Senior Scientist II, Cell Culture Development

ZipRecruiter; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

AbbVie is seeking a Senior Scientist II in South San Francisco to develop and optimize cell culture processes for biologic therapies. The successful candidate will work in a collaborative lab environment and will need a background in bioengineering or a related field. Responsibilities include process development, technical writing, and project management across various stages of drug development.

Benefits

Eligible for incentive programs and benefits

Equal opportunity employer

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD with relevant experience required.
• Experience in CMC cell culture process development.
• Published scientific work and understanding of DOE desirable.

Responsibilities

• Develop and scale-up cell culture processes for biologics.
• Lead transfer of processes to GMP manufacturing facilities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to meet project timelines.

Skills

Aseptic techniques

Mammalian suspension cell culture

Cell and molecular biology

Bioprocess engineering

Technical writing

Collaboration

Education

Degree in chemical engineering, bioengineering, biotechnology or related field

Tools

Statistical software

Programming (VBA, Python, Javascript, C++)

Job 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 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 TikTok.

Job Description

DESCRIPTION:

The Biologics CMC Development team at AbbVie has a long and rich history of biologics development. Now located in a new state-of-the-art facility in South San Francisco, the team leverages comprehensive end-to-end CMC capabilities to work collaboratively through all phases of CMC development, focusing on advancing biologic therapies such as monoclonal antibodies, bi-specifics, and novel modalities to human clinical studies and licensure. This role is within a team of highly experienced scientists and managers who have directly enabled the development/IND submissions of over 20 novel oncology drugs and successfully filed two BLAs.

The Cell Culture Development Group in South San Francisco, CA is seeking a Senior Scientist II to develop robust, phase-appropriate cell culture processes for drug substance GMP production to support clinical studies and licensure. As a senior scientist, you will be responsible for all aspects of CMC cell culture program deliverables and help drive the cell culture development strategy through program lead assignments in cross-functional CMC teams.

This position requires onsite presence in a lab environment, with face-to-face interactions essential for success.

In this role, you will perform cell culture process development, scale-up, and technology transfer activities to advance biotherapeutics into human clinical studies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop, optimize, and scale-up cell culture processes for biologics candidates supporting all development stages.
• Resolve project or process hurdles using technical expertise, collaboration, and scientific literature.
• Design and execute scalable bioreactor processes (ambr250, 2L, 50L, 200L, 500L).
• Design scalable inoculum expansion and master cell bank processes.
• Design and execute primary recovery processes, including filtration and centrifugation.
• Lead tech transfer of processes to GMP manufacturing facilities.
• Provide on-site support at GMP manufacturing facilities.
• Design and execute process characterization and validation studies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to meet project timelines.
• Author and review technical and regulatory reports.
• Seek opportunities to optimize processes and publish scientific findings.
• Maintain effective communication and documentation practices.

Qualifications

Basic:

• Degree in chemical engineering, bioengineering, biotechnology, or related field, with BS, MS, or PhD and relevant experience.
• Experience in CMC cell culture process development.
• Proficient in aseptic techniques and mammalian suspension cell culture processes.
• Strong understanding of cell and molecular biology, and bioprocess engineering.
• Attention to detail, adaptability, collaboration, and communication skills.
• Experience in technical writing and statistical software.

Additional expertise:

• Programming skills (VBA, Python, Javascript, C++).
• Experience with late-stage development and modeling techniques.
• Published scientific work and strong understanding of DOE.

Additional Information

This is an onsite role in South SF, CA, with details on compensation, benefits, and company policies provided in the original description. The position is eligible for incentive programs and benefits. AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.