AbbVie Posted June 10, 2026

Principal Engineer - Automation

Worcester, MA Full-time
Manufacturing & CMC Principal

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

An engineering professional who, working with little or no supervision, applies advanced scientific knowledge, engineering knowledge, mathematics, and ingenuity to complete complex assignments related to a specific technical field or discipline. A Principal Engineer has full knowledge of other related disciplines beyond their own area of expertise.

Responsibilities:

Responsible for compliance with applicable policies and procedures. Ensures quality and effectiveness of key results of major projects within function through sound design, early risk assessments, and implementation of fallback strategies. Has full awareness of the potential consequences (defects and failure modes) of design changes to established processes. Mitigates risk within functions through sound design, early risk assessments and implementation of fallback strategies.

Identifies, plans, and conducts medium- to large-size projects within engineering specialty requiring custom, risk-managed execution plans, investigations, and/or equipment. Manages multiple, often concurrent, projects and meets deadlines.

Maintains project controls and reporting for cost, scope and schedule; develops execution strategy including procurement; balances multiple demands. Understands the business needs of the company, and has a thorough knowledge of the customer and clinical needs when developing a project scope. Incorporates business foresight of emerging technological trends.

Works with marketing, product development, and manufacturing to establish scope, priorities, and schedules on multiple projects. Independently performs economic analysis and feasibility studies related to complex and often multiple competing project alternatives. Responsible for achieving the project's financial targets in support of business objectives.

Analyzes business forces (customers, suppliers, competitors, technologies, government regulations) in major markets to identify trends and recommend responses. Independently executes, and/or directs others in the execution of: the design of products/processes/equipment/systems/facilities by applying novel engineering theories, concepts, and techniques within the disciplines. experiments, often with multiple variables, gathers data, and performs detailed analysis.

Designs and leads complex experiments, often with multiple variables, gathers data, and performs detailed analysis. Assesses relevance. Conceptualizes complete solutions. Creates or coordinates the design solutions for novel or complex problems; integrates regulatory and operational needs; assesses cost benefit. Explores multiple alternatives. Structures studies and integrate cross-disciplinary and cross-functional issues to arrive at optimal cause of action.

Applies technology in innovative ways. Combines technologies to anticipate or address customer needs; shares solutions across sites; employs proven solutions to increase effectiveness of engineering methodology or manufacturing process. Mentors others by sharing technical expertise and providing feedback and guidance.

Where appropriate, provides tasks/project assignment opportunities for employee development and evaluates performance. Represents the organization as the prime technical contact on contracts and projects.

Interacts with both senior management and external personnel on significant technical matters often requiring coordination between organizations. Submits articles for internal or external publication. Acts as a trusted advisor. Balances bottom line objectives of a project with long-term interest of customer. Is identified as a Subject Matter Expert in the discipline. Participates in internal teams to develop and align procedures and standards. May influence validation strategy.

Qualifications

A Bachelors Degree in Engineering, science, or closely related discipline is desired, or equivalent technical experience plus demonstrated competence, with a desired 8+ years of significant engineering and/or operational experience. A post-graduate education/degree is desired, and may contribute towards the desired years of experience. Has demonstrated competency within a discipline.

Has a career history marked by a consistent series of technical contributions and accomplishments. Significant contribution to product or process development or improvement through creative application of technical effort will equally be recognized.

Possesses a strong technical knowledge and application of concepts, practices, and procedures. Works on problems of complex scope where analysis of situations or data involves multiple competing factors. Exercises judgment and advises management as to the appropriate actions.

Interacts well with diverse groups within engineering and maintains strong working relationships with internal and external collaborators.

Listens to and understands others' points of view and articulates tactfully and respectfully one's own perspective orally, in writing, and in presentations.

Works well with other engineers in a collaborative, fast-paced goal-driven environment.

Possesses interpersonal skills to negotiate and reconcile differences.

Has a technical background in health care, medical devices, pharmaceutical, biologics, or similar industries (preferred).

Has demonstrated competency with financial systems and in fiscal control.

Travel - 20-30%

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 thisposting 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 anduntil 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
Principal
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Worcester, MA
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 393 comparable Principal Manufacturing & CMC roles across 56 biopharma companies.

393Comparable roles tracked
368Currently active
56Companies hiring similar roles
19Countries represented

Salary context

188 of 393 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 $109,500/yr – $208,500/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Scientist II – CMC Developmental Sciences · AbbVie $0/hr – $0/hr (≈ $0–$0/yr)
Highest disclosed · Director, Global Automation Engineering · AbbVie $182,000/yr – $346,000/yr
Peer group range $0 – $264,000 (median $150,600)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 393 comparable roles

United States282
India42
Singapore10
Ireland9
Netherlands7
Switzerland6

+ 13 more countries

Seniority mix

393 of 393 peers have a known seniority level

Senior251
Principal78
Director64

Therapeutic area mix

2 of 393 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology1
Vaccines & Infectious Disease1

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
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Louisville, Colorado, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Watertown, Massachusetts, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Lilly Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America Principal
Same function Same seniority Same country

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%
Senior/Principal Scientist, Bioprocess Purification Development
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Senior Principal Scientist, Analytical Sciences
Lilly · Watertown, Massachusetts, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Sr. Principal or Engineering Advisor - Agentic Lab Automation Integration
Lilly · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America · Principal
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
Principal Scientist, Downstream Process Development
Merck · Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America · Principal
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.