Roche fosters diversity, equity and inclusion, representing the communities we serve. When dealing with healthcare on a global scale, diversity is an essential ingredient to success. We believe that inclusion is key to understanding people’s varied healthcare needs. Together, we embrace individuality and share a passion for exceptional care. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position

A healthier future. It’s what drives us to innovate. To continuously advance science and ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need today and for generations to come. Creating a world where we all have more time with the people we love.

That’s what makes us Roche.

In Roche’s Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development organization (pRED), we make transformative medicines for patients in order to tackle some of the world’s toughest unmet healthcare needs. At pRED, we are united by our mission to transform science into medicines. Together, we create a culture defined by curiosity, responsibility and humility, where our talented people are empowered and inspired to bring forward extraordinary life-changing innovation at speed.

The Position

We are offering an outstanding opportunity for two lab-based drug discovery scientists to join the Neuroimmunology Section in the Neuroscience and Rare Disease (NRD) Discovery and Translation Area (DTA) at Roche. One position will have a strong focus on damage signaling by innate immunity, while the other position will focus on intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of neurodegeneration. A major focus of the Neuroimmunology drug discovery team is to explore mechanisms leading to and resolving neuroinflammatory processes in order to develop novel therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. The successful candidate will work in an industry-leading Neuroscience department with an attractive portfolio of preclinical and clinical stage projects in CNS disorders. The position will be based in Basel, Switzerland.

The Opportunity:

• Based in the laboratory, you will develop, characterize and apply advanced iPSC-based human cell models (brain co-/tri-cultures, brain organoids) and ex vivo brain slices to evaluate and validate mechanisms of action and potency of therapeutic compounds

• Handle and characterize human and rodent CNS tissues by applying techniques including immunohistochemistry, in-situ hybridization and LC-MS

• Lead pharmacology studies for compound characterization in in vivo models of neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation which requires animal handling, dosing, biofluid and tissue collection, biomarker and histology analyses

• Lead and contribute to new target selection and proposals in the areas of neurodegeneration and neuroimmunology

• Presenting data at project team, departmental and governance meetings and mentoring research associates and interns working in neuroimmunology

Who you are:

• PhD in neuroscience/neuroimmunology, immunology or other relevant discipline, ideally with post-doctoral experience in an academic setting and/or pharmaceutical industry/biotech sector.

• Scientific expertise in DNA damage, innate damage sensing and/or mechanisms of neurodegeneration is highly desirable, ideally experienced with biochemical and molecular biology methods to investigate and manipulate genomic integrity

• Hands-on experience with iPSC-derived model systems, various gene expression, immunoassay, confocal microscopy/high-content imaging and molecular profiling approaches applied to cells and brain tissues.

• Certification for performing in vivo animal experiments (eg. LTK1) required. Expertise in in vivo animal dosing, perfusion, tissue collection and preparation for histology, biochemical and immunoassays

• You independently design, execute, and analyze experiments. Your accomplishments and successful collaborations are documented by publications in journals and/or patents. You have excellent organization, presentation and interpersonal communication skills with an enthusiastic proactive attitude.

Your Location

These positions are located in Basel, Swtizerland

Our commitment

Roche commits to recognising talent and aptitude. We prioritise encouraging and supporting our employees on their personal journeys by providing a safe, creative space to help them reflect, make decisions and grow in their career.

We are confident that we find the most innovative solutions by gaining different perspectives, asking and answering hard questions, and challenging the status quo. Roche embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious yet enthusiastic way; we are devoted to building a team that represents a range of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

Who we are

At Roche, more than 100,000 people across 100 countries are pushing back the frontiers of healthcare. Working together, we’ve become one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups. Our success is built on innovation, curiosity and diversity.

Basel is the headquarters of the Roche Group and one of its most important centres of pharmaceutical research. Over 10,700 employees from over 100 countries come together at our Basel/Kaiseraugst site, which is one of Roche`s largest sites. Read more.

Besides extensive development and training opportunities, we offer flexible working options, 18 weeks of maternity leave and 10 weeks of gender independent partnership leave. Our employees also benefit from multiple services on site such as child-care facilities, medical services, restaurants and cafeterias, as well as various employee events.

We believe in the power of diversity and inclusion, and strive to identify and create opportunities that enable all people to bring their unique selves to Roche.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.