Senior Director, Discovery Psychiatry

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 Tik Tok.

We are seeking a Senior Director with deep expertise in Neuropsychiatry to lead our Discovery Research team. The successful candidate will be responsible for contributing to the strategic goals and advancing the psychiatry early discovery portfolio including driving efforts to support novel target selection, generation of in vitro/ex vivo systems and implementation of circuit-based in vivo systems to demonstrate target engagement and to enable successful translation into clinical development.   This position will work collaboratively within and across medicinal chemistry, quantitative medicine and genomics, precision medicine and clinical development teams.

The successful candidate will be an integral part of the neuroscience leadership team and will share accountability for the success of the neuroscience pipeline.  He/she will also participate in providing scientific insights that advance compelling opportunities through the pipeline, including the selection of optimal translational strategies and the introduction of new technologies.  This individual will advise on and share accountability for transitions across major drug discovery/development milestones.  

The position will be based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and will report to VP of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology Discovery Research.

Key responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to:

• Defines and champions asset discovery and development strategies while implementing plans to support prioritization and expeditious progression of the neuroscience portfolio.
• Empowers teams to make critical choices in identifying and developing appropriate models to support lead identification and optimization based on a deep understanding of disease and target biology. 
• Contributes to the design and analysis strategy of preclinical pharmacology studies to characterize compound activity and establish pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships to drive compound optimization and inform human dose projections.
• Contributes to preclinical study reports and documents to support Regulatory (IND/ CTA) filings, Investigator Brochures, and clinical study protocols and lab manuals.
• Works effectively with cross-functional program and development teams to lead programs and strategically progress the pipeline (this includes Go/ No Go decisions based on quality data)
• Mentors leaders, develops staff, and promotes culture of collaboration and teamwork.
• Contributes regularly to diligence efforts to support external innovation and business development opportunities.

• Ph.D., Neuroscience or related field with 12+ years of industry/ biotech leadership experience.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, mentor, develop, and empower teams to deliver program / portfolio goals.
• Strong leadership experience in initiating external science, collaborations, and relationships with academic research teams, CROs, and patient advocacy groups.
• Established scientific reputation with strong track record of peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific conferences. 
• Strong problem-solver who adapts, thrives and leads in a dynamic, fast-paced work environment.
• Highly effective interpersonal skills to work in a collaborative environment.
• The ideal individual is self-motivated, detail-oriented and exhibits strength in the ability to prioritize and execute multiple projects simultaneously and to lead diverse teams effectively. The individual must be willing to work collaboratively within the organization and demonstrate reliability, responsivity and a commitment to AbbVie’s values. Individuals who possess exceptional oral and written communication skills, exhibit drive, candor and a commitment to learning are encouraged to apply.

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

• 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.​ Salary: $200,500 - $382,000

• 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 short-term incentive programs. ​

• This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs​

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Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable 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. 

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