Principal Research Scientist II

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.

Small Molecular Therapeutics and Platform Technologies (SMTPT) within Discovery Research seeks an accomplished scientist with hands on chemistry experience across multiple modalities (small molecules, degraders, macrocycles, peptides) to lead and build a new team of scientists within the Global Medicinal Chemistry (GMEC) organization.  GMEC is committed to delivering first and best-in-class small molecules in both conventional and unconventional drug-like space across modalities with the potential to improve human health.  The Principal Research Scientist II will lead a team of chemists designing and synthesizing macrocyclic peptides aimed at identifying and advancing low dose leads across our portfolio and in collaboration with teams across Lake County, IL, Boston, San Francisco, Ludwigshafen, and Madison.

The candidate will be responsible for managing a diverse team of 6-8 scientists who contribute to the design and synthesis of drug candidates for novel targets throughout AbbVie’s drug discovery pipeline and are tasked with enhancing AbbVie’s peptide platform capabilities in Lake County.  The team will develop novel chemistry strategies and execute multiparametric optimization(s) of drug candidate properties in a highly collaborative environment aimed at accelerating the delivery of a sustainable pipeline of first in class/breakthrough permeable peptides.

The candidate will have experience with project conception, strategic planning, and chemistry as well as contributing to cross-functional and matrixed teams.  The candidate will have strong theoretical and practical expertise in modern medicinal chemistry, peptide design and synthesis, macrocyclic design and synthesis, and Bro5 optimization including an appreciation of modern computational and experimental tools, multidisciplinary inputs, and synthetic technologies needed to develop low dose oral drug candidates across modalities.  The ideal candidate will have a strong and established background in drug discovery and a proven track record of successfully leading diverse chemistry teams and matrix teams. The candidate will be able to lead by influence in a matrix environment and maintain a productive, collaborative, and inclusive environment. Strong communication skills are essential as the candidate must be able to tailor interactions with technical teams and represent program and platform strategy to executive-level management.

 Key responsibilities:

• Drive performance by leading team members in the design and synthesis of low dose drug candidates and the development of bespoke/peptide-specific stage-appropriate progression funnels for their identification and prioritization
• Develop and execute a permeable peptide strategy in alignment with functional goals and key scientific objectives across discovery research and SMTPT
• As programs advance, develop plans to address and reduce risks in collaboration with key stakeholders to help successfully drive towards candidate nomination 
• Manage project activities and professional development of a team of 6-8 scientists through effective mentoring, guidance, and supervision
• Advance scientific expertise within the function and collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to advance the peptide platform from research to development
• Ensure the quality and effectiveness of key project results through sound chemistry design, early risk assessments, and implementation of fallback strategies
• Provide expert advice and share knowledge with direct reports, peers, and senior management
• Identify and integrate emerging scientific trends from internal and external sources into functional objectives
• Present program and platform updates and research strategies to functional and non-functional leaders as well as potential and existing partners
• Maintain awareness of emerging literature and science in the field and author scientific disclosures/publications
• Maintain scientific presence outside AbbVie with appropriate publication and conference abstract submission highlighting innovative chemistry learnings  

• Proven track record of driving early to late-stage discovery programs
• Extensive knowledge and experience in modern medicinal chemistry across multiple modalities (degraders, small molecules, peptides, macrocycles)
• Highly organized and self-directed, experience leading complex research programs
• Excellent written and verbal communication is required as well as critical evaluation and data-driven decision making
• Highly collaborative, team-oriented, and considerate of the needs of others
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with diverse groups within the organization and external partners
• Experience evaluating internal and external research and development programs.
• Proven team leadership and management abilities, including experience mentoring, guiding, supervising, and developing scientific personnel with various backgrounds and training levels
• Ability to create an inclusive environment where diverse ideas, viewpoints and backgrounds are valued; willingness and ability to lead inclusively and demonstrate a commitment to listen and consider all points of view

Education & Experience:
PhD organic chemistry, peptide chemistry, chemical biology, or medicinal chemistry or equivalent field with 8+ years of related work experience in biotech or pharma.

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 incentive programs. ​

• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs​

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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, serving our community and embracing diversity and inclusion.  It is AbbVie’s policy to employ qualified persons of the greatest ability without discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected group status.

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