2027 Automation & Process Analytics Technology Co-Op (June - Dec)

AbbVie•Worcester, MA

14h•Onsite

About The Position

AbbVie’s Product Development Science and Technology (PDS&T) designs, delivers, and supports biologics manufacturing processes for pipeline and partnered products through clinical development and commercial life cycle. The department brings together expertise in cell line development, cell culture process development, purification process development, scale-up, and analytical development. AbbVie is seeking a graduate co-op student for its Cell Culture Development and Automation team. This hands-on project combines optical spectroscopy, cell culture science, laboratory robotics, and data analytics. The co-op will help integrate spectroscopy with automated liquid-handling robotics for rapid, at-line characterization of cell-culture product quality and metabolites. The work includes developing hardware and automated analytical workflows, and applying chemometric and data-science modeling to production-relevant datasets. The co-op is a work experience and is not intended to support a thesis. The six-month program is based at AbbVie’s site in Worcester, Massachusetts, from June through December 2027.

Requirements

Be currently enrolled in a university Master’s degree program in Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Chemistry, or a related field, and remain enrolled during the co-op.
Have an expected graduation date between May 2028 and December 2028.
Be proficient in aseptic techniques, including thawing, passaging, and banking mammalian cell lines in a biosafety cabinet.
Have knowledge of optical spectroscopy techniques, including Raman, fluorescence, and absorbance.
Have knowledge of biology and biochemistry, cell metabolism, and protein characterization as applied to CHO cell culture development.
Be able to commit to a six-month program at AbbVie’s Worcester, Massachusetts site from June through December.

Nice To Haves

Strong critical-thinking skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex laboratory robotics and instrumentation challenges.
Ability to design and create custom labware using 3D printing.
Ability to execute, troubleshoot, and interpret complex experimental data to determine thoughtful next steps.
Working knowledge of programming or scripting languages such as Python, Visual Basic, and C/C++.

Responsibilities

Support integration of spectroscopy systems with an automated liquid-handling platform for high-throughput, at-line spectral acquisition from cell culture samples.
Design and 3D print custom labware and sampling components for automated sample transfer and spectral measurement.
Develop and troubleshoot liquid-handler methods for sample acquisition, flow-cell delivery, and system wash and cleaning cycles.
Perform aseptic cell culture techniques, including thawing, passaging, and banking of mammalian CHO cell lines, to support experimental studies.
Collect, process, and analyze Raman spectral and process data; apply chemometric and data-science techniques to build predictive models for metabolites and product quality attributes.
Collaborate with scientists in cell culture development, automation engineering, and analytical development to refine workflows using experimental results and team feedback.
Clearly document experimental methods, data, and results, and contribute to a final presentation and/or manuscript-quality summary for scientific communication.