
• Initiate and/or support scientific initiatives to drive innovation, continuously enhance capabilities and platforms, and improve business processes.
• Effectively and timely communicate development plans, risks, and mitigation plans to stakeholders and line management.
• Lead matrix drug product teams for one or more projects and represent Bio DPD in the cross-functional Product Presentation and Device Strategy Team (PPDST) and the CMC Team.
• Supervise a team of 3-5 scientists and engineers.

• Bachelors, Masters, or PhD in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines with 14+ (Bachelors), 12+ (Masters), or 6+ (PhD) years of relevant industry experience.
• Proven ability to solve critical scientific problems.
• Strong experience with biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides and/or neurotoxins) and/or genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, cell therapy) formulation development, and QRM.
• Strong experience in predictive stability modeling (statistical, phenomenological and mechanistic) for different biologics modalities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Understanding of relevant cGMP and regulatory guidance.
• Experience with sterile manufacturing unit operations (freeze-thaw, compounding, mixing, filtration and filling) development, characterization, scale-up and technology transfer.
• Experience in managing third party manufacturers.
• Experience with quality risk management and drug product control strategies.
• People management experience.

Key Competencies:

• Deep scientific knowledge and significant hands-on experience with predictive stability modeling, administration procedures and risk management.
• Effectively communicates to influence without authority, drives technical excellence, and inspires continuous improvement.
• Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functional partners to enable higher performance.
• 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.
• Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement.
• Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality.

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 thetime 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 anybonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's soleand 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. 

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