AI ML Engineering Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Illinois
Illinois is one of the strongest markets for AI/ML engineering visa sponsorship in the U.S., anchored by Chicago's growing tech sector and major employers like Allstate, Morningstar, and Uptake. Beyond Chicago, university towns like Urbana-Champaign feed a steady pipeline of international talent into roles across fintech, insurance tech, and enterprise software.
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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
This position brings an opportunity to make innovative contributions that will define how AbbVie leverages AI-enabled drug discovery across our small molecule portfolio. The key responsibilities of this position are to identify, develop, optimize, validate, and deploy innovative machine learning approaches to guide molecular optimization. This role will collaborate closely with project teams comprising medicinal chemists, structural biologists, biochemists, cell biologists, and other computational chemistry / chemoinformatics experts.
Responsibilities:
- Consult with project team to establish quantitative targets for driving optimization
- Identify suitable models to predict small molecule binding affinities for protein targets, and to predict pharmacological properties (PK parameters, etc.)
- Build predictive models for each project endpoint, and carefully benchmarking to evaluate performance and domain of applicability for each model
- Decisively identify the model that should be used for each project team query molecule, using data-driven approaches that take account of model uncertainty and heteroscedasticity
- Clearly communicate to the project team the rationale for model selection and why the selected models are best suited for the task at hand
- Deploy models to ensure accessibility for the project team, facilitating collaborative ideation and optimization
Qualifications
- Senior Scientist I: Degree in relevant field (chemistry / computer science / machine learning / cheminformatics / chemical engineering) with experience developing machine learning models related to chemical and biological data (10+ years of experience for BS, 8+ years for MS, 0+ years for PhD). Leveling will be commensurate to experience.
- Senior Scientist II: Degree in relevant field (chemistry / computer science / machine learning / cheminformatics / chemical engineering) with experience developing machine learning models related to chemical and biological data (12+ years of experience for BS, 10+ years for MS, 4+ years for PhD). Leveling will be commensurate to experience.
- Expertise with developing, implementing and deploying programs and computational solutions employing Machine Learning/Deep learning and Cheminformatics
- Expertise in AI/ML-enabled molecular generation, pose prediction, affinity prediction and/or prediction of pharmacological properties (e.g. PK)
- Strong programming skills in Python and experience with data science stack including numpy, pandas, scikit-learn, and other related scientific libraries
- Ability to implement, debug, and maintain computational tools in common programming languages (Python, etc…) and proficiency with cloud computing capabilities
- Familiarity with modern deep learning architectures including GNN, CNN, RNN, Transformer, GCNN and MPNN, and machine learning paradigms such as generative models, GAN, and active learning
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to think critically and creatively, and provide solutions both individually and collaboratively with internal experts
- Excellent ability to communicate clearly and concisely with colleagues and collaborators including an ability to explain complex ideas to non-specialists
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
Company Description
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
This position brings an opportunity to make innovative contributions that will define how AbbVie leverages AI-enabled drug discovery across our small molecule portfolio. The key responsibilities of this position are to identify, develop, optimize, validate, and deploy innovative machine learning approaches to guide molecular optimization. This role will collaborate closely with project teams comprising medicinal chemists, structural biologists, biochemists, cell biologists, and other computational chemistry / chemoinformatics experts.
Responsibilities:
- Consult with project team to establish quantitative targets for driving optimization
- Identify suitable models to predict small molecule binding affinities for protein targets, and to predict pharmacological properties (PK parameters, etc.)
- Build predictive models for each project endpoint, and carefully benchmarking to evaluate performance and domain of applicability for each model
- Decisively identify the model that should be used for each project team query molecule, using data-driven approaches that take account of model uncertainty and heteroscedasticity
- Clearly communicate to the project team the rationale for model selection and why the selected models are best suited for the task at hand
- Deploy models to ensure accessibility for the project team, facilitating collaborative ideation and optimization
Qualifications
- Senior Scientist I: Degree in relevant field (chemistry / computer science / machine learning / cheminformatics / chemical engineering) with experience developing machine learning models related to chemical and biological data (10+ years of experience for BS, 8+ years for MS, 0+ years for PhD). Leveling will be commensurate to experience.
- Senior Scientist II: Degree in relevant field (chemistry / computer science / machine learning / cheminformatics / chemical engineering) with experience developing machine learning models related to chemical and biological data (12+ years of experience for BS, 10+ years for MS, 4+ years for PhD). Leveling will be commensurate to experience.
- Expertise with developing, implementing and deploying programs and computational solutions employing Machine Learning/Deep learning and Cheminformatics
- Expertise in AI/ML-enabled molecular generation, pose prediction, affinity prediction and/or prediction of pharmacological properties (e.g. PK)
- Strong programming skills in Python and experience with data science stack including numpy, pandas, scikit-learn, and other related scientific libraries
- Ability to implement, debug, and maintain computational tools in common programming languages (Python, etc…) and proficiency with cloud computing capabilities
- Familiarity with modern deep learning architectures including GNN, CNN, RNN, Transformer, GCNN and MPNN, and machine learning paradigms such as generative models, GAN, and active learning
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to think critically and creatively, and provide solutions both individually and collaboratively with internal experts
- Excellent ability to communicate clearly and concisely with colleagues and collaborators including an ability to explain complex ideas to non-specialists
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
AI ML Engineering Job Roles in Illinois
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Search AI ML Engineering Jobs in IllinoisAI ML Engineering Jobs in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies in Illinois sponsor visas for AI/ML engineers?
Major Illinois employers with a track record of sponsoring AI/ML engineers include Allstate, Morningstar, Caterpillar, Zebra Technologies, and Uptake. Chicago-based fintech and insurtech firms are particularly active, as are enterprise software companies headquartered in the suburbs. Large consulting firms with Illinois offices, such as Accenture and Deloitte, also sponsor regularly for machine learning and data engineering roles.
Which visa types are most common for AI/ML engineering roles in Illinois?
The H-1B visa is the most common visa for AI/ML engineering positions in Illinois, as these roles typically qualify as specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, statistics, or a related field. Candidates with a master's or PhD from a U.S. university may benefit from the advanced degree exemption in the H-1B lottery. O-1A visas are an option for engineers with documented exceptional contributions, such as published research or patents.
Which cities in Illinois have the most AI/ML engineering sponsorship jobs?
Chicago accounts for the overwhelming majority of AI/ML engineering sponsorship opportunities in Illinois, particularly in the River North, West Loop, and Fulton Market tech corridors. The suburbs, including Downers Grove and Schaumburg, host enterprise tech employers that also sponsor. Champaign-Urbana has a smaller but active market tied to the University of Illinois and its affiliated research spinouts and startups.
How to find ai ml engineering visa sponsorship jobs in Illinois?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for international candidates seeking visa sponsorship and filters AI/ML engineering roles by state, including Illinois. Rather than sorting through general job boards that rarely flag sponsorship availability, Migrate Mate surfaces employers that have sponsored visas for similar roles. Focusing your search on Chicago's fintech, insurtech, and enterprise software sectors will give you the highest concentration of relevant opportunities.
Are there any Illinois-specific considerations for AI/ML engineers pursuing visa sponsorship?
Illinois employers filing H-1B petitions must pay the prevailing wage for the specific role and location, which is determined by the Department of Labor and tied to the Chicago metropolitan area for most positions. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign pipeline means many Illinois employers are experienced with OPT and STEM OPT transitions into H-1B sponsorship. Companies in regulated industries like insurance and finance may have longer internal approval processes before extending a sponsorship offer.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored ai ml engineering jobs in Illinois?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.