Associate Principal Scientist - Cell Culture Development

1000scholars; Oberwallis; Remote; CHF 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Lonza Visp in Switzerland seeks an Associate Principal Scientist in Cell Culture Development to lead mammalian upstream process development with hands-on lab work. You will design studies up to 10 L, act as CHO cell culture SME, drive tech transfer, and collaborate across cross-functional teams and with customers.

This role requires a MSc with 5+ years or BSc with 7+ years, strong English communication, and willingness to work weekends/holidays as needed.

Qualifications

• BSc with 7+ years or MSc with 5+ years of relevant industry experience in mammalian upstream process development.
• Hands-on CHO cell culture experience including AMBR250/AMBR15, shake flasks, stirred-tank bioreactors, and depth filtration.
• Strong understanding of scale-up/scale-down principles, bioprocess troubleshooting, and tech transfer.
• Excellent communication skills; technical English required; ability to support operations during weekends/holidays.

Responsibilities

• Lead, design, and execute complex upstream process development activities (up to 10 L) and generate data for tech transfer to Pilot and GMP facilities.
• Act as subject matter expert (SME) for CHO cell culture, providing scientific guidance and troubleshooting for internal and external teams.
• Build and maintain strong customer relationships through transparent communication and scientific excellence.
• Design, optimize, and implement robust scale-down and scale-up models.
• Author and review high-quality documentation, including study plans and development reports.
• Support training activities and promote knowledge-sharing across teams.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, workflow optimization, and best-practice implementation.

Job description

# Associate Principal Scientist - Cell Culture DevelopmentLonzaVisp, SwitzerlandResearcher / ScientistBioreactorsNo deadline given## About the positionAssociate Principal Scientist - Cell Culture Development Lonza Visp, Switzerland We are looking for an Associate Principal Scientist (m/f/d) to join our Mammalian Cell Culture Development team in Visp. This role combines scientific leadership with hands‐on laboratory work, driving upstream development activities and collaborating with cross‐functional teams and customers to deliver high‐quality bioprocessing solutions.**Key responsibilities:**Lead, design, and execute complex upstream process development activities, including small‐scale studies (up to 10 L), ensuring compliance with quality and safety standards and generating the data and documentation required to support tech transfer to Pilot and GMP facilities. Act as subject matter expert (SME) for CHO cell culture, providing scientific guidance, troubleshooting support, and decision‐making for internal and external teams. Build and maintain strong customer relationships through transparent communication and scientific excellence. Design, optimize, and implement robust scale‐down and scale‐up models. Author and review high‐quality documentation, including study plans and development reports. Support training activities and promote knowledge‐sharing across teams. Contribute to continuous improvement, workflow optimization, and best‐practice implementation. Key requirements: BSc with 7+ years or MSc with 5+ years of relevant industry experience in mammalian upstream process development. Hands‐on expertise with CHO cell culture, including AMBR250/AMBR15, shake flasks, stirred‐tank bioreactors, and depth filtration. Strong understanding of scale‐up/scale‐down principles, bioprocess troubleshooting, and tech transfer. Proven ability to plan, coordinate, and execute laboratory‐scale experiments in a dynamic, cross‐functional environment. Excellent communication skills; technical English required. Willingness to support operations during weekends or public holidays several times per year. Strong team orientation, organizational skills, and problem‐solving mindset.