Principal Scientist II, AI-Guided Antibody Drug Conjugate Design

AbbVie; Worcester (MA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 269,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision insurance

Long-term incentives

Job summary

AbbVie Inc. in Worcester, MA is seeking a Principal Scientist II to lead the application of AI/ML to the design of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

This full-time role combines computational biology, antibody engineering, chemistry, and translational science to create ADCs with improved efficacy and safety. The successful candidate will collaborate across biologics, medicinal chemistry, data science, and translational research teams to design antibody architectures, conjugation strategies, and

Qualifications

• Bachelors with PhD or MS/PharmD path with extensive industry experience in biologics or ADCs.
• PhD in computational biology, bioengineering, protein engineering, chemistry, or related field.
• 8+ years in biologics, ADCs, or computational drug design with leadership exposure.
• Strong antibody engineering and developability optimization experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement AI/ML models to guide ADC discovery and optimization.
• Build predictive models for ADC properties including stability, PK, and toxicity.
• Apply generative AI and structure-based design for novel antibody formats.
• Integrate diverse datasets to accelerate iterative design-build-test cycles.
• Guide engineering of antibodies to improve affinity, selectivity, and developability.
• Design site-specific conjugation strategies and optimize DAR.

Skills

AI/ML modeling

Antibody engineering

Data integration

Cross-functional collaboration

Computational design methods

Education

PhD in related field

MS in related field

Bachelor’s in Science

Tools

Python

ML frameworks

Protein language models

Job description

Principal Scientist II, AI-Guided Antibody Drug Conjugate Design

• Full-time
• Salary Min: 141500
• Salary Max: 268500
• Workday Global Grade: 20
• Travel: Yes, 5% of the Time
• Compensation: USD 141,500 - USD 268,500 - yearly

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.

We are seeking an innovative and highly experienced scientist to lead the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to the design of next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). This role will integrate computational biology, antibody engineering, linker-payload chemistry, and translational drug discovery to create ADCs with improved efficacy, safety, and manufacturability.

The successful candidate will collaborate across biologics, medicinal chemistry, data science, and translational research teams to design and optimize antibody architectures, conjugation strategies, and linker systems for oncology, immunology, and emerging therapeutic areas.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement AI/ML models to guide ADC discovery and optimization, including target selection, antibody engineering, linker design, and payload selection.
• Build predictive models for critical ADC properties, including stability, internalization, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and therapeutic index.
• Apply generative AI, protein language models, and structure-based design approaches to create novel antibody formats and conjugation strategies.
• Integrate sequence, structural, biophysical, chemical, and biological datasets to accelerate iterative design-build-test cycles.
• Inform engineering of monoclonal antibodies and advanced biologic formats to improve affinity, selectivity, internalization, developability, and manufacturability.
• Design strategies for site‑specific conjugation and optimized drug‑to‑antibody ratio (DAR).
• Guide experimental validation of engineered antibodies through close partnership with discovery and characterization teams.
• Develop predictive frameworks connecting linker chemistry and conjugation properties to efficacy, safety, biodistribution, and resistance mechanisms.
• Partner with chemistry teams to advance novel conjugation technologies and next‑generation payload delivery platforms.
• Establish data strategies and computational workflows that improve decision quality and reduce experimental cycle times.
• Communicate findings and recommendations to project teams, senior leadership, and external scientific audiences.
• Maintain awareness of advances in AI, protein engineering, linker‑payload technology, conjugation chemistry, and computational drug discovery.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Science related field with 16 years of related work; Master’s Degree Science or PharmD with 14 years of related work; PhD in Science or related field with 8 years of related work experience.
• PhD in computational biology, bioengineering, protein engineering, chemistry, chemical biology, pharmaceutical sciences, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of relevant industry experience in biologics, ADCs, protein engineering, computational drug design, or related therapeutic modalities.
• Demonstrated expertise in antibody engineering, including humanization, affinity maturation, format engineering, and developability optimization.
• Proven track record applying machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, or computational design methods to therapeutic discovery.
• Strong understanding of ADC pharmacology, intracellular trafficking, pharmacokinetics, safety drivers, and resistance mechanisms.
• Experience leading or influencing multidisciplinary drug discovery teams.
• Strong record of publications, patents, platform innovation, or advancement of drug discovery programs.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with protein language models, generative molecular design, graph neural networks, multimodal learning, or biological foundation models.
• Expertise in structural biology and modeling approaches, including AlphaFold-based modeling, molecular dynamics, cryo-EM, or X-ray crystallography.
• Experience developing scalable AI platforms for biologics or multimodal therapeutic design.
• Knowledge of next‑generation ADC modalities, including bispecific ADCs, immune‑stimulating ADCs and targeted delivery systems.
• Demonstrated leadership of cross‑functional discovery programs and scientific teams.

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 employer 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.