Rna Biologist

**The Life Science Career Network**

Our client, a pioneer in Drug Discovery and Development and a leader in Personalized Healthcare, stands at the forefront of innovation. As the world's largest R&D spender in the pharmaceutical and diagnostics domain, they operate across a wide spectrum of drug discovery and therapeutic areas, earning global recognition.

We are currently seeking an **RNA Biologist - Bioinformatician** to join their headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, on an 18-month contract with high chances of extension. The position is situated within the RNA Technologies Group, focusing on building and developing novel therapeutic approaches in the gene therapy space using high-throughput and next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods.

**Main Responsibilities**:

- Bring deep scientific RNA and computational biology expertise as a key member of project teams.
- Develop in silico and/or wet lab technologies to design, screen, and analyze genetically encoded transgenes with various modes of actions, such as splice modification, RNA knockdown, RNA and DNA editing, and tunable transgene expression.
- Facilitate understanding of RNA (sequence and structure-based) as a target and as a therapeutic modality (shRNA, gRNA, ribozymes, etc.) for viral and non-viral gene therapies.
- Generate ideas for innovative ways to modulate gene expression and test novel therapeutic mechanisms.
- Develop trusting relationships and effective collaboration with internal and external partners.
- Have strong oral and written communication skills, and proficiency in working with cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams.

**Qualifications and Experience**:

- Must possess a relevant Swiss working/residency permit or Swiss/EU-Citizenship.
- PhD in molecular biology, genetics/genomics, computational biology, or related fields.
- Deep expertise in RNA biology and/or synthetic biology, ideally in the field of gene therapy and RNA therapeutics.
- Strong experience with in silico design of genetic elements and expression cassettes, coupled with bioinformatics analysis of high-throughput screening and NGS datasets.
- Proven scientific track record through impactful publications in relevant fields, patents, or substantial contributions to drug development programs.
- Proficiency in using Python and R/Bioconductor.
- Experience in bash scripting and working in Linux and HPC environments.
- Proficiency in data analysis and machine learning techniques (clustering, generalized linear models, data visualization, data mining, and reporting, generative AI).