Principal Research Scientist I, siRNA Platform Automation
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
AbbVie’s Biotherapeutics and Genetic Medicine (BGM) department is seeking a highly motivated Principal Research Scientist to join our expanding siRNA team. In this role, you will partner with genetic medicine teams to establish a high-throughput siRNA screening platform that advances pipeline innovation through next-generation delivery modalities and supports the discovery of therapeutic leads across multiple disease areas.
Responsibilities:
Establish and implement a high-throughput siRNA screening platform using automated liquid-handling systems.
Serve as a subject matter expert in siRNA screening experimental design, execution, and data interpretation.
Lead research efforts and mentor scientists to advance siRNA optimization, including sequence design and novel chemical modifications, across multiple programs.
Generate new scientific hypotheses and proposals, improve existing screening workflows, and evaluate emerging technologies in the siRNA field.
Communicate clearly and effectively with internal siRNA teams and cross-functional collaborators to identify needs and support platform enhancement and program advancement.
Manage and develop a team of at least 2-3 scientists, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and day-to-day leadership to support program goals.
Qualifications
BS, MS, or PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, or a related field, with typically 6+ years (PhD), 12+ years (MS), or 14+ years (BS) of relevant experience in biotech or pharma.
Proven track record in siRNA design, in vitro screening, and potency assays with experience using automated high-throughput platforms (e.g., Hamilton, Tecan).
Experience with assays including, but not limited to, qRT-PCR, ELISA, and flow cytometry.
Demonstrated experience in cell culture, including the maintenance of diverse cell lines.
Prior experience leading siRNA platform initiatives or portfolio programs.
Experience in animal study design and downstream assays to evaluate genetic medicines is a plus.
Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to build productive working relationships with diverse internal teams and external collaborators.
Strong track record of presenting complex scientific data to internal and external stakeholders.
Prior people management experience is a plus.
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 and 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
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Job details
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.
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.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 393 comparable roles
+ 13 more countries
Seniority mix
393 of 393 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
2 of 393 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
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.
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.
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.