Research Scientist Jobs in Illinois
Research Scientist jobs in Illinois are consistently in demand, with hiring concentrated in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, academic research, and materials science across entry-level through senior and principal levels. Chicago, Evanston, and the North Shore research corridor anchor the market, with major employers like Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, and Argonne National Laboratory driving sustained openings. The most sought-after specialties include computational biology, oncology research, and polymer and materials science. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 31+ Research Scientist jobs
About AbbVie
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 including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
Job Description
Biologics Drug Product Development (Bio DPD), a part of Development Sciences within AbbVie’s R&D, is a global organization that is responsible for drug product formulation and process development, and definition of the product presentation for biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides, neurotoxins etc.) and genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, Cell Therapy).
AbbVie is seeking a highly motivated candidate for the position of Principal Research Scientist I, located in North Chicago, IL. We are seeking an accomplished scientist with a proven track record in biologics drug product development. This position will be an integral part of the product development and CMC teams and will have strong collaborations with several stakeholders, including discovery research, analytical research and development, bioprocess development, combination products development, product development science and technology, pilot plants and third-party manufacturers.
Key Responsibilities:
- Act as the DP Team Lead and represent the Bio DPD function in the cross-functional Product Presentation and Device Strategy Team (PPDST) and the CMC Team for one or more pipeline programs spanning early- and late-stage development.
- Serve as a technical expert in ultra-high concentration co-formulation and product development.
- Lead the design and execution of biologics drug product formulation and process development, characterization and robustness studies.
- Lead drug product process scale-up and technology transfer activities to internal and external manufacturing sites.
- Effective and timely communication of development plans, risks, and mitigation plans to stakeholders and line management.
- Initiate and/or support scientific initiatives to drive innovation, continuously enhance capabilities and platforms, and improve business processes.
- Supervise a team of 2-3 scientists that may include other DP team leads.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- BS, MS, or PhD in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines with 14+ (Bachelors), 12+ (Masters), or 6+ (PhD) years of relevant industry experience.
- Proven ability to solve critical scientific problems.
- Experience with biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides and/or neurotoxins), parenteral synthetic molecules and/or genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, cell therapy) drug product formulation development.
- Experience with sterile manufacturing unit operations (freeze-thaw, compounding, mixing, filtration and filling, lyophilization), characterization, scale-down models, simulation, scale-up, technology transfer, and batch record authoring.
- Experience leading drug product development workstream as the functional lead within cross-functional teams
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with development and commercialization of ultra-high concentration liquid formulations for fixed dose combination products.
- Hands-on experience with authoring regulatory filings for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
- Understanding of relevant cGMP and regulatory guidance for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
- Experience in managing third-party manufacturers of sterile parenteral products.
- Experience with quality risk management and control strategies for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
Key Competencies:
- Deep scientific knowledge and significant hands-on experience with ultra-high co-formulation development and characterization.
- Effectively communicates to influence without authority, drives technical excellence, and inspires continuous improvement.
- Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functional partners to enable higher performance.
- Connects ideas from disparate fields, integrates data and information quickly, and takes risks to achieve the highest performance.
- Raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo.
- Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement.
- Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality
Additional Information
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.
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.
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.
US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html
US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:
https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html
About AbbVie
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 including immunology, oncology and neuroscience - and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
Job Description
Biologics Drug Product Development (Bio DPD), a part of Development Sciences within AbbVie’s R&D, is a global organization that is responsible for drug product formulation and process development, and definition of the product presentation for biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides, neurotoxins etc.) and genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, Cell Therapy).
AbbVie is seeking a highly motivated candidate for the position of Principal Research Scientist I, located in North Chicago, IL. We are seeking an accomplished scientist with a proven track record in biologics drug product development. This position will be an integral part of the product development and CMC teams and will have strong collaborations with several stakeholders, including discovery research, analytical research and development, bioprocess development, combination products development, product development science and technology, pilot plants and third-party manufacturers.
Key Responsibilities:
- Act as the DP Team Lead and represent the Bio DPD function in the cross-functional Product Presentation and Device Strategy Team (PPDST) and the CMC Team for one or more pipeline programs spanning early- and late-stage development.
- Serve as a technical expert in ultra-high concentration co-formulation and product development.
- Lead the design and execution of biologics drug product formulation and process development, characterization and robustness studies.
- Lead drug product process scale-up and technology transfer activities to internal and external manufacturing sites.
- Effective and timely communication of development plans, risks, and mitigation plans to stakeholders and line management.
- Initiate and/or support scientific initiatives to drive innovation, continuously enhance capabilities and platforms, and improve business processes.
- Supervise a team of 2-3 scientists that may include other DP team leads.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- BS, MS, or PhD in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related disciplines with 14+ (Bachelors), 12+ (Masters), or 6+ (PhD) years of relevant industry experience.
