Life Science Catalyst

If you want to shape, grow and structure offers for young innovators in the field of life science and biology, this is a great opportunity for you!

At the ETH Student Project House we inspire and empower students to cultivate a maker and innovator mindset. We believe that by exploring their ideas and developing their own projects, students gain valuable hands-on experience and learn important skills for their future. This is why we’ve created an ecosystem where students are encouraged to explore and ideate, as well as build, test, and refine their prototypes.

Our interdisciplinary team of thirty people supports students with the tools and know-how to explore their passion and create their project. We have a well equipped Makerspace with tools and equipment to prototype. To take projects to the next level, we have a co-working space, a laboratory and we offer coaching. We want to accompany students on their journey by inspiring them to get started, seek diverse views, explore the real need behind an idea, work as a team, think big, learn to fail, pivot, and to be able to overcome whatever obstacles they may encounter on the way.

Application Deadline: please apply until Sunday 02.02.2025, 23:59.

With our continued growth, we’re seeking a person to scale up our offering in the Life Science Lab. We offer an exciting opportunity where you will play a central role in the continued success of the SPH and have a positive impact on the lives of many of our students.

You’ll work in one of the most inspiring spaces at ETH Zürich:

• We’re located at ETH Zentrum and at ETH Hönggerberg campus. As our laboratory is located at ETH Hönggerberg you will work a large part of the week there.
• We work in the same open space as our students and meet with everyone at eye level. The individuals we work with come from a wide range of backgrounds, therefore we communicate primarily in English. 
• You’ll be part of the Life Science Lab, a unit with currently three people. This team has been building and developing an offer to support students’ life science projects, with lab space, equipment, scientific support, and coaching.

Together, we support student projects, in the fields of innovation and personal growth. You focus on developing and scaling the Life Science Lab. Your tasks are:

• Scaling and managing processes: Scale up and manage our newly developed laboratory offering. After a successful pilot, we are now implementing it as a core offer. Together with the team you grow the number of student projects that are active in the laboratory and set up the corresponding processes to ensure they run smoothly. You also track all necessary data.
• Designing and implementing new offerings: Identify students’ needs and create content which attracts students, e.g. design and moderate workshops for new technology or introductions to the equipment. You connect the life science offer with the overall SPH vision and mission.
• Lab work supervision and guidance: You supervise and guide students in the lab using all sorts of equipment and ensure laboratory safety. You also help them advance their projects. As the students have more time after their lectures, this may also be in the evenings.
• Community building: You build a great life science community. You identify relevant external events and stakeholders and build a community around the topic of life science. Together with our Marketing Manager, you identify marketing channels and promote the offer. 

You combine a science background with experience in the innovation world. You balance creativity and enthusiasm with love for details and structure while enjoying working with students at eye-level:

• You have a scientific background: neuroscience, chemistry, environmental engineering, plant science, sensory scientist, process engineer or something similar.
• You hold a Master degree or PhD, ideally from ETH Zurich.
• You have previous laboratory experience and feel comfortable supervising students.
• You have at least 3 years work experience in the field of life science and innovation. In the startup or innovation world you were e.g. a founder, a team lead, a manager, a coach, a consultant, a scientist or a product developer.
• You have good management skills and can make sure that our service offers and processes are streamlined, clear, and can be further scaled to meet the needs of 100+ students per year.
• You enjoy working with students and you’re passionate about supporting them to grow their maker and innovator mindset.
• You speak fluent English and ideally German.

A note: research indicates that