"Principal Scientist siRNA Design

Roche; Basel; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Roche is looking for a siRNA Design Principal Scientist to lead the therapeutic siRNA candidates design and optimization process across various disease targets. This role requires a Ph.D. with over 5 years of industry experience in siRNA therapeutic design, along with strong skills in molecular biology and bioinformatics.

The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in applying chemical modification patterns to enhance therapeutic profiles and excellent communication skills to translate complex scientific concepts for diverse audiences.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. with 5+ years of experience in siRNA/RNAi therapeutic design.
• Deep understanding of RNAi mechanisms and siRNA profiling.
• Proven track record enhancing therapeutic profiles through chemical modifications.

Responsibilities

• Lead drug design strategy for oligonucleotides, focusing on siRNAs.
• Guide projects to ensure design decisions meet clinical requirements.
• Invent chemical modification patterns and selection strategies for siRNAs.

Skills

Molecular Biology

Bioinformatics

SiRNA Therapeutic Design

Communication Skills

Chemical Modification Patterns

AI Collaboration

Education

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology or related field

Tools

Command-line utilities

Scripting languages

Job description

Position Overview

At Roche, the siRNA Design Principal Scientist will design and optimize therapeutic siRNA candidates across a range of disease targets, integrating computational and empirical approaches from target assessment through to lead optimization for clinical development.

Responsibilities

• Lead the drug design strategy for oligonucleotides with a focus on siRNAs, delivering proof of concept and full‑scale lead optimization.
• Guide projects holistically, ensuring early design decisions align with late‑stage clinical and manufacturing requirements.
• Invent new advanced chemical modification patterns and sequence selection strategies to optimize therapeutic properties of siRNAs.
• Collaborate with AI experts to develop, validate, and apply AI design solutions, providing ground‑truth biological data and domain expertise.
• Act as the RNAi subject‑matter expert in cross‑functional teams and disease‑area collaborations.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Biochemistry, or a related field with 5+ years of industry experience in siRNA/RNAi therapeutic design.
• Deep understanding of RNAi mechanism and siRNA therapeutic profiling.
• Proven track record applying chemical modification patterns of siRNA to enhance therapeutic profiles.
• Familiarity with biology‑data science interface; comfortable discussing parameters and data features with AI engineers; hands‑on experience with command‑line utilities and scripting languages for sequence analysis and data management.
• Team‑player mindset, able to communicate complex nucleic acid chemistry to non‑experts and integrate stakeholder feedback.
• Strategic thinking, balancing aggressive development timelines with meticulous attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of translating complex scientific concepts into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.