Principal Research Scientist I, Multispecifics Engineering

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 Multispecifics Engineering group at AbbVie is seeking a highly skilled, self-motivated scientist to join a dynamic team supporting Discovery Biotherapeutics. In this role, the successful candidate will drive the engineering, production, and characterization of multispecific biopharmaceutical products across multiple projects. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in biologics and multispecifics design, with a proven track record of applying multispecific engineering to advance discovery-stage programs, as well as experience in people and project management. We are looking for an enthusiastic, creative scientist ready to make tangible contributions to the pipeline. 

Key responsibilities: 

• Design, engineer, and produce multispecific biologics supporting multiple therapeutic areas.  

• Serve as the Multispecifics Engineering representative and subject matter expert on cross-functional teams—including Therapeutic Areas, Discovery Biotherapeutics, and Development Sciences—providing project updates, analysis, and recommendations.  

• Serve as Biologics Lead on 1–2 projects, managing molecule-related activities, building timelines with the TA Lead, contributing to key decision-making, and ensuring timely transitions from hit generation through candidate nomination. 

• Identify and solve technical problems independently; conceive and implement innovative research ideas that advance the group's and AbbVie's mission. 

• Ensure the consistency and quality of technical reports.  

• Present original work internally across departments and at internal and external scientific conferences; may author or co-author peer-reviewed papers or patents. 

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications: 

• PhD or MS degree in Biochemistry, Biochemical Engineering, or a related discipline.  

• 6+ (PhD) or 12+ (MS) years of experience in multispecific or antibody engineering 

• Experience with the design, expression, and purification of proteins, biologics, fragments, or multispecifics (e.g., bispecifics, trispecifics, bispecific protein fusions).  

• In-depth knowledge of the multispecific landscape, including design trends and technologies, and the application of the multispecific modality across therapeutic areas such as immunology, oncology, and neuroscience.  

• Ability to recognize emerging areas of interest in multispecific and antibody engineering and related fields, connecting research ideas to build next-generation molecules and advance platforms and programs.  

• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. 

• Strong team player able to operate effectively in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment.  

• Goal-oriented team player with excellent verbal and written communication skills and a strong can-do attitude. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience coordinating with CROs for protein production.  

• Expert understanding of protein expression, separation, and analytical technologies including mass spectrometry analysis of multispecifics.  

• Experience with technologies beyond recombinant protein production for generating multispecifics, enabling high-throughput screening to support agonist programs or screen combinatorial multispecific space (e.g. mammalian display).  

• Knowledge of biologic pipeline progression from exploratory through candidate nomination; program management experience preferred.  

Key AbbVie Competencies: 

• Builds strong relationships with peers and cross functionally with partners outside of the team to enable high performance.  

• Learns fast, grasps the “essence” and can change the course quickly where indicated. 

• Raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo.  

• Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement. 

• Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality. 

•  Continuous sitting for prolonged periods (more than 2 consecutive hours in an 8 hour day) 

• Experience managing direct reports, including performance evaluations and development planning.  

• Recognized in the scientific community through a sustained record of peer-reviewed publications and patents.    

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. 

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