Scientist II Process Chemistry, Biocatalysis

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 – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.

The Process Chemistry group is responsible for inventing and executing the chemical processes and 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 Process Chemistry is seeking a highly motivated Chemist with expertise in Biocatalysis to conduct chemical process research and development, supporting projects from pre-clinical stages through commercialization. 

Responsibilities:

• Identify and propose diverse biocatalytic transformations to improve the synthesis of small molecules. Develop a sound experimental approach to investigate the proposed transformations.
• Design and conduct high throughput experiments (HTE) to support the discovery of potential biocatalysts for small molecule transformations, use medium-throughput experimentation (MTE) tools for reaction optimization.
• Develop robust biocatalytic processes that consistently deliver high-quality products with excellent yields.
• Interpret results and draw conclusions from experiments, note significant deviations, and propose, design, and execute relevant follow-up experiments.
• Exhibit high independence and productivity in laboratory research or method development.
• Develop new tools and protocols for biocatalysis, including new transformations,    protein redesign, troubleshooting, and robustness studies for novel solutions.
• Responsible for documenting experiments in ELN and capturing HTE results promptly.
• Implement and innovate new experimental protocols/techniques in process development, especially in biocatalysis.
• Routinely demonstrate scientific initiative and creativity to overcome key project and technology challenges.
• Adhere to corporate standards regarding conduct, safety, quality, and material handling.
• Maintain a high proficiency in projects and contribute to the overall program goals.
• Stay informed on relevant scientific literature and apply theoretical frameworks to solve discipline-specific problems efficiently.
• Learn quickly, grasp essential concepts, and adapt to changes as indicated.
• Maintain high laboratory productivity.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent education with typically 8 years of experience, or a Master’s degree with typically 3 years of experience.
• Educational background in chemistry or allied discipline with a focus on biocatalysis, bioorganic chemistry, or mechanistic enzymology.
• Experience in handling, analysis, and characterization of small molecules.
• Experience in organic synthesis, including mechanistic organic chemistry, analytical tools, compound isolation, and crystallization.
• Knowledge of reaction development and scale-up of processes to multi-kilogram scale.
• Experience with enzymes, recombinant DNA technology, microbiology, organic synthesis, and HTE and MTE.
• Proficiency with bioinformatic and computational tools such as BLAST, multiple sequence alignment, PyMol, Maestro, and protein modeling.
• Understanding of cGMP regulations and protocols.
• Experience with microorganisms beyond E. coli, such as yeast, Bacillus, or Streptomyces is a plus.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in cross-functional collaborative environments.
• Strong, results-oriented work ethic with a positive, proactive attitude and self-motivation.
• Experience in co-authoring manuscripts and/or patent disclosures.

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. ​​

​​

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. 

US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html

US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:

https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html