Senior Director, Analytical Research

AbbVie; North Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k) plan

Long-term incentive programs

Job summary

AbbVie is seeking a Senior Director to lead its Synthetic Molecule Analytical R&D organization in North Chicago. This role will focus on developing advanced analytical strategies and capabilities for AbbVie’s innovative pipeline, guiding a team of over 50 scientists and ensuring compliance with industry standards.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in pharma/biotech, strong leadership skills, and a proven record of driving scientific innovation. AbbVie offers comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance along with a competitive base pay.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of pharma/biotech experience with a PhD, or 20+ years with a master's degree.
• Proven experience leading an analytical development organization.
• Strong record in strategic initiatives and technology evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of over 50 scientists.
• Establish analytical methods and capabilities for drug development.
• Collaborate on development strategies with R&D and Operations.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical development

Communication skills

Negotiation

Entrepreneurial thinking

Education

PhD in relevant field

Master's degree with relevant experience

Job description

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, neuroscience, and our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio.

Job Description

The Senior Director will lead the Synthetic Molecule (SM) Analytical R&D organization in Lake County, supporting AbbVie’s early‑stage pipeline that includes small molecules, peptides, ADCs, APCs, LNPs, and future modalities. The role focuses on developing industry‑leading analytical methods, characterization packages, and control strategies to advance manufacturing, purification, formulation, and process development from discovery research through late‑stage clinical development. The Senior Director will advance the fundamental understanding of novel synthetic modalities and their degradation mechanisms during manufacturing, shelf‑life, distribution, and administration, while ensuring timely, budget‑constrained, and regulatory‑compliant analytical deliverables.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and talent development for > 50 analytical and pharmaceutical scientists across AbbVie sites in the United States and Germany.
• Define and communicate industry‑leading analytical strategies for complex modalities.
• Develop, validate, and transfer analytical methods aligned with global strategies.
• Establish analytical characterization capabilities to support process development, formulation design, and comparability.
• Drive fundamental understanding of CQAs, degradation mechanisms, and product/excipient interactions.
• Manage departmental budget, analytical laboratories, and equipment.
• Balance resources, resolve issues, and achieve target timing for pipeline projects and key strategic initiatives.
• Drive science excellence and innovation to improve productivity of the organization.
• Collaborate across R&D and Operations to align and influence development strategies that support drug development programs.
• Manage and develop scientific talent across multiple disciplines and projects.
• Ensure scientific excellence and foster professional development of staff.
• Identify, evaluate, and propose internal and external collaborations to drive scientific innovation.
• Maintain compliance with Environmental Health and Safety regulations.
• Resolve difficult and highly complex technical issues in an evolving regulatory climate.

Qualifications

• PhD with at least 15 years of relevant pharma/biotech experience or a master’s degree with at least 20 years of experience.
• Proven experience leading an analytical development organization across diverse scientific disciplines.
• Demonstrated record of success leading strategic initiatives and new technology evaluation/implementation.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Experience motivating and maintaining positive morale of highly skilled technical teams in a compliance‑focused environment.
• Solid understanding of the scientific disciplines needed for therapeutic development, including analytical, drug substance development, drug product development, combination product development, manufacturing, QA, supply chain, and regulatory.
• Strong negotiating, influencing, and leadership skills.
• Entrepreneurial thinking with the ability to drive innovative ideas and make smart business decisions.

Additional Information

• Team size: 50+ scientists.
• Number of programs supported: 20+ pipelines.
• Recent additional responsibilities include peptides and LNPs.
• Compensation: The range described below is the potential base pay that the Company believes it will pay at the time of posting. Actual compensation will vary by location and may be modified.
• Benefits include paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, a 401(k) plan, and eligibility for long‑term incentive programs.

Note: No amount of pay is considered wages or compensation until it is earned, vested, and determinable. Allocation of bonuses, commissions, incentives, and benefits remains at the Company’s discretion.

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 – for more information, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html. US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, learn more at https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html.