Senior Scientist I, Analytical & Purification Sciences

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.

About the role

The Analytical and Purification Sciences (APS) group has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Scientist to join the Technology and Therapeutic Platforms organization within Discovery Research at AbbVie. The APS group provides enabling technologies to support Discovery Medicinal Chemistry initiatives. The scientist will execute compound purification using preparative HPLC and/or SFC and devise innovative solutions to complex analytical and separation problems through the implementation of sophisticated instrumentation. The candidate will act as a lead scientist in their area of expertise on one or more projects and critically evaluate relevant scientific advances to integrate this knowledge into research programs.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a high level of productivity in the laboratory setting.
• Collaborate with medicinal chemistry teams by developing methods and providing technical guidance to solve analytical and purification problems.
• Innovate within the Analytical and Purification Sciences group to develop efficient workflows for sample prioritization and client communication.
• Execute compound purification on milligram to gram scale using preparative HPLC and/or SFC to support small molecule drug discovery projects.
• Maintain analytical and preparative HPLC and SFC instrumentation and independently troubleshoot instrument problems.
• Proactively mentor colleagues in technical development and in establishing positive and productive working relationships.
• May supervise one or more direct reports.
• Keep abreast of current literature and industry trends to assess new approaches in high-throughput purification and analytical technologies. Propose and implement new initiatives/directions for the team.
• Maintain a highly productive purification workflow, establish strategies that effectively optimize available equipment and personnel, and promote efficiency to enable new paradigms in Medicinal Chemistry.
• Demonstrate a high degree of responsibility in maintaining scientific standards and safe laboratory practices.
• Keep accurate and current records of research and/or project-related activities according to AbbVie policies.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• PhD or MS in Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, or related fields with 0+ years (PhD); 8+ years (MS); or 10+ years (BS) of postdoctoral and/or pharmaceutical industry experience.
• Hands-on experience with analytical and preparative scale HPLC and/or SFC.
• Ability to operate and troubleshoot a variety of analytical and preparative instrumentation hardware and software.
• Knowledge of synthetic organic chemistry and the ability to communicate effectively with medicinal chemistry teams.
• Demonstrated record of achievement in chiral/achiral purification on milligram to gram scale for a variety of programs using multiple approaches and technologies.
• Proven effective written and verbal communication skills and ability to interact with scientists and engineers.

Preferred

• Experience in analytical and purification techniques for peptides.
• Experience working in a fast-paced purification group and communicating effectively with Medicinal Chemistry teams.
• Experience in reversed-phase separations using HPLC.
• Experience in chiral separations using HPLC and SFC.
• Experience with instrument development, automation, programming, and data analytics.

Skills

• Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functionally with partners outside of the team to enable higher performance.
• Learns fast, grasps the "essence," and can change 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 to reality.

Benefits

• Comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick).
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) eligibility.
• Eligibility to participate in short-term incentive programs.