Senior Scientist I (Machine Learning) – Biologics Drug Substance Development, Cell Culture Development Full-time

Senior Scientist I

The Biologics CMC Development team at AbbVie has a long and rich history of biologics development. Now located in a new state of the art facility in South San Francisco, the team leverages its comprehensive end-to-end CMC capabilities to work collaboratively through all phases of CMC development with a primary focus on advancing biologic therapies, such as monoclonal antibodies, bi-specifics and novel modalities, to human clinical studies and eventual licensure. This role will be embedded in a team of highly experienced scientists and managers who have directly enabled the development/IND submissions of 20+ novel oncology drugs and successfully filed two BLAs.

The Cell Culture Development Group in South San Francisco, CA is seeking a Senior Scientist I to join a talented and collaborative team to develop and implement machine learning models for predicting optimal cell culture process performance. As a senior scientist, you will be responsible for all aspects of ML model development.

This position is an onsite role in a lab-based function. To be successful, candidates must enjoy and thrive in an onsite, highly collaborative lab environment with face-to-face cross-functional interactions between scientists.

In this position, you will design and implement cell culture process modeling to assist and accelerate cell culture process development, scale-up, and technology transfer activities in a well-supported and dynamic environment to help advance novel biotherapeutics into human clinical studies.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement, refine, and validate machine learning (ML) models for predicting cell culture process performance
• Communicate model findings and suggest experimental strategy and/or workflow improvements to support early- and late-stage development
• Actively seek out opportunities to optimize our platform or enhance our understanding of cell culture processes using ML models and wet lab experiments
• Design and execute scalable ambr250 and 2L experiments for model development and validation
• Represent the cell culture development group in cross-functional meetings and collaborate closely with modeling groups, cell line, purification, analytical and formulation development leads to meet project deliverables and timelines
• Publish or present scientific findings in peer-reviewed journals, internal or external conferences or consortia
• Display effective organization, verbal written communication skills, and adherence to good documentation practices

Qualifications:

• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science / Statistics and Applied Mathematics / Bioinformatic / Machine Learning / Computational Biology / Data Science / Chemical Engineering / Bioengineering or a related field, with Bachelors degree and 10+ years of experience OR Master's and 8+ years of experience, OR PhD and no experience necessary.
• Industry or research experience developing machine learning models related to chemical and biological data.
• Expertise with developing, implementing, validating, and deploying models, programs and computational solutions using Machine Learning/Deep Learning.
• Must have a strong understanding of statistical methods, ML methodologies (e.g., RNNs, GPR, symbolic regression), and ML frameworks (Sci-kit Learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch or Keras). Preferred prior experience with time series forecasting.
• Must demonstrate strong programming competency for implement, debug, and maintain models and tools in Python or equivalent and proficiency with cloud computing capabilities.
• Must have experience in data visualization tools (e.g., Matplotlib, Plotly) to communicate model finding.
• Strong familiarity with statistical modelling software/tools (e.g., JMP, SIMCA, Minitab, Design Expert) and proficient with Microsoft Office software and.
• Willingness to learn and execute wet lab experiments in ambr250 and 2L bioreactors
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to think critically and creatively; and provide solutions both individually and collaboratively with internal experts to develop and optimize the computational infrastructure including cloud resources.
• Strong attention to detail; active and quick learner; able to change course quickly as needed; raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo; open to suggestions and embraces the ideas of others; collaborative actively builds relationships with others.
• Experienced in authoring and reviewing peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, regulatory documents, and/or presentations at conferences.
• Preferred: Experience in implementing transfer learning
• Preferred: Strong understanding of design of experiments (DOE)
• Preferred: Experience in CMC cell culture process development is highly desirable
• Preferred: Basic understanding of mammalian cell and molecular biology and cell culture bioprocess engineering concepts is highly desirable
• Preferred: Experience in developing and executing mammalian suspension cell culture processes in shake flasks, ambr250, and/or 2L bioreactors is highly desirable

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. This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs.

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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