Director II, Head In Vitro Pharmacology

Job Description

We are creating the In Vitro Pharmacology (IVP) team in Small Molecule Therapeutics & Platform Technology (SMTPT) to build on our capabilities in small molecule research. IVP is a multidisciplinary organization that drives biological assay development and execution (biochemical, cellular, mechanistic) to support the optimization of validated hits to clinical candidates for the Abb Vie small molecule portfolio across all Therapeutic Areas.

A key mission of this organization is to work cross functionally to develop and implement state‑of‑the‑art approaches to enable integrated AI enabled drug discovery to accelerate the drug discovery process to clinical candidate selection.

We are seeking a visionary leader with a successful track record of innovation and deliverables in a drug discovery setting to head the In Vitro Pharmacology team of 20-25 talented scientists. This leader will report to the Vice President of Small Molecule Therapeutics & Platform Technologies and be a member of the SMTPT Leadership Team. In partnership with other key leaders in Discovery Research, Development Sciences and Information Research, they will be responsible for cocreating a forward‑looking strategy that realizes the promise of AI enabled drug discovery to deliver on a portfolio of new and improved therapies for patients.

Responsible for scientific and strategic direction and overall impact of IVP organization through effective management of scientific, technology, and human resources.

• Strategic Direction:
  • Interfaces closely with Discovery leaders to align strategies and research activities on pipeline programs.
  • Partners across functions including Discovery Research, Development Sciences and Information Research to develop and implement strategies, methods and operating models to drive AI enabled drug discovery.
  • Autonomously manages multiple projects and team leaders, making decisions that impact long‑term company strategy.
  • Identifies and manages or oversees the management of external research collaborations.
  • Makes highly critical but educated decisions based on review of all important information and data.
• Scientific Leadership:
  • Manage project intake, capacity planning for small molecule portfolio of projects and aligns scope, timelines and decision points for support of med chem optimization.
  • Develop and scale fit‑for‑purpose assays to enable rapid iteration and robust data generation and analytics.
  • Lead innovation in assay methods, endpoints and quality.
  • Deploy state‑of‑the‑art high throughput automation technologies to enable scalable parallel assay execution.
  • Ensure robust data management that drives artificial intelligence and machine learning model development and refinement.
• People Impact:
  • Able to develop and execute innovative, informed, and effective solutions to inter/intra group/project conflicts, resource allocation issues, and scientific setbacks.
  • Create a stimulating and innovative work environment that attracts, retains, develops and motivates top talent.
  • Ensure that employees are developed to their full potential and assists them in identifying appropriate development opportunities within the organization.

• Ph.D. or equivalent in biological sciences or related discipline, managerial experience leading scientific research teams and 12+ years postdoctoral experience in industry/academia.
• Strong track record of people, technical, and research project management with significant impact.
• Strong track record of high‑impact scientific achievement including a robust publication record.
• Strong track record of cross‑functional collaboration.
• Knowledge and experience in state‑of‑the‑art biological assay systems / workflows as well as automation infrastructure to be able to leverage rich data collections to accelerate discovery in a fast paced and creative environment.
• Strong written and oral communication skills with executive presence.
• Strong leadership skills with ability to navigate multiple stakeholders while engaging and motivating your staff.

• Builds strong relationships with peers and cross functionally with partners outside of the team to enable…