Molecular Geneticist (m/f/d) (80-100%)
Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Employment: Contract for 3 years with the option to convert to permanent employment based on excellent performance.
The Swiss Plant Breeding Center (SPBC) is seeking an experienced and versatile Molecular Geneticist. In this role, you will establish and optimize lab methodology for translating genomic data into actionable insights and serve as the bridge between laboratory analyses and breeding decisions at Swiss private and public breeding organizations. Your primary objective will be to leverage genomics to accelerate the development of resilient and high-quality crop varieties that are well-adapted to Switzerland. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of the SPBC and make a positive impact on the Swiss agriculture and food system.
Key Responsibilities
- Support molecular plant breeding and resistance screenings for biotic and abiotic stresses across multiple crops to drive breeding program success and increase genetic gain.
- Molecular Marker Development: Design cost-efficient markers and validation experiments with breeders to facilitate routine marker-assisted selection in breeding pipelines.
- Lab Infrastructure: Design and maintain efficient lab workflows, including scoping and acquiring specialized lab equipment.
- Lab Management and Reporting: Design and execute complex experiments, ensuring all protocols meet stringent quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) standards. Prepare detailed technical reports and standard operating procedures.
- Genomic Analysis: Perform high-throughput DNA extraction and sequencing (NGS), PCR, and genotyping analysis with fast turnarounds.
- Bioinformatics: Build and maintain automated bioinformatics pipelines for processing genomic data, such as high-throughput genotyping (SNP Chips, KASP) and genome sequencing (targeted approaches, WGS, RNA-Seq), including creating genome assemblies.
- Stakeholder Engagement and Training: Effectively communicate with stakeholders and provide training to others.
- Innovation: Stay at the forefront of genetic technology (e.g., cost-effective genotyping, sequencing) to enhance internal methodologies.
- Decision Support: Translate complex genomic data into actionable insights for breeding decisions.
Who You Are
- You enjoy lab work, developing, and optimizing innovative methods and tools to solve practical scientific challenges in diverse plant species within a complex network of breeding organizations.
- You are an effective communicator who can interact with a wide variety of stakeholders.
- You are motivated by applying new technologies and methods in practical breeding programs and understand that publishing papers is not the primary emphasis for this role.
- You enjoy developing efficient lab processes and workflows that can be routinely applied.
- You have a willingness to share your expertise freely and openly.
- You thrive in a small team environment where collaboration and support are paramount.
Technical Requirements
- Education: PhD (or MSc with >6 years of experience) in Molecular Genetics, Molecular Biology, Molecular Plant Breeding, Bioinformatics, or a related field.
- Laboratory Management: Broad knowledge of efficient laboratory workflows and the ability to coordinate lab equipment acquisition, with experience in good laboratory practice, lab information management software (LIMS), and leading a laboratory team.
- Genomics: Experience in generating sequencing libraries, genome assembly, alignment, and variant calling, along with expertise in molecular cloning, primer design, and cell culture.
- Marker Design: Experience in designing genetic markers to enable marker-assisted selection for important traits.
- Scientific Computing: Experience with R and high-performance computing (HPC), including Linux environments and cloud computing (AWS/GCP).
- Languages: Proficient in English and German or French.
The Swiss Plant Breeding Center (SPBC) is an independent competence and innovation center for plant breeding in Switzerland, supported by the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). Its aim is to strengthen Swiss plant breeding and increase breeding efficiency. The SPBC connects various breeding and research players and facilitates the transfer of research outcomes into practical breeding programs. We provide breeders with technical support, expertise, and services tailored to their needs across all crop types, cultivating systems, and methods.
Our competencies include molecular genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, quantitative genetics, data analytics, trial design, breeding program design, and digital phenotyping. We focus on enabling breeding organizations to translate research findings into routine applications.
Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.