Associate Director, Quality Risk Management

Company: AbbVie
Location: Irvine
Posted on: January 26, 2026

Job Description:

Company Description 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 immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com . Follow @abbvie on X , Facebook , Instagram , YouTube , LinkedIn and Tik Tok . Job Description Purpose: The Associate Director, Quality Risk Management is a strategic leader within AbbVies Global Quality Systems team. This role is responsible for driving enterprise-wide excellence and standardization in R&D Quality Risk Management, providing expert oversight, and fostering a culture of proactive risk identification, mitigation, and compliance with global regulatory and industry standards. Additionally, they will lead the QRM Quality System Network, which consists of SMEs and risk practitioners across R&D. Responsibilities: The Associate Director, Quality Risk Management is responsible to: Serve as the strategic owner and leader of the global R&D Quality Risk Management (QRM) system, driving sustainable excellence and compliance across functions. Design, develop, and continuously improve quality systems, standards, practices, and supporting tools, ensuring alignment with evolving regulatory and industry expectations. Establish and maintain robust governance structures for QRM, proactively identifying, assessing, and mitigating operational and regulatory risks. Champion and harmonize QRM processes, documentation, and standards across R&D to achieve consistency and operational alignment. Lead and mentor a global network of QRM subject matter experts (SMEs) and practitioners, fostering an enterprise-wide culture of knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and best practice adoption. Act as the primary consultant and advisor to internal R&D stakeholders, providing QRM guidance, regulatory updates, issue resolution, and process implementation support. Oversee the creation, maintenance, and harmonization of process documentation, SOPs, and training materials to ensure effective knowledge transfer and compliance. Define, monitor, and report on key quality and risk metrics, using data-driven insights to inform leadership, drive continuous improvement, and ensure accountability. Ensure organization-wide inspection readiness; represent the company during Health Authority inspections, including responding to and defending QRM practices and policies. Proactively monitor and influence external regulatory trends and industry standards, advocating for the organization and elevating QRM maturity at both the company and industry level. This role is a hybrid role with onsite at either our Lake County, IL or Irvine, CA sites. Qualifications Bachelors or advanced degree in a scientific discipline, life sciences, engineering, or a related field. Minimum of 8 years experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry (or 5 years with an MS/PhD), with relevant focus in quality risk management. Proven leadership experience in matrixed, cross-functional environments, with demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority. Extensive hands-on experience in Quality Risk Management (QRM), covering multiple domains such as Clinical Operations, Pharmacovigilance, pre-Clinical, or Manufacturing. Deep knowledge of global regulatory frameworks, inspection readiness, compliance standards, and QRM methodologies, including maintenance of risk logs/registers. Demonstrated capability to standardize and scale quality and risk management processes globally to enhance operational efficiency and reduce complexity. Strong change agility, with a track record of effectively leading organizations through ambiguity and transformation while balancing competing priorities. Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and mentoring skills, including experience engaging with senior leadership and developing SMEs. Additional Information Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state orlocal law: The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Companybelieves ingood faith it will pay for this role at the timeof this posting based on the job grade for this position.Individualcompensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, andwemay ultimatelypay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in thefuture. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick),medical/dental/visioninsurance and 401(k) to eligibleemployees. This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentiveprograms. Note: No amount of payis considered to bewages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, anddeterminable.The amount and availability of any bonus,commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form ofcompensation and benefitsthat are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole andabsolutediscretion unless and until paid andmay be modified at the Companys sole and absolute discretion, consistent withapplicable 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

Keywords: AbbVie, San Bernardino , Associate Director, Quality Risk Management, Healthcare , Irvine, California