Job Description

Process Engineering, a part of AbbVie R&D’s Small Molecule CMC Development organization, is responsible for designing and developing scalable processes to make small molecule drug substances and drug products, including antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), throughout pre-clinical and clinical development stages. Process Engineering also partners with Biologics CMC Development and Aesthetics R&D functions to provide active engineering support to enable robust process scale-up and manufacturing of biologics drug substances and drug products, including toxins and cosmetic active ingredients (CAIs). We contribute to the development of innovative engineering technologies and create valuable intellectual property through the composition of matter, chemical processes, and technologies resulting in cost-effective commercial manufacturing processes. We support the development of the supply chain for pipeline molecules and help prepare and defend CMC regulatory content. 

Chemical/Bio Engineers support pipeline projects through all phases of development. Early in development, engineers focus on ensuring that the process can be run safely, identifying and addressing scale-up issues, enabling processes that can be scaled-up successfully. In the later stages of development, engineers optimize the drug substance and drug product processes and lead manufacturing campaigns. Engineers also work cross-functionally to transfer the optimized process to manufacturing sites, develop control strategy, and prepare reports to support regulatory filings. 

The successful candidate will play a key role in the R&D Process Engineering function, specifically the Center for Reaction Engineering. The core deliverable of the function is to develop robust commercial processes to manufacture small molecule APIs and ADCs. As a member of the Center for Reaction Engineering, the selected candidate will have a strong background in chemical reaction engineering and is expected to address challenging problems with chemical reactions using expertise in chemical kinetics, transport phenomena, mathematical modeling, and reactor design. The candidate is also expected to lead identification and development of novel technologies to enhance efficiency in process development, scale-up, and commercialization.  Such technologies may include deployment of custom automation solutions, fit-for-purpose reactor configurations, and novel modeling approaches. The candidate must exhibit a collaborative nature in identifying process challenges on a wide range of projects, participate in a cross-functional team of chemists and chemical engineers to deliver specific project needs, and take on a leadership role in developing and implementing solutions.