AI Lead Scientist – Biotech & DARPin Discovery

Athebio AG; Zürich; Hybrid; CHF 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Direct management visibility

Training budget for you

Growth opportunities

Contribute to cutting‑edge biotech

Team activities

Job summary

Athebio AG, a Zurich‑area biotech start‑up, seeks a Senior Scientist – AI Lead to define and deploy company‑wide AI. You will lead AI adoption, build agentic workflows for DARPin discovery and mentor colleagues in research, project management and business functions to use AI effectively in a life‑science setting.

With a PhD or MSc and 5+ years in biotech, you will drive cross‑functional impact, ensure responsible AI use and expand your expertise within a fast‑paced entrepreneurial environment at

Qualifications

• M.Sc. or Ph.D. in biochemistry, molecular biology, protein science, bioinformatics or related life‑science discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in a life‑science research environment, ideally biotech or pharma.
• Proven “super‑user” of AI assistants and agentic tools such as Claude Cowork with real examples.
• Practical programming ability, especially Python, and comfort with APIs and version control.
• Solid grounding in data science and data management: structuring datasets, using databases and ELN/LIMS like Benchling.
• Genuine talent for teaching and explaining technical concepts to non‑technical colleagues.
• Critical thinking and a pragmatic, goal‑oriented approach to work.
• Strong written and spoken English; German language skills are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Make AI real at Athebio by shaping company‑wide secure AI environments and adoption.
• Teach and multiply: run hands‑on sessions and build internal AI playbooks and libraries.
• Build agentic workflows around DARPin discovery and the Athebody scaffold.
• Lead AI deployment projects and coordinate with stakeholders for tangible outcomes.
• Map and re‑design internal processes with automation from documentation to reporting.
• Define responsible AI use, data handling and documentation standards.
• Continuously expand team expertise by tracking advancements in AI for biotech.

Skills

AI tools

Python

Data management

Teaching

English communication

German language

Education

M.Sc. or Ph.D. in life sciences

Tools

Benchling

AlphaFold

RFdiffusion

ProteinMPNN

Job description

Athebio AG, a Zurich‑area biotech start‑up, seeks a Senior Scientist – AI Lead to define and deploy company‑wide AI. You will lead AI adoption, build agentic workflows for DARPin discovery and mentor colleagues in research, project management and business functions to use AI effectively in a life‑science setting.

With a PhD or MSc and 5+ years in biotech, you will drive cross‑functional impact, ensure responsible AI use and expand your expertise within a fast‑paced entrepreneurial environment at