Director of Finance & Operations

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Location: Switzerland / Remote (strong preference for candidates based in or familiar with Swiss regulatory and business practices)

Start Date: As soon as possible. Ideally early to mid-July 2025.

Level: Mid-senior role with growth path to CFO & COO

At DeSci Labs, we’re on a mission to rebuild scientific publishing from the ground up. We believe the future of science is open, transparent, and decentralized. That’s why we’re developing the open-source infrastructure that will accelerate scientific progress—powered by Web3 and AI.

Founded in Switzerland in 2021 by scientists and engineers, DeSci Labs was the first to build a fully open-access scientific publishing platform on Web3: DeSci Publish. To date, we’ve raised over $8 million in funding and are preparing for an upcoming token launch designed to shift ownership of scientific infrastructure to the global research community.

What We’re Building

• DeSci Publish: A revolutionary preprint network where manuscripts, data, and code coexist. It offers AI-powered analytics, an AI research assistant, version control, validated badges, and automatic submission tools. This summer, we are launching decentralized journals—eliminating paywalls and publication fees.
• CODEX (Collaborative Data Exchange): An open scholarly protocol designed to create a persistent, collaborative scientific record. It ensures research artifacts are securely stored, universally accessible, and transparently validated.
• Web3 Incentives: A token economy that rewards authors, journals, and reviewers for high-quality contributions, redistributing wealth from commercial publishers to the scientists who advance the creation of knowledge.

Our Culture

We are a fully remote team spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. Our values—truth-seeking, openness, fairness, and bravery—shape everything we do.

The Role: Director of Finance & Operations

We’re looking for a Director of Finance & Operations to join our leadership team and drive our next phase of growth. You will take ownership of critical financial and operational functions across both DeSci Labs (Swiss for-profit startup) and the DeSci Foundation (Swiss non-profit).

This is a cross-functional role with exposure to (crypto) finance, startup operations, Swiss & EU compliance, and the Web3 ecosystem —with a clear path to evolve into CFO/COO as we grow.

• Own the financial infrastructure across multiple legal entities (Labs and Foundation), incl. budget planning, monthly controlling, and liquidity management (fiat & crypto).
• Collaborate with our Swiss accounting partner to oversee bookkeeping, tax filings, payroll processing, and annual financial statements.
• Execute monthly payments, manage bank accounts, ensure compliance of our internal regulations (e.g. expenses).
• Prepare and distribute the monthly investor reporting, including tracking and presenting key company and product KPIs.
• Oversee reporting and cash planning across government grants.
• Support fundraising processes and token-related planning.
• Manage HR operations (contracts, ESOP, absence tracking etc.).
• Oversee legal and compliance topics, incl. contract drafting, signing flows, and organizational governance for both entities.
• Lead operational processes for board meetings, shareholder assemblies, and investor updates.
• Serve as point of contact for service providers (legal, accounting, HR tech).
• Work closely with the CEO and CTO on executive-level decisions and company strategy.
• Help structure workflows and introduce scalable tools and processes to improve team collaboration and efficiency.
• Support the DeSci Foundation in its operational and financial setup, especially as it prepares for more active grant-making and token treasury management.
• Play a key role in token launch execution, including internal coordination, partner selection, and organizing the token launch.

What We’re Looking For

• 3–5 years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, or operations—ideally in a VC-backed startup or crypto/Web3 environment.
• Background in Business, Finance, Accounting, or Economics; Master’s degree preferred.
• Familiarity with Swiss business practices (e.g., accounting rules, payroll, tax law) is a strong plus.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work independently across multiple areas.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to work hands-on in a fast-moving, remote startup environment.
• Fluent in English and German
• Experience with multi-entity setups, crypto finance, or foundation governance is a bonus.

Why Join Us?

• Play a pivotal leadership role at the intersection of crypto, science, and public infrastructure.
• Join a mission-driven team building the future of knowledge exchange.
• Remote-first culture with flexibility and autonomy.
• Competitive salary and token participation.
• Annual global retreats in inspiring locations.
• Generous IT allowance and travel support for business needs.
• Opportunities for rapid professional growth and a clear path to CFO or COO as we scale.

How to Apply:

Ready to help us revolutionize science?

Apply here with your resume and a motivation letter: https://airtable.com/app9nuFESQO6AyL6E/shrMArs1w1omTXrLD

Let’s get science back on track—together.

Important: To confirm you’ve read the full job post, please include the keyword “SwissOps2025” in the application form where asked.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Director

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Finance and Sales

• Industries

  Software Development

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