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Senior Medical Director - Patient Safety

AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · Full time · Research

Posted Aug 25, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you had to set the strategy for a risk management plan. What drove the choices you made about what to mitigate and what to monitor?

What they are checking: Judgment about proportionate risk minimization rather than listing every possible measure.

Tell me about a time a development team wanted to interpret an aggregate safety finding one way and you read it differently. How did that get resolved?

What they are checking: Independence of the safety voice against program pressure.

Tell me about someone you coached into stronger safety judgment. What were you actually trying to change in how they worked?

What they are checking: Whether mentoring is a real practice for them or a line on a résumé.

The posting asks for oncology patient safety experience and completed internal medicine residency training. What do you want to know about the size of this product safety team and how much of this role is authorship versus oversight?

What they are checking: Whether they check the actual shape of the work before committing.

What would you do

You are asked to present a safety interpretation to executive leadership who want a yes or no. The data supports neither yet. What do you say?

What they are checking: Communicating genuine uncertainty upward without becoming unhelpful.

Walk me through how you would prepare for a health authority question on a safety topic during a Biologics License Application review.

What they are checking: Regulatory response experience, which the posting requires.

About the work

You would lead the Product Safety Team for late-stage oncology products. Walk me through how you separate a real safety signal from the background of a very sick patient population.

What they are checking: Causality assessment in oncology, where serious events are expected at baseline.

How do you use pharmacology, chemistry and non-clinical toxicology when you are reviewing a case that does not have an obvious explanation?

What they are checking: Whether they genuinely reason from mechanism, which this posting puts first.

Describe your approach to a Development Safety Update Report or a Periodic Safety Update Report when the underlying data has changed a lot since the last cycle.

What they are checking: Practical ownership of the named periodic reports, not just familiarity with the acronyms.

This is a drug and device combined product area as well. What changes in your surveillance when the event might be about the device rather than the molecule?

What they are checking: Awareness that combination products split the safety question two ways.

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The full job description

As published by AbbVie.

The Product Safety Team (PST) lead for late stage oncology products, under the direction of the Group Lead and TA Head will be actively and closely collaborating with the development medical lead, setting the strategy for the oncology programs. PST lead will be responsible to one or more products and will ensuring safety through the product lifecycle (e.g. surveillance, signal detection, validation and assessment, risks assessment and mitigations strategies, tox management, etc…) together with the other members of the safety team (safety scientists, safety architects, safety PM, and other cross functional colleagues). The PST lead will also closely collaborate with a PK and toxicology leads, regulatory and clinical development leads as well as medical affairs colleagues to help guide dose selection and regimen, inclusion/exclusion criteria and safety monitoring for first for clinical trials as well as PMOS.PST lead will be interpreting regulations related to pharmacovigilance supporting all patient safety activities, and will be leading the safety components of pre-NDA and NDA/sNDA submissions, regulatory responses, label and label updates, RMPs. Responsibilities: • Understanding and application of the pharmacology, chemistry and non-clinical toxicology to effectively conduct safety surveillance • Responsible for safety surveillance for pharmaceutical / biological / drug –device combined products • Lead and set the strategy for key pharmacovigilance documents, including but not limited to, medical safety assessments, regulatory responses and risk management plans, NDA/sNDA submission – safety component • Apply current regulatory guidance as appropriate for safety surveillance and authorship of PV documents • Analyze and interpret aggregate safety data and communicate these analysis and interpretation to cross-functional teams, executive leadership and externally, as needed • Effectively write, review and provide input on technical documents independently • Oversight and responsibility for leading the strategy for periodic reports (DSURs, PSURs, PADERs etc.) • Responsible for implementing risk management strategies for assigned products • Proactively engaging, inspiring, coaching and mentoring team and colleagues • Opportunities to co-author publications and participate in initiatives to continue developing and growing as a safety leader • Strong team player, able to adapt and work in a fast pace environment • Significant Work Activities -Continuous sitting for prolonged periods (more than 2 consecutive hours in an 8 hour day) • MD / DO with 2+ years of internal medicine residency with patient management experience required; PhD or Clinical Pharmacology fellowship is preferred in addition to MD / DO, not required • 2-5 years of Pharmacovigilance / Clinical Development experience in the pharmaceutical industry. • Previous experience supporting regulatory submissions (IND/BLA submissions) is required • Oncology patient safety experience is required • Effectively analyze and guide analysis of clinical data and epidemiological information • Effectively present recommendations / opinions in group environment both internally and externally • Write, review and provide input on technical documents • Work collaboratively and lead cross-functional teams • Ability to lead cross-functional teams in a collaborative environment 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

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