Principal Research Scientist II - Process Chemistry

AbbVie•North Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Process Chemistry group is responsible for inventing and executing the chemical processes for preparing active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to enable toxicology studies, clinical trials, and drug product development for AbbVie’s pre-clinical and clinical candidates. We create valuable intellectual property through composition of matter, chemical processes, and technology, resulting in the development of safe and cost-effective commercial manufacturing processes. AbbVie is seeking a highly skilled and innovative Principal Research Scientist II to contribute to chemical process research and development of small molecules, peptides, antibody-drug conjugates, and other modalities via expertise in Biocatalysis. The selected candidate will lead the development of biocatalytic processes for the scalable synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), enzyme discovery, directed evolution campaigns, and application of AI/ML tools for the discovery and optimization of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Deep expertise in biocatalysis, a strong foundation in synthetic organic chemistry, and the technical versatility to integrate modern computational and high-throughput experimentation tools into process development is required for this role.

Requirements

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD Degree in organic chemistry with typically 16+ (BS), 14+ (MS) or 8+ (PhD) years of experience.
Expertise in synthetic organic chemistry with demonstrated hands-on experience in biocatalysis, including enzyme screening, characterization, and application to synthetic transformations.
Proficiency in recombinant DNA techniques and protein expression for enzyme production and engineering.
Experience with high-throughput experimentation (HTE) platforms and data analysis workflows for rapid enzyme identification and reaction optimization.
Demonstrated ability to employ AI/ML and data science approaches to solve complex chemical synthesis problems.
Demonstrated ability in innovating new chemical and automation technologies.
Proven scientific leadership; strong interpersonal and communication skills for facilitating collaborations.
Experience in synthetic molecule process development.
Proven track-record of high impact publications in external scientific journals.
Proven track-record as an industry leader in the field of biocatalysis.
Proven track-record as a people manager.

Responsibilities

Lead the setting and implementation of strategies for solving complex synthetic problems in process development, via implementation of biocatalytic methods.
Lead efforts in the identification and design of enzymes, application of recombinant DNA techniques, heterologous protein expression, and directed evolution methodologies to engineer biocatalysts with improved activity, selectivity, and stability in support of novel or improved synthetic transformations for API process development.
Leverage AI/ML tools, bioinformatics platforms, and high-throughput experimentation (HTE) to accelerate enzyme screening, optimization, and process development cycles.
Participate in and/or lead project teams associated with process development and characterization for small molecules, peptides, antibody-drug conjugates, and other modalities.
Lead a group of scientists, set project strategies and responsibilities, define timelines, and provide mentorship in a matrixed team setting.
Connect unrelated concepts to generate new ideas and always be on the lookout for the next big win.
Author and review technical reports, regulatory documents, patents, and scientific publications, present findings at internal and external scientific forums.
Understand and adhere to corporate standards regarding GxP compliance, code of conduct, safety, and appropriate handling of materials.