Computational Discovery Scientist

Über den Job

 About Polaroid Therapeutics & Predict 4 IBD 

Polaroid Therapeutics is a Swiss-based biotech start-up in the development of innovative antimicrobial technology. Incubated and developed by Polaroid—the brand that pioneered the complex chemistry and technology behind analogue instant photography. Polaroid Therapeutics’ mission is to create human centric medical solutions based on its advancements in science and technology. Founded in 2022, PTx has developed APT™ (Antimicrobial Polymer Technology), a platform that enables controlled antimicrobial performance through structural design rather than chemical release. APT™ integrates proprietary polymer chemistry that can be adapted across multiple formats and clinical contexts, reflecting the company’s focus on responsible innovation, regulated evidence, and long-term antimicrobial resistance (AMR) stewardship. 

Predict4IBD (P4IBD) is a newly established division of Polaroid Therapeutics, dedicated to developing and commercialising diagnostic tests that will transform the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our mission is to harness advances across biology, computation and data analytics to deliver the next generation of precision diagnostics—enabling improved prediction of disease trajectory, treatment response and disease monitoring in IBD. We are a small, highly ambitious team working at the interface of cutting‑edge IBD science and clinical diagnostics. Joining P4IBD at this early, formative stage offers a unique opportunity to work closely with company leadership and to play a meaningful role in shaping the scientific direction and long‑term impact of the organisation. 

The Role 

As an early scientific hire, you will work closely with the Head of Predict4IBD to establish and develop the company’s discovery pipeline. The role centres on building robust, reproducible workflows to identify, access, and analyse IBD-relevant omics datasets, with the goal of generating novel biomarker candidates that support P4IBD’s intellectual property and product development strategy. 

You will also contribute to the company’s academic research partnerships, working with leading IBD research groups to plan studies, perform analyses and support the preparation of scientific reports and publications. Findings from your work will directly inform internal research priorities and the selection and scope of external collaborations. 

This is a highly autonomous role with end‑to‑end ownership of scientific projects, suited to a computational scientist who can drive analyses forward and translate results into clear, actionable outcomes for the business. 

Core Responsibilities 

• Identify, evaluate, and access omics datasets relevant to Predict4IBD’s biomarker discovery and development programmes 
• Design, implement, and maintain scalable, reproducible, version‑controlled analysis pipelines to support discovery‑stage biomarker identification. 
• Develop and apply machine‑learning–based frameworks to prioritise biomarker candidates across multiple datasets and relevant literature 
• Lead the analytical components of internal Predict4IBD biomarker studies and collaborative projects with academic and industry partners 
• Present analytical findings, prepare technical reports, and contribute to the preparation of scientific publications 
• Develop and maintain the initial Predict4IBD R&D computing environment, including cloud‑based infrastructure for computation, data storage, transfer, and backup 

Required Skills & Experience 

• PhD in bioinformatics, computational biology, systems biology, or a closely related field, or equivalent industry experience 
• Proficiency in Bash, Python, and/or R for data analysis and pipeline development 
• Demonstrated experience analysing omics datasets and translating results into scientific insight 
• Familiarity with major public bioinformatics repositories and associated data access processes 
• Strong grounding in statistical methods and concepts relevant to biomedical & omic data analyses, including statistical power, confounding, regression modelling, binary classification models, clustering and cross-validation 
• Experience with version control (e.g. Git) and reproducible research practices 
• Ability to work independently, manage priorities, and progress multiple analyses in parallel 

Advantageous Skills & Experience 

• Experience working in IBD, autoimmune, or other inflammatory disease areas 
• Experience in omics-based clinical biomarker development in large, heterogenous datasets 
• Hands-on proteomics data analysis experience e.g. MS, Olink, Somalogic, Nulisa 
• Publication record in clinical omics, systems biology or computational biology 
• Interest or exposure to biomedical product development 
• Experience using workflow managers (e.g. Nextflow, Snakemake, or equivalent) for validated and scalable pipeline implementation 
• Familiarity with cloud computing environments (e.g. AWS, Azure) and associated data governance practices 

What We Offer 

• An early scientific role at Predict4IBD, with significant responsibility for analytical outputs that directly inform IP strategy and partnership development in next‑generation IBD diagnostics 
• Exposure to the scientific, translational, and strategic aspects of building an early‑stage commercial diagnostics programme 
• Competitive remuneration and potential for remote working across European time zones 
• Opportunities to travel to scientific conferences and meetings with co-workers and partners 

Location & Practicalities 

• Full time, on-site or potential to be fully remote 
• CHF 50,000 - 60,000 gross salary per annum or currency equivalent 
• Start date: Q2 2026 (as early as possible)