The Toxin Innovation Group at AbbVie seeks an accomplished scientist and leader for the Toxin Innovation Protein Science Team. The Director/Senior Principal Research Scientist will lead discovery protein engineering, expression, and purification activities to generate novel biotherapeutics. She/He/They will be responsible for leading a diverse team of research scientists to design, screen, and produce high quality and novel protein therapeutics at a research scale for evaluation by in vitro, cellular, and in vivo pharmacology assays.

The ideal candidate will have a strong and established background in protein design/engineering, expression, and purification, and a proven record of successfully leading diverse discovery project teams to produce novel biotherapeutics. They will have experience with project conception, strategic planning, budgeting, and both leading as well as contributing to cross-functional and matrixed teams. Additionally, the candidate will have a working knowledge of various research areas including protein characterization, enzyme assays, and pre-clinical pharmacological testing.

The candidate will be able to lead by influence and maintain a productive, collaborative, and inclusive laboratory environment in compliance with regulatory and company expectations. Experience managing projects from early-stage discovery research through the transition of lead molecules to development is a plus.

A key role for the position is partnering with senior management to conceive and provide strategic direction and vision for the program while leading a discovery research team responsible for executing the technical aspects of the plan. Strong communication skills are essential as the candidate must be able to tailor interactions with technical teams and represent the program and strategy to executive-level management.

Key responsibilities:

• Drive functional performance by leading team members designing, producing, and purifying novel protein therapeutics

• Develop and execute a strategy in alignment with functional goals and key scientific objectives in discovery research

• As programs advance, develop plans to address and reduce CMC risks

• Manage project activities and professional development of a team of scientists through effective mentoring, guidance, and supervision

• Advance scientific expertise within the function and collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to advance programs from research to development

• Develop forward looking strategies to identify and implement technologies that increase throughput, quality, and consistency of proteins and experiments

• Ensure the quality and effectiveness of key project results through sound design, early risk assessments, and implementation of fallback strategies

• Provide expert advice and share knowledge with direct reports, peers, and senior management

• Provide guidance to develop both the skills and the careers of direct reports

• Train and mentor functional colleagues and assess current and emerging business challenges to achieve functional goals

• Identify and integrate emerging scientific trends from internal and external sources into short-term functional objectives

• Ensure compliance with Federal Regulations for key documentation and sample inventory

• Present program updates and research strategies to functional and non-functional leaders as well as potential and existing partners.

• Extensive experience in enzyme/protein engineering in an industrial discovery research environment, with at least five years of experience managing teams and cross-functional projects

• Direct experience designing proteins with new functional properties by rational protein design (including computational), saturation mutagenesis, and directed evolution

• Proven track record of design and development of high throughput approaches for protein production and screening

• Experience in protein structure, biochemical techniques, and enzyme activity assays

• At a minimum, conversant in computationally-driven protein design

• Extremely organized and experienced with documentation of experimental plans, budget, timelines, and technical reports

• 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

• Proven team leadership and management abilities, including experience mentoring, guiding, supervising, and developing scientific personnel with various backgrounds and training levels

• Knowledge of pharmaceutical development processes, including lead characterization, and CMC considerations

• Experience evaluating internal and external research and development programs

Education & Experience:

• PhD in Biology, Biochemistry, Physics, Chemistry, Bioengineering or equivalent field with 10+ years of related work experience; Master’s Degree Science or PharmD with 16 years of related work; Bachelor’s Degree in Science with 18 years related work

• Industry experience is required with 5+ years in biotech or pharma discovery research

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.

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 including disability/vets. 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 disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, Armed Forces service medal veteran or active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran or a person’s relationship or association with a protected veteran, including spouses and other family members, or any other protected group status. We will take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified minorities, women, individuals with a disability, disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, Armed Forces service medal veterans or active-duty wartime or campaign badge veterans. The Affirmative Action Plan is available for viewing in the Human Resources office during regular business hours.