Principal Research Engineer I/II, Human Factors

About AbbVie
AbbVie’s mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines 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, eye care, virology, women’s health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

The AbbVie Combination Product Development (CPD) function designs and develps best-in-class drug delivery systems for AbbVie pharmaceuticals. The Human Factors (HF) group within CPD manages the drug delivery device user interface design process and executes usability assessments required to support the successful submission of AbbVie Combination Products.  The combination of an increase in the number of drugs that require a delivery device, and increasing engagement of Human-Centered Design and HF skills in early stage clinical development drive the need for additional Human Factors expertise.

We are looking for an individual with academic training and professional experience in human factors/usability engineering for a Human Factors role to support our Combination Product development efforts.

Overview of Position:

This role is intended to support the CPD HF group’s need to manage projects to design, test and validate drug delivery devices. This individual will work alongside existing AbbVie HF, Engineering, Medical, Compliance and Regulatory staff to design device user interfaces and HF studies required to ensure ease-of-use, safety, customer acceptance, and regulatory approval.

The individual will perform the following functions in partnership with third-party HF firms:

• Design and conduct contextual inquiry research

• Perform task and workflow analyses

• Work with System Engineers to develop user requirements and user interface specifications

• Conduct and evaluate Use Related Risk Assessments, recommend and evaluate design mitigations   

• Design device and system user interfaces and associated instructional materials

• Design and conduct usability tests and other usability assessments

• Design, conduct and analyze interviews and surveys

• Prepare and compile thorough documentation for inclusion in regulatory submissions

Other Functions:

• Assist in training internal staff to perform some HF functions under supervision

• Assist in maintaining corporate policy, procedures and tools on best practices for HF

• Facilitate the selection and proper use of outside HF consultants

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PHD in a scientific field with typically 14-16 (BS), 12-14 (MS) or 6-8 (PhD) years related experience

• MS or PhD in Human Factors, Industrial Engineering, Human Computer Interaction, Psychology or related discipline preferred

• Strong working knowledge of Human Factors methods and principles.

• 5-10 years’ experience in user interface design and usability testing preferred

• Excellent written and spoken communications skills

• Ability to work with a variety of disciplines and teams in fast-paced environments

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills

• Experience in pharmaceutical or medical device product development is preferred

• Working knowledge with medical devices and medical device regulations and standards is preferred

Job level will be commensurate with experience

Significant Work Activities
N/A
Travel
Yes, 25 % of the Time
Job Type
Experienced
Schedule
Full-time
Job Level Code
M
Equal Employment Opportunity
At AbbVie, we value bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds to develop new and innovative solutions for patients. As an equal opportunity employer we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.