Senior Computational Microbiologist - PFAS Genomics & AI

CellX Biosolutions AG; Schlieren; On-site; CHF 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock option package

Startup culture

Competitive salary

Job summary

CellX Biosolutions AG, based in Schlieren, seeks a Senior Computational Microbiologist to build and lead an in-house computational microbiology capability. You will model PFAS degradation, design metabolic models, and guide synthetic communities while collaborating closely with wet-lab teams.

The role is 100% onsite, with leadership responsibilities and a fast-moving startup environment. You will supervise a Laboratory Technician and translate computational insights into experiments, ensuring

Qualifications

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Microbial Genomics, or a related field.
• Senior-level experience (typically 5+ years) in microbiology research, combining computational and experimental work.
• Strong programming skills (and/or R) and experience with workflow managers (e.g. Nextflow, Snakemake).
• Hands-on experience applying AI/ML methods to biological or genomic data (e.g. function prediction, genome mining, metabolic modeling).
• Excellent English skills (C1 or higher).

Responsibilities

• Supervise and mentor Laboratory Technician, coordinating wet-lab, cultivation, and sequencing workflows.
• Set priorities and quality standards for sample preparation, sequencing, and data handover between wet lab and bioinformatics.
• Design, build, and maintain an in-house bioinformatics pipeline covering genome assembly, annotation, and comparative genomics.
• Evaluate and integrate tools and methods, including AI/ML approaches, for genome mining and functional annotation.
• Establish a metabolic-level understanding of PFAS degradation and build genome-scale metabolic models.
• Design and run experiments to validate predicted degradation genes and pathways; develop genetic tools for non-model bacteria.
• Design and implement models to predict strain performance and guide synthetic community design.
• Collaborate with R&D and monitor strains in pilot and field deployments; contribute to regulatory documentation.

Skills

Programming skills

AI/ML experience

Supervising/Mentoring

English proficiency

Education

PhD in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology/Microbial Genomics

Tools

Nextflow

Snakemake

R

Python

Illumina/Oxford Nanopore/PacBio data processing

Job description

CellX Biosolutions AG, based in Schlieren, seeks a Senior Computational Microbiologist to build and lead an in-house computational microbiology capability. You will model PFAS degradation, design metabolic models, and guide synthetic communities while collaborating closely with wet-lab teams.

The role is 100% onsite, with leadership responsibilities and a fast-moving startup environment. You will supervise a Laboratory Technician and translate computational insights into experiments, ensuring