Senior Recombinant Peptide Bioprocess Scientist

AbbVie; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

AbbVie is seeking a highly motivated scientist to lead development of microbial-based recombinant peptide production processes within Biologics CMC. You will oversee expression-system design, strain development, fermentation, recovery, purification, and scale-up, collaborating across functions to enable robust, scalable peptide production.

The role involves evaluating genetic code expansion strategies, addressing challenges like degradation and solubility, and mentoring junior scientists while

Qualifications

• PhD with 4+ years of relevant experience.
• Hands-on experience with microbial physiology and recombinant expression in E. coli and/or yeast.
• Ability to independently design, execute, and interpret critical experiments to address scientific or development questions.
• Experience developing or optimizing expression processes for peptides, small proteins, or other products susceptible to degradation, or instability.
• Experience with strain or clone screening, fermentation, and process optimization; familiarity with bioreactors and scale-down or parallel cultivation approaches.
• Strong experimental design, data interpretation, troubleshooting, scientific writing, and oral communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and timelines and work effectively in a matrixed, cross-functional environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead recombinant peptide process-development activities, including expression strategy, host and clone screening, process optimization, and scale-up.
• Design and evaluate expression constructs and microbial hosts, including Escherichia coli and yeast, for peptide production.
• Develop and assess fusion-tag and carrier-protein strategies—including His-tag, GST, SUMO, and inclusion-body expression to improve peptide stability, expression, host tolerance, and recovery.
• Design and conduct clone-screening studies using microscale cultivation, parallel bioreactors, and other appropriate scale-down or high-throughput approaches.
• Develop and optimize peptide recovery processes, including cell harvest and lysis, inclusion-body isolation and processing, and chemical or enzymatic cleavage of fusion partners.
• Troubleshoot peptide-specific process challenges, such as aggregation, low solubility, degradation, incomplete cleavage, and co-eluting impurities; recommend and pursue appropriate solutions.
• Interpret analytical results, including HPLC, UPLC, and LC-MS data, to assess peptide identity, mass accuracy, purity, and process-related impurities; partner with analytical teams to address characterization needs.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and process approaches for recombinant peptide production, including genetic code expansion when relevant to program needs.
• Apply AI/ML approaches, where appropriate, to analyze peptide sequence, structure, and experimental data in support of design, optimization, and candidate prioritization.
• Communicate scientific plans, progress, challenges, conclusions, and recommendations clearly to project teams and other stakeholders.
• Mentor junior scientists and provide technical direction in recombinant peptide bioprocessing.
• Contribute to scientific publications and presentations at conferences, as appropriate.
• Maintain a high level of productivity while managing priorities and timelines; follow applicable corporate standards for safety, quality, and compliance.

Skills

Microbial physiology

Recombinant expression

Chromatography

Fermentation

Data analysis

Mentoring

Scientific communication

Education

PhD (4+ years relevant experience)

Master’s degree with 10+ years relevant experience

Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years relevant experience

Tools

Bioreactors

HPLC/UPLC/LC-MS

Escherichia coli

Yeast expression systems

Genetic code expansion

Job description

AbbVie is seeking a highly motivated scientist to lead development of microbial-based recombinant peptide production processes within Biologics CMC. You will oversee expression-system design, strain development, fermentation, recovery, purification, and scale-up, collaborating across functions to enable robust, scalable peptide production.

The role involves evaluating genetic code expansion strategies, addressing challenges like degradation and solubility, and mentoring junior scientists while