Senior Scientist, Informatics II

AbbVie Inc.; Worcester, Northern (MA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

AbbVie Inc. in Worcester, MA seeks an experienced Image Analysis Scientist to lead AI-driven digital pathology projects and translate insights into drug discovery strategies.

Independently design, validate advanced ML/CV approaches for histopathology and develop robust computational workflows. Strong Python and ML framework skills are essential, as is immunology knowledge.

Qualifications

• PhD in computational biology, biomedical engineering, CS, or related field with 4+ years of applied experience.
• Strong Math/Stats, image processing, ML, CV for quantitative image analysis.
• Experience with H&E, IHC, or multiplexed tissue imaging datasets.
• Proficient in Python; experience with PyTorch/TensorFlow and OpenCV.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and validate ML/CV approaches for digital pathology.
• Develop workflows for high-dimensional multiplexed imaging datasets.
• Collaborate with pathologists and discovery scientists to translate findings.
• Ensure rigorous QC and reproducible analyses with documentation.
• Communicate results to diverse stakeholders.

Skills

Python

Machine learning

Computer vision

Deep learning

Statistics

Scientific programming

Immunology basics

Collaboration

Education

PhD in related field

Tools

Python libraries (NumPy/SciPy)

PyTorch

TensorFlow

OpenCV

Visiopharm

QuPath

R (desirable)

Job description

Company 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 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.

Job Description

The AbbVie Immunology Discovery Pathology group is at the forefront of AI-driven digital pathology, developing quantitative and translational pathology approaches to support target validation, deepen our understanding of disease biology, and advance drug discovery.

We are seeking an experienced and innovative Image Analysis Scientist with expertise spanning digital pathology, computer vision, machine learning, and scientific programming, combined with a strong foundation in immunology and tissue biology.

Our group generates quantitative insights from H&E and immunolabeled tissue sections and applies emerging spatial transcriptomics and high-plex spatial proteomics technologies to investigate cellular phenotypes, tissue organization, and spatial relationships within the tissue microenvironment.

The successful candidate will independently lead the development and application of advanced computer vision and machine-learning approaches for histopathology image analysis, including deep learning and representation learning. The candidate will also develop robust computational workflows for high-dimensional image-based spatial protein datasets, including approaches to identify and quantify cell populations, characterize cellular phenotypes, and analyze spatial relationships and tissue organization.

This individual will be part of a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary team and will work closely with pathologists, computational biologists, immunologists, and discovery scientists across the organization. The successful candidate will combine computational innovation with biological insight to develop and apply digital pathology approaches that address important scientific questions and help drive innovative drug discovery research.

Responsibilities

• Independently design, develop, optimize, and validate advanced machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision approaches for digital pathology, including cell and tissue segmentation, classification, feature extraction, and representation learning, to identify and quantify histopathologic features, cellular phenotypes, and spatial relationships.
• Develop and deploy robust image analysis workflows for high-dimensional, multiplexed imaging datasets to quantify cell populations and phenotypes and characterize spatial relationships and tissue organization.
• Apply appropriate statistical methods and rigorous model validation strategies to assess model performance and generalizability, including held-out test datasets and quantitative performance metrics such as IoU and F1 score.
• Develop computational workflows to integrate and analyze data across multiple imaging and spatial modalities, including H&E, multiplex immunofluorescence, spatial proteomics, and spatial transcriptomics.
• Develop Python-based tools and scripts to automate image and data-processing workflows and address interoperability challenges across imaging platforms, analysis tools, and data formats.
• Partner closely with pathologists and discovery scientists to perform rigorous quality control, interpret image analysis outputs, and ensure that quantitative results are biologically meaningful.
• Apply strong analytical and problem-solving skills to troubleshoot complex image and data analysis challenges and deliver high-quality results within established timelines.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in computational digital pathology, providing scientific and technical guidance on image analysis strategies, methodologies, and applications across multidisciplinary project teams.
• Stay current with emerging advances in AI, computer vision, and computational pathology, and evaluate and implement new methodologies that can enhance pathology-driven drug discovery.
• Communicate analytical strategies, methodologies, and results clearly and effectively to scientific and cross-functional stakeholders through written and oral presentations.
• Maintain accurate and reproducible documentation of analytical workflows, algorithms, and results in electronic laboratory notebooks and project reports.
• Work independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams to advance project objectives and deliver high-quality scientific results.

Qualifications

• PhD in computational biology, biomedical engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, biomedical image analysis, or related quantitative discipline, with 4+ years of relevant applied experience.
• Strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, image processing, computer vision, and machine learning, with demonstrated experience developing computational methods and algorithms for quantitative image analysis.
• Demonstrated expertise in developing, optimizing, and validating image analysis and machine-learning approaches to extract quantitative features from H&E, immunohistochemistry, and/or multiplexed tissue imaging datasets.
• Strong proficiency in Python for scientific computing, image analysis, and machine learning, with experience using relevant libraries and frameworks such as NumPy, pandas, SciPy, scikit-learn, OpenCV, PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar. Experience with R is desirable.

• Experience analyzing high-dimensional multiplexed imaging datasets, such as multiplex immunofluorescence, or imaging mass cytometry (IMC), including cell segmentation, cell phenotyping, feature extraction, and spatial analysis.
• Experience developing reproducible and well-documented computational workflows, including version-controlled code, structured data organization, and appropriate documentation of analytical methods and parameters.
• Experience with digital pathology image analysis platforms, such as Visiopharm and QuPath, with the ability to develop customized computational approaches when existing tools do not adequately address the scientific question.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with demonstrated ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams and communicate complex computational concepts to scientific collaborators from diverse backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong background in immunology and tissue biology, or demonstrated experience applying computational image analysis to immunologic diseases. Experience with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or related inflammatory conditions is particularly desirable.
• Strong understanding of spatial omics technologies and molecular pathology techniques, including immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization, and related tissue-based assays.
• Experience integrating and analyzing multimodal spatial datasets, including combinations of histopathology, spatial proteomics, and spatial transcriptomics.
• Experience with contemporary computational pathology approaches, including deep learning, representation learning, or related AI-based methods for extracting biologically meaningful information from tissue images.
• Familiarity with cloud-based and/or high-performance computing environments, including AWS or similar computing infrastructure.
• Proficiency with data analysis and visualization tools, such as GraphPad Prism, Spotfire, Excel, or similar applications.
• Demonstrated curiosity and commitment to continuous learning and innovation, with an openness to new ideas, methodologies, and technologies and the ability to translate innovative approaches into practical scientific solutions.
• Self-motivated and highly collaborative, with a strong sense of ownership, scientific integrity, and commitment to quality.

Additional Information

Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state orlocal law:

• The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Companybelieves ingood faith it will pay for this role at the timeof this posting based on the job grade for this position.Individualcompensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, andwemayultimatelypaymore or less than the posted range. This range may bemodifiedin thefuture.

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick),medical/dental/visioninsurance and 401(k) to eligibleemployees.

• This job is eligible toparticipatein our long-term incentiveprograms.

Note: No amount of payis considered to bewages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, anddeterminable.The amount and availability of any bonus,commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form ofcompensation and benefitsthat are allocable to a particular employeeremainsin the Company's sole andabsolutediscretion unless and until paid andmay bemodifiedat the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent withapplicable 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