Scientific Director, Clinical and Real World Evidence

AbbVie; North Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k)

Short-term incentive programs

Job summary

AbbVie is seeking a Scientific Director in North Chicago to lead clinical and real-world evidence (RWE) strategies within the Quantitative Insights Lab. This role merges hands-on scientific contributions with leadership responsibilities, focusing on integrating complex human data with various health datasets to inform AbbVie’s R&D pipeline decisions.

The ideal candidate should possess an M.D. degree, extensive experience in RWE, and a strong track record in leading interdisciplinary initiatives. The position offers a comprehensive benefits package and the opportunity to make a significant impact across AbbVie’s therapeutic areas.

Qualifications

• At least 4 years of experience in RWE and EHR analytics.
• Strong track record in leading clinical data science initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in data integration for clinical and genomic data.

Responsibilities

• Lead clinical and RWE strategy execution within the Quantitative Insights Lab.
• Oversee the design and analysis of patient cohorts for actionable insights.
• Communicate findings effectively to leadership and collaborators.

Skills

Hands-on experience in real-world evidence (RWE)

EHR analytics

Data integration strategies

Excellent communication skills

Familiarity with R, Python, SQL

Education

M.D. degree

Tools

R

Python

SQL

Job description

Company Description

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 through products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit www.abbvie.com.

Job Description

The Quantitative Insights Lab (QuIL) within the Quantitative Medicine and Genomics organization at AbbVie is seeking a Scientific Director who will lead clinical and real‑world evidence (RWE) strategy, execution, and innovation within AbbVie’s Quantitative Insights Lab. This role is both a hands‑on scientific contributor and a team leader, driving integration of complex human data—including multi‑omics—with clinical, EHR, and biobank health datasets. The position is critical for generating integrated evidence that directly informs the R&D pipeline decisions, ensuring scientific and clinical impact across AbbVie’s therapeutic areas. The incumbent will design and implement robust studies, foster data‑driven decision‑making through advanced analytics and AI, and advance translational research in a highly matrixed and agile environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as scientific and technical lead for clinical and real‑world evidence initiatives, contributing subject‑matter expertise to organizational strategy, project design, and execution.
• Lead and enable agile, cross‑functional teams for integrated data projects to inform pipeline and strategic decisions, acting as an individual scientific contributor and project leader.
• Oversee the curation, design and analysis of patient cohorts that leverage clinical, multi‑omic, EHR, biobank phenotypic and real‑world data to generate actionable insights for drug discovery, biomarker identification, and patient stratification.
• Collaborate closely across functions—including other RWD teams—to harmonize data workflows and methodologies and align evidence generation with pipeline needs.
• Communicate findings and strategy effectively to internal leadership, external collaborators, and cross‑functional partners.
• Stay abreast of latest methodologies and best practices for real‑world data, EHR analytics, multi‑omic data integration, and related AI‑driven approaches.
• Play a key role as a member of the QuIL leadership team, helping to shape QuIL’s strategic direction and supporting broader organizational initiatives.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• M.D. degree is required; board certification and clinical expertise strongly preferred.
• At least 4 years of hands‑on experience in real‑world evidence (RWE), electronic health record (EHR) analytics, ideally within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or academic research environment.
• Demonstrated track record in designing and leading interdisciplinary clinical data science initiatives, including both hands‑on scientific contribution and project management.
• Advanced knowledge of data integration strategies and analytical methodologies for combining clinical, genomic, and real‑world data sources.
• Excellent communication skills, with experience presenting scientific findings to internal and external stakeholders.
• Familiarity with key analytics tools/languages (e.g., R, Python, SQL) is preferred but not necessary.
• Familiarity with regulatory guidance and considerations for RWE and integrated evidence generation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous industry experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies working with large‑scale biobank and/or EHR datasets.
• Strong track record of relevant scientific publications and presentations.
• Demonstrated experience in aligning data science strategies with R&D pipeline objectives and measurable business outcomes.

Additional Information

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