Laboratory Head in Neuromuscular Disease

In Roche’s Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development organization (pRED), we make transformative medicines for patients in order to tackle some of the world’s toughest unmet healthcare needs. At pRED, we are united by our mission to transform science into medicines. Together, we create a culture defined by curiosity, responsibility and humility, where our talented people are empowered and inspired to bring forward extraordinary life-changing innovation at speed.

We are seeking a Laboratory Head to lead a Neuromuscular Research Group in the Neurotechnologies section within the Neuroscience and Rare Disease (NRD) therapeutic area. The primary focus of the section is on implementing and using novel delivery and RNA/DNA modifying techniques, as well as establishing suitable muscle disease models to develop therapeutics for some of the most challenging neuromuscular disorders. Our section works closely with other sections and groups within NRD as well as laboratories within our Therapeutic Modalities and Pharmaceutical Sciences groups and Data & Analytics to convert hypotheses into innovative therapeutics.

We are offering an outstanding opportunity to lead a lab whose primary focus will be to establish in vitro models of muscle and neuromuscular diseases to better understand pathologies, test compounds, develop biomarkers, and suggest new therapeutic avenues.

With a deep knowledge and experience in muscular and/or neuromuscular dystrophies, you will establish a new R&D working group in an exciting and fast-progressing therapeutic area. You will develop new therapeutic strategies and manage research programs in neuromuscular disorders. You will be responsible for applying scientific expertise and judgment to initiate, design, direct, and execute experiments and/or studies in support of research and/or development project goals in a time sensitive manner. You will have tremendous resources and capabilities, and you will be surrounded by world-class scientists and drug hunters in a state-of-the-art new building located at the pRED center in Basel. 

Your key responsibilities

You are leading an effective team of Scientists and Associates to generate models of neuromuscular and muscular dystrophies. You are bringing deep scientific expertise about neuromuscular and/or muscular pathologies, respective disease models, and an overview on therapeutic approaches in the preclinical and clinical space. You possess hands-on experience in patient-derived cellular as well as physiological models.

You implement cellular research models with endpoints that support understanding of patient disease and biomarkers. You are leading drug discovery projects and ensure successful translation of pre-clinical programs to a clinical setting. You have experience in preparing high quality documents including technical reports, presentations, SOPs, and experimental protocols. Experience in regulatory filings is a plus.

You act as an impactful contributor and/or leader of project teams and seminal initiatives. You foster creativity, productivity, execution with a sense of urgency, teamwork, accountability, cross-functional collaboration, and employee growth and development.

You completed a PhD or MD/PhD in science and bring a minimum of 8 yrs solid research experience (after your PhD) in the muscle biology or neuromuscular field.

You bring a proven scientific-track record through impactful publications in the field of muscle biology or neuromuscular disease, patents, or substantial contributions to drug development programs. Experience in drug development is a clear asset for the role.

You are a rigorous scientist with a strong expertise in cell-based and animal models of neuromuscular disease, including a solid grasp on the literature of disease mechanism and treatment avenues.

You are someone who is driven by the desire to find therapeutics for some of the most devastating disorders.

You possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enjoy teamwork, diligence and efficiency. You showed your capability to lead an independent research team. You are a kind and influential team leader and a trusted and knowledgeable colleague. You possess the flexibility to rapidly change priorities and deadlines and the ability to lead others through change in a dynamic, fast paced industry and work environment.

Working in a multicultural environment motivates you.

Roche commits to recognising talent and aptitude. We prioritise encouraging and supporting our employees on their personal journeys by providing a safe, creative space to help them reflect, make decisions and grow in their career.

We are confident that we find the most innovative solutions by gaining different perspectives, asking and answering hard questions, and challenging the status quo. Roche embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious yet enthusiastic way; we are devoted to building a team that represents a range of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

At Roche, more than 100,000 people across 100 countries are pushing back the frontiers of healthcare. Working together, we’ve become one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups. Our success is built on innovation, curiosity and diversity.

Basel is the headquarters of the Roche Group and one of its most important centres of pharmaceutical research. Over 10,700 employees from over 100 countries come together at our Basel/Kaiseraugst site, which is one of Roche`s largest sites. Read more.

Besides extensive development and training opportunities, we offer flexible working options, 18 weeks of maternity leave and 10 weeks of gender independent partnership leave. Our employees also benefit from multiple services on site such as child-care facilities, medical services, restaurants and cafeterias, as well as various employee events.

We believe in the power of diversity and inclusion, and strive to identify and create opportunities that enable all people to bring their unique selves to Roche.

Roche is an Equal Opportunity Employer.