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Specialist, EHS Staff

AbbVie · North Chicago, IL · $65,500–$125,500 a year · Full time · Engineering

Posted Aug 26, 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

This role supports environment, health and safety across manufacturing, engineering, maintenance and research at a large site. What safety work have you done in a plant?

What they are checking: Whether they have done safety work on a real manufacturing floor, where hazards, shift patterns and production pressure look very different from an office setting.

You'd deliver training to employees, contractors and leaders. How do you make safety training something people take seriously rather than sit through?

What they are checking: Whether they make training practical and tied to real tasks and incidents, since people who tune out training are the ones who later get hurt.

What would you do

You'd manage contractor and construction safety. How do you hold a contractor to your standard on your site?

What they are checking: Whether they set clear expectations before contractors start and enforce them on site, since contractors often face the highest risk with the least familiarity.

A supervisor wants a job done and the permit is not ready. How do you handle that?

What they are checking: Whether they will hold a permit requirement under pressure while helping the supervisor find a way forward, rather than either caving or simply blocking work.

How do you get a corrective action closed when the person who owns it keeps not doing it?

What they are checking: Whether they escalate and follow up persistently on overdue actions, because unfinished corrective actions are how known hazards end up injuring someone later.

The posting states onsite work at North Chicago, full time, at $65,500 to $125,500 a year, under an environment, health and safety manager. Does that work, and what would you want to know about the site's risk profile first?

What they are checking: Whether the stated pay, schedule and onsite expectation fit their life, and whether they ask about incident history and risk before they accept.

About the work

The posting names confined space, working at height, hot work, line breaking, machine guarding, electrical safety and lifting operations. Which of those have you written or run a program for?

What they are checking: Whether they have built or run programs for these specific high-risk activities, since these are where serious injuries and fatalities actually tend to happen.

You'd conduct risk assessments using hierarchy-of-controls principles. Walk me through assessing a task and choosing controls.

What they are checking: Whether they reach for elimination, substitution and engineering controls before PPE, because relying on behavior alone leaves people exposed when someone has a bad day.

You'd participate in injury, near-miss and high-potential incident investigations. How do you get past human error to the real cause?

What they are checking: Whether they look for the system conditions that made the error likely, because stopping at human error guarantees the same incident happens again.

You'd handle industrial hygiene and chemical safety alongside the rest. What would you monitor in a pharmaceutical manufacturing area?

What they are checking: Whether they know pharmaceutical exposure risks like potent compounds, solvents and dusts, and how air sampling and containment checks keep operators safe over time.

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by AbbVie.

Specialist, EHS Staff Location: North Chicago, IL, USA Work Arrangement: onsite Job Type: Full-time Compensation: USD $65,500–$125,500 annually 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, including immunology, oncology, and neuroscience, as well as products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information, please visit www.abbvie.com . Follow @abbvie on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. Job Description Under the direction of the EHS Manager, the Specialist, EHS Staff provides guidance and support to employees, contractors, Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing, R&D, and other site functions on environmental, health, and safety matters. This role uses communication, training, consultation, and technical expertise to implement EHS programs, strengthen the site safety culture, and ensure compliance with applicable regulations, corporate standards, and AbbVie’s EHS Management System. The Specialist will support both day-to-day operations and long-term EHS initiatives across a broad risk profile, including manufacturing operations, engineering and maintenance activities, facility expansions, new product introductions, and site improvement projects. This position offers significant opportunities to build experience across a wide range of EHS disciplines while working closely with site leadership, Global EHS, and other global support teams. Responsibilities • Risk Assessment and Hazard Identification Conduct and support risk assessments, identify workplace hazards, and recommend effective controls using hierarchy-of-controls principles. Serve as a subject matter resource for EHS risk-management activities and develop and drive task-based risk assessment plans by area. • Manufacturing and High-Risk Work Safety Support Provide day-to-day EHS support to Engineering, Maintenance, Manufacturing, and Operations teams. Develop technical expertise and serve as a subject matter resource for high-risk work programs, including: • Lockout/Tagout/Tryout (LOTO) • Confined space safety • Working at height and fall protection • Hot work • Line breaking • Machine safety and guarding • Electrical safety • Overhead hoists and lifting operations • Work permits and other critical-risk activities • Help strengthen and sustain current site programs and technical standards in these areas. • EHS Program Development and Implementation Assist in the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of EHS programs, policies, procedures, standards, hazard assessments, and training materials for manufacturing and R&D operations. Programs may include: • Hazard identification and risk assessment • High-hazard work controls • Ergonomic job safety analysis • Contractor and construction EHS management • Industrial hygiene • Chemical safety and hazard communication • Emergency preparedness and response • Powered industrial truck safety • Environmental compliance and operational controls • Incident Investigation and Corrective Actions Participate in injury, illness, near-miss, and high-potential incident investigations. Coach employees and leaders in the use of investigation and problem-solving tools to identify immediate, contributing, and root causes. Encourage open-minded thinking and constructive challenge to ensure investigations consider all relevant aspects of causation. Track corrective actions through completion and verify their effectiveness. • Training, Qualification, and Employee Engagement Develop and deliver EHS training and awareness programs for employees, contractors, and leaders. Support onboarding, qualification, and competency requirements. Promote a positive safety culture through employee observations, hazard reporting, safety conversations, engagement activities, and participation initiatives. Support implementation of the Site Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) program and LEAD by DuPont. • Audits, Inspections, and Continuous Improvement Conduct EHS inspections, assessments, and audits across manufacturing and support operations. Identify compliance gaps and opportunities for improvement, drive timely corrective actions, and use audit findings, observations, leading indicators, lagging indicators, and other performance metrics to improve site EHS performance. • Management of Change and Project Support Assist the EHS Team in reviewing new equipment, processes, chemicals, facility modifications, and construction or expansion projects for EHS impacts. Serve as an EHS representative for site Management of Change (MOC) and Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR) activities. Recommend appropriate safeguards and verify that EHS requirements are addressed before implementation or startup. • EHS Compliance and Regulatory Support Support regulatory inspections, internal and external audits, permits, required records, reporting, and interactions with regulatory agencies, Global EHS, and other external organizations. Interpret and communicate applicable EHS regulations, company standards, and management-system requirements to affected stakeholders. • Leadership and Cross-Functional Influence Work independently on compliance, risk-management, and improvement projects. Support departments with investigations, audits, risk assessments, and EHS initiatives. Influence supervisors, managers, Operations leaders, Engineering, Maintenance, and contractors to improve EHS performance and reinforce accountability. • Performance Reporting and EHS Management System Support Analyze and report leading and lagging safety performance indicators. Maintain accurate EHS documentation and records, communicate trends and priorities to stakeholders, and support conformance with AbbVie’s EHS Management System and applicable occupational health and safety management-system requirements. #LI-AL1 • High School Diploma plus 10 years of EHS relevant experience, or Associate Degree and Advanced Safety Specialist Certification plus minimum 8 years of EHS related experience or Bachelor’s Degree (EHS related, Engineering, chemistry) plus minimum 3 years of EHS related experience. Professional EHS or Engineering certification is preferred. • Working experience in implementing EHS regulations, conducting incident investigations, interacting with regulatory agencies and external organizations and managing cross functional teams • Development of practical, applicable standards and/or policies that meet business objectives. Technical expertise in the EHS functions as well as technical writing and business communications. • Ability to actively listen, build and maintain effective working relationships with internal/ external colleagues and stakeholders, and resolve conflict. • Ability to successfully manage project and programs. • Ability to provide clear, concise, and effective verbal communications and well-developed written communication and presentation skills • Ability to plan, organize, delegate, and follow-up on work flow in a team environment to meet departmental goals and objectives • Well organized and have excellent attention to detail and thoroughness • Proven ability to use email, Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point and databases • This role provides substantial opportunities for professional growth and development. The North Chicago site is positioned for continued expansion, new product introductions, and increasingly diverse operational activities. The Specialist will gain exposure to a broad range of EHS risks and business functions while collaborating with site leadership, Global EHS, and global support teams. This experience creates opportunities to build technical expertise, lead meaningful improvement initiatives, and engage with decision-makers across the organization. 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 short-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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