AI Lead Scientist – Biotech Protein Design

Athebio AG; Schlieren; On-site; CHF 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Athebio AG in Schlieren, near Zürich, seeks a Senior Scientist – AI Lead to define and implement company-wide AI strategy. You will lead AI deployment, collaborate with research and business teams, and drive DARPin discovery workflows with practical, hands-on leadership.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in biotech R&D, strong Python and data skills, and excellent communication in English (German is a plus). This on-site role offers growth in a fast-paced startup environment.

Qualifications

• M.Sc. or Ph.D. in a life-science discipline.
• At least 5 years in a life-science research environment.
• Proven use of AI tools in biotech work.
• Programming in Python; comfortable with APIs and version control.
• Solid data science and data management grounding.
• Strong teaching ability to translate concepts for non-technical colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Make AI real at Athebio across the organization.
• Teach colleagues to use AI effectively in life-science work.
• Design and build agentic workflows around DARPin discovery.
• Lead AI deployment and in silico binder generation.
• Streamline internal processes with automation and data analysis.
• Define responsible AI usage, verifications, and documentation.

Skills

AI leadership

English communication

Teaching ability

Python programming

Data management

Critical thinking

Team collaboration

German language

Education

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

Tools

AlphaFold

Boltz

RFdiffusion

ProteinMPNN

Benchling

GPU/cloud compute

Job description

Athebio AG in Schlieren, near Zürich, seeks a Senior Scientist – AI Lead to define and implement company-wide AI strategy. You will lead AI deployment, collaborate with research and business teams, and drive DARPin discovery workflows with practical, hands-on leadership.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in biotech R&D, strong Python and data skills, and excellent communication in English (German is a plus). This on-site role offers growth in a fast-paced startup environment.