AbbVie Posted June 9, 2026

Principal Research Scientist II - Analytical Development

Waltham, 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

The Principal Scientist II will be an integral part of the Analytical Development team in the Operations – Product Development Science and Technology – Biologics division. The role involves supporting analytical aspects of biologics products with a focus on advancing AbbVie’s late-stage clinical programs. This position calls for an individual with a strong technical analytical background, demonstrated leadership skills and the ability to effectively communicate and work cross-functionally.

Responsibilities:

Lead and mentor scientists specializing in separation-based assays including HPLC and capillary electrophoresis for sample testing to support biologics mab and DS process development, characterization, validation as well as GMP manufacturing investigation activities.

Serve as the process analytics lead for mab and DS in AbbVie's CMC teams, supporting late-stage biologics pipeline assets. Act as a partner to the process development groups. Balance stakeholder expectations to ensure effective collaboration.

Serve as the subject matter expert for separation-based methods, providing expertise and support for method development, execution, and troubleshooting.

Evaluate and select effective analytical technologies and methods to meet program needs. Support automation and development of high-throughput analytical methods and drive timely delivery of high-quality testing results.

Participate in the preparation and review of technical documents for late-stage programs. Author and review analytical sections of IND/BLA filings, provide response support to agency information requests. Ensure all submissions comply with regulatory requirements and industry standard.

Collaborate with other analytical teams in R&D and PDS&T on program transition, workflow and program strategic alignment. Provide guidance to peers on project management, analytical strategy development, and technical skills related to separation techniques.

Communicate project strategies, issues, and risks to relevant teams. Promote proactive risk resolution within and across functional areas to advance project objectives.

Demonstrate scientific excellence, advance science and innovation. Implement novel analytical techniques to enhance method robustness and expand analytical capabilities.

Qualifications

PhD in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or related technical discipline.  Minimum of 8+ years (PhD) of professional experience working in biotech/pharmaceutical setting.

Proven experience managing and leading analytical development activities for late-stage biologic development, including mAbs, multi-specifics, antibody-drug conjugates, and fusion proteins.

Expertise in protein and impurity analysis techniques such as HPLC, capillary electrophoresis, and other relevant methods. Experience with mass spectrometry and ELISA is a plus.

Skilled in technical writing including experience in authoring, reviewing regulatory submissions and responding to agency information requests.

Strong people leadership skills and demonstrated ability to foster an engaging, inclusive and collaborative team environment.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, effectively managing relationships to enhance team decision-making.

Ability to work effectively across functions, anticipating and addressing overall program development needs.

Ability to quickly comprehend and adapt to new situations, with an open mindset and can-do attitude, demonstrating agility where necessary to address evolving project needs.

Ability to think critically and demonstrate troubleshooting and problem-solving skills. High attention to detail.

Ability to lead and manage multiple projects of significant scope and complexity, while meeting all deliverables and timelines.

An independent, self-motivated, proactive individual who thrives in a fast-paced team environment.

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 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

Job details

Seniority
Principal
Function
Manufacturing & CMC
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Waltham, 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 $141,500/yr – $268,500/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.