Director, Discovery AI Partnerships

Job Description

Job Description

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  Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Job Description

The Director of Discovery AI Partnerships will play a critical leadership role in shaping and executing AbbVie’s external AI innovation strategy in Discovery. This role sits at the intersection of AI technology, drug discovery, and strategic partnerships, and is responsible for leading complex AI‑centric external collaborations from sourcing through diligence and deal execution. 

Reporting to the Head of Discovery AI Partnerships, the Director will operate with a high degree of autonomy and serve as a strategic thought partner to senior stakeholders. This role is ideal for a mission-driven leader who is passionate about science, understands the real-world impact AI solutions can deliver, brings a practical, down-to-earth approach, and is motivated by the potential for AI-enabled innovation to create meaningful benefits for patients. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Deal sourcing: Closely monitor, interpret, and predict the evolving landscape and trends in AI and pharmaceuticals innovation, as they relate to all key therapeutic areas of AbbVie. Proactively search for, identify, and evaluate potential partnering opportunities from biopharma companies, AI companies, academic institutions, other non-profit research institutes, and life science venture capital investors globally (US, Europe, China, others) 
• Diligence: Lead end-to-end scientific, technical, and strategic diligence for a wide range of AI-focused partnerships (e.g., with AI-driven drug discovery companies, Big Tech, research labs focused on foundational LLMs, data companies, academia), including hands-on technology assessments, market analysis, and risk evaluations 
• Pilots, benchmarks, and technical evaluations: Design, negotiate, conduct, and analyze the results of pilots, benchmarks, and technical evaluations of AI models applied to drug discovery as part of the core diligence process to inform our investment decision. Technical depth to structure and conduct these pilots is critical part of this role. 
• Deal flow management: Collaborate with key stakeholders and cross-functional teams to drive and ensure effective communication, efficient decision-making, and completion of AI/ML-related partnerships / deals in a timely manner. 
• Apply strong scientific judgment and product‑oriented thinking to assess differentiation, scalability, integration potential, and long‑term value of AI platforms. 
• Synthesize complex technical and scientific findings into clear, decision‑enabling recommendations for senior leadership and governance forums. 
• Stay at the forefront of emerging AI trends and advancements in biopharma to inform strategic decision-making. 
• Develop and maintain a strong network of AI experts, thought leaders, and innovators to ensure AbbVie remains at the forefront of AI developments. 
• Proactively participate and represent AbbVie in industry forums, conferences, and consortia to strengthen external engagement and visibility in AI innovation. 

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, Statistics, Mathematics, Computational Biology, Computational Chemistry, Bioinformatics, Physics, Engineering, or related quantitative discipline. 
• Bachelor’s: 12+ years of relevant experience, including in AI/ML applications in life sciences or healthcare OR 
• Master’s: 10+ years of relevant experience, including in AI/ML applications in life sciences or healthcare OR 
• PhD: 7+ years of relevant experience, including AI/ML applications in life sciences or health. 
• Highly motivated with strong organizational and communication skills, excellent work ethic, and the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team environment. 
• Experience leading AI-focused partnerships, external collaborations, or technology diligence within biopharma, biotech, healthcare, technology, or investment organizations; or strong product management or platform leadership experience within AI-native or technology companies. 
• Strong strategic judgment, technical fluency, and ability to influence without authority. 
• Management consulting experience at a Top-Tier consulting firm a plus. 
• Experience applying AI in therapeutics discovery, including agentic AI approaches, strongly preferred. 

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 thisposting 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 anduntil 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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