- Proven ability to solve critical scientific problems.
- Experience with biologics (proteins, conjugates, peptides and/or neurotoxins), parenteral synthetic molecules and/or genetic medicine (AAV, LNPs, cell therapy) drug product formulation development.
- Experience with sterile manufacturing unit operations (freeze-thaw, compounding, mixing, filtration and filling, lyophilization), characterization, scale-down models, simulation, scale-up, technology transfer, and batch record authoring.
- Experience leading drug product development workstream as the functional lead within cross-functional teams
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with development and commercialization of ultra-high concentration liquid formulations for fixed dose combination products.
- Hands-on experience with authoring regulatory filings for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
- Understanding of relevant cGMP and regulatory guidance for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
- Experience in managing third-party manufacturers of sterile parenteral products.
- Experience with quality risk management and control strategies for biologics and sterile parenteral products.
Key Competencies:
- Deep scientific knowledge and significant hands-on experience with ultra-high co-formulation development and characterization.
- Effectively communicates to influence without authority, drives technical excellence, and inspires continuous improvement.
- Builds strong relationships with peers and cross-functional partners to enable higher performance.
- Connects ideas from disparate fields, integrates data and information quickly, and takes risks to achieve the highest performance.
- Raises the bar and is never satisfied with the status quo.
- Creates a learning environment, open to suggestions and experimentation for improvement.
- Embraces the ideas of others, nurtures innovation and manages innovation to reality
Additional Information
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.
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.
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.
US & Puerto Rico only - to learn more, visit https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/equal-employment-opportunity-employer.html
US & Puerto Rico applicants seeking a reasonable accommodation, click here to learn more:
https://www.abbvie.com/join-us/reasonable-accommodations.html
See All 31 Research Scientist Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Research Scientist JobsResearch Scientist Jobs by City in Illinois
Where Illinois roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Research Scientist Job Market in Illinois
A snapshot from current Illinois openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- AbbVie11
- Rush University Medical Center3
- Baxter2
- Entegris2
- University of Illinois2
Top Industries Hiring
- Education
- Healthcare & Medical Services
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
- Technology & Software
What Illinois Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in research scientist jobs across Illinois.
- PhD in a relevant scientific discipline such as biology, chemistry, or materials science
- Demonstrated record of peer-reviewed publication in a recognized scientific journal
- Proficiency with laboratory instrumentation, data analysis software, or computational modeling tools
- Experience designing and executing independent research projects from hypothesis through results
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for presenting findings to cross-functional teams
- Ability to collaborate within multidisciplinary teams in a regulated or GLP-compliant environment
Research Scientist Jobs in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a research scientist in Illinois?
Becoming a research scientist in Illinois typically requires at minimum a master's degree, though most industry and national laboratory roles require a PhD in a relevant field such as chemistry, biology, or engineering. Illinois does not issue a state license specifically for research scientists, so credentials are employer-driven. Building a publication record, completing postdoctoral work, and gaining experience at Illinois research institutions, universities, or industry labs are the standard paths to full research scientist roles.
Which companies hire research scientists in Illinois?
Employers hiring research scientists in Illinois right now include AbbVie, Rush University Medical Center, and Baxter, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Illinois's strong pharmaceutical and national laboratory presence means openings appear across both private industry and federally funded research centers throughout the state.
Which Illinois cities have the most research scientist jobs?
The Illinois cities with the most research scientist openings are Chicago, North Chicago, and Aurora. Chicago dominates due to its concentration of academic medical centers, biotech firms, and corporate research headquarters, while the northern suburbs around Lake County host major pharmaceutical campuses for companies like AbbVie and Abbott that generate consistent research hiring across disciplines.
Are there remote research scientist jobs in Illinois?
Yes, but they are relatively rare. Research scientist work is often hands-on and lab-based, which limits full-remote arrangements. About 64% of research scientist openings tied to Illinois are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, and those openings tend to favor computational, bioinformatics, or data-heavy research roles where wet lab access is not required.
How can I get hired as a research scientist in Illinois with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is a research associate or junior scientist role, which large Illinois employers like AbbVie, Abbott, and Argonne National Laboratory regularly post for candidates with a bachelor's or master's degree and relevant coursework. University of Chicago, Northwestern, and University of Illinois system labs also hire research technicians and lab coordinators who work alongside senior scientists. Completing a thesis-based graduate program, building hands-on lab skills in analytical chemistry or cell biology, and securing even one co-authored publication significantly strengthens an application for these entry-level positions.
Where can I find and apply to research scientist jobs in Illinois?
You can find and apply to research scientist jobs in Illinois on Migrate Mate, which lists current Illinois openings from employers across the state. Search the listings, find roles that match your background and location, and apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 31 Research Scientist Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Research Scientist Jobs