Postdoctoral Researcher at the Interface of Computer-aided Drug Design and Synthetic Biology

Are you passionate about revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry through cutting-edge synthetic biology and artificial intelligence? If you’re eager to be at the forefront of developing a new class of drug candidates, we want you on our team!

Join the ETH Zürich Bioprocess Laboratory (BPL), led by Prof. Sven Panke: We are an international, interdisciplinary group specializing in microfluidics, genetic and enzyme engineering, synthetic biology, and bioprocesses. Our lab is located at the Basel campus of ETH Zurich, part of the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE).

This position is part of the Innosuisse-funded project “AIMMS - Artificial Intelligence for Modular Molecule Scaffolds,” a collaborative effort with the ETH Spin-Off Myria Biosciences. 

In this role, you’ll be working on the cutting edge of science, at which we combine artificial intelligence with synthetic biology to create novel, nature-inspired molecules as potential drug candidates. Your contributions will be key to design, producing and testing millions of these molecules to address unmet medical needs.

• Design natural product-inspired molecules targeting specific diseases

• Implement iterative cycles of in silico molecule design and biological testing

• Microbially produce and purify candidate molecules

• Screen for bioactivity to identify promising new drug candidates

• Develop and implement machine learning workflows and synthetic biology pipelines

• Supervise master students working on related topics

• Closely collaborate with both internal and external project members

• PhD in medicinal chemistry, pharmacy, natural product chemistry, or a related field

• Strong background in computer-aided drug design

• Experience with bioinformatics methods (e.g., docking, protein design, molecular dynamics, binding free energy calculations, QSAR, and SAR analysis)

• Proficient in microbiology and analytical techniques (e.g., HPLC-MS)

• Programming skills in a relevant language (Python, R, Bash)

• Fluent in English (written and spoken)

• Eager to grow in a collaborative, goal-oriented, and interdisciplinary environment

Desirable qualifications

• Experience with flow cytometry, microfluidics, or fluorescence-based detection

• Background in molecular microbiology and genetic engineering

• Familiarity with lab automation

With the social and leadership competencies, ETH Zurich has developed a common understanding for a shared work culture. Kindly try to incorporate these six competencies into your recruitment.

You will be at the intersection of world-class science at ETH Zürich and the dynamic, inspiring environment of a young startup. At BPL, we offer a supportive team atmosphere and comprehen-sive training in state-of-the-art enzyme engineering. You’ll have access to the cutting-edge facilities of ETH Zürich and the vibrant life of D-BSSE in the heart of Europe’s life sciences capital.

D-BSSE is committed to fostering an equal and diverse work environment. As an employee of ETH, you will enjoy all the benefits associated with the institution.

The position is set to begin as soon as possible.