Principal Research Scientist I, In Vivo Antibody Discovery

About the role

AbbVie’s Biotherapeutics and Genetics Medicine department within Discovery Research is seeking a highly motivated Principal Scientist to join the in vivo antibody discovery team at AbbVie Bioresearch Center (ABC) in Worcester, MA. The ABC site uniquely integrates biotherapeutics discovery, development, and manufacturing, and partners with multidisciplinary groups across AbbVie focused on therapies for immunology, neuroscience, and oncology. The team employs innovative approaches including custom immunization strategies, advanced multiplex screening assays, and best-in-class automation to enable successful antibody discovery against challenging targets.

Responsibilities

• Lead antibody discovery programs from hit identification, screening, lead selection, and candidate nomination.
• Design and execute novel antigen engineering strategies and immunization approaches to maximize immune response quality and diversity.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple antibody discovery platforms, including B cell–based discovery, immune repertoire screens, and hybridoma.
• Lead identification of antibody and VHH modalities for diverse therapeutic programs and multispecifics.
• Evaluate and implement emerging antibody discovery technologies, including AI-enabled workflows, machine learning, computational biology, and laboratory automation, to expand platform capabilities and accelerate discovery.
• Direct hybrid discovery campaigns that integrate internal capabilities with external partners while proactively identifying and mitigating scientific and operational risks.
• Mentor scientists and provide technical guidance across antibody discovery programs.
• Contribute to the scientific reputation of the organization through publications, patents, presentations, and external collaborations.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, or a related scientific field.
• Typically 6+ years (PhD), 12+ years (MS), or 14+ years (BS) of industry experience.
• Deep hands-on expertise in antibody discovery platforms such as single B cell cloning, immune repertoire screening, and hybridoma.
• Extensive experience designing antigens and novel immunization strategies for challenging therapeutic targets.
• Strong expertise in hit identification, screening cascade design, lead triage, and lead selection.
• Experience with VHH discovery platforms using camelids and transgenics.
• Working knowledge of antibody engineering principles, developability assessment, and sequence liability evaluation.
• Adept at identifying and working with novel solutions such as AI-based antigen design and laboratory automation.
• Demonstrated ability to critically evaluate and implement new antibody discovery technologies and methodologies.
• Team player with proven flexibility to deal with changing timelines and shifting work priorities.

Desired Experience

• Experience with rabbit antibody discovery workflows.
• Knowledge of bioinformatics pipelines and concepts used to analyze NGS data.
• Familiarity with computational antibody discovery, AI/ML-enabled design, and laboratory automation technologies.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary discovery teams across biology, protein sciences, engineering, computational sciences, and project management.
• Strong organizational and project leadership skills with demonstrated success delivering complex discovery programs.