AbbVie · Cambridge, MA

Principal Research Scientist II – Psychiatry Drug Discovery at AbbVie — Cambridge, MA

Full-timeCambridge, MAPosted 2026-08-25Apply on SmartRecruiters

Full job description

Overview

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated neuroscientist with strong drug discovery expertise to join our Discovery Psychiatry team. The successful candidate will apply drug discovery principles into exploratory through late-stage discovery programs and integrate knowledge across in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological approaches. Candidate must have a strong understanding of neural circuits, multimodal neurophysiological methodologies and translational utility. This role is an exciting opportunity to support psychiatry research from target validation, compound profiling, through clinical development in a dynamic, collaborative drug discovery environment.

Key Responsibilities

  • Establish Drug Discovery framework in Psychiatry portfolio
  • Contribute to the development and implementation of research workflows that integrate complex multimodal datasets
  • Ensure alignment of development and discovery with broader cross-functional program team goals
  • Support strategic decision-making in psychiatry drug discovery
  • Provide scientific guidance and mentoring to junior scientists and research associates
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Science related field with 16 years of related work; Master’s Degree Science or PharmD with 14 years of related work; PhD in Science or related field with 8 years of related work experience.
  • Industry experience within early discovery for Psychiatry
  • Demonstrated experience with neurophysiology and/or functional approaches, including experience in the design and execution of studies investigating synaptic and circuit modulation relevant to psychiatric indications
  • Strong ability to work in cross-functional teams and effectively communicate scientific findings to both technical and non-technical audiences

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience building translational frameworks or predictive approaches for functional biology data
  • The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
  • We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
  • This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs.