Job Offer: Group Leader Systems Operations
The ETH Zurich technology platform NEXUS Personalized Health facilitates discovery and translational research in the field of personalized health. Our team provides a comprehensive range of expertise, including Clinical Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Software Engineering, Systems Operations, and Screening & Lab Automation.
About the Systems Operations Team
Systems Operations plays a crucial role in ensuring that the systems we develop run reliably within real-world research and clinical contexts. Currently comprised of five diverse members, our team encompasses various roles, from site reliability engineering to operational profiles involved in clinical study execution. As systems mature from development into active use, our group assumes operational priorities that arise across NEXUS.
Role Overview
As the Group Leader of Systems Operations, you will lead a dynamic and diverse team, defining how NEXUS operates its systems collaboratively with users and partners. Your contributions will establish clarity regarding responsibilities, minimize friction, and facilitate a predictable service delivery model that supports project success.
Key Responsibilities
- Team Leadership: Lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team with varying professional backgrounds and working styles.
- Operational Ownership: Ensure the reliable operation of internal and partner-facing systems, managing deployments, environments, access patterns, and daily stability.
- Transition and Lifecycle Management: Oversee the handover process from development to controlled testing phases, including acceptance criteria, documentation, and ownership boundaries.
- Regulated Execution: Coordinate work that demands regulatory awareness, certification, validated processes, and strict documentation, particularly in clinical study settings.
- Stakeholder Management: Proactively manage expectations, address conflicts early, and bridge the gap between technical realities and user needs to prevent misunderstandings.
- Service Delivery: Organize intake, triage, and prioritize across multiple demands, balancing urgency, risk, and value with transparent decision-making.
- Reliability Practices: Establish pragmatic standards for monitoring, backups, change management, and access control, ensuring ownership and predictability without requiring 24/7 on-call duties.
- Cross-Team Collaboration: Collaborate with Software Engineering, Clinical Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, and Screening & Lab Automation to ensure coherent end-to-end delivery.
- Process Improvement: Simplify and standardize processes to enhance efficiency without adding unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Resource Management: Plan capacity, priorities, and reporting for the group, managing an expanding portfolio of operational commitments.
Self-Assessment
You will excel in this role if you:
- Enjoy stabilizing and continuously improving systems over time, rather than solely focusing on new developments.
- Create clarity and reliability in complex stakeholder environments.
- Feel comfortable navigating difficult conversations and conflicts, resolving them constructively.
- Proactively clarify ownership and are willing to enforce it when necessary.
- Possess a blend of technical knowledge and people skills, coupled with strong execution capabilities.
- Take ownership of both team dynamics and service outcomes beyond just technical delivery.
- Appreciate the need for operational processes that reduce friction without introducing excess bureaucracy.
- Can collaborate effectively with a diverse range of profiles, from engineers to clinical operations and other non-technical stakeholders.
Qualifications
Non-Negotiables:
- Proven leadership experience in operations, platform engineering, site reliability, clinical operations, or similar roles with delivery responsibilities.
- Strong stakeholder management skills: align expectations, negotiate trade-offs, and resolve conflicts constructively.
- Experience operating systems or processes where reliability, documentation, and access control are crucial.
- Able to bridge communication between technical teams and users without overloading others with intricate technical details.
- Solid technical foundation to engage with engineers on deployment, environments, automation, and system reliability.
- Excellent communication skills in English.
Strongly Expected:
- Experience defining operating models, handover criteria, and service boundaries between teams.
- Comfort with structured documentation and traceability when context requires it.
Advantageous:
- Experience in healthcare, clinical research operations, or hospital environments.
- Familiarity with security-conscious deployments and pragmatic risk management.
- Knowledge of German.
What We Offer
At NEXUS, we value knowledge exchange and collaborative teamwork, where every member contributes their expertise. Our flat organizational structure promotes a can-do attitude, and we provide flexible working hours along with family-friendly work models. Additionally, you will find training opportunities and a fascinating field of work at the leading edge of translational research.
Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
Contact Information
For further information about NEXUS Personalized Health, please visit our website. Questions regarding the position may be directed to Daniel Stekhoven at stekhoven@nexus.ethz.ch or to David Meyer at meyer@nexus.ethz.ch. (Please note that no applications will be accepted through email).
For recruitment services, the General Terms and Conditions of ETH Zurich apply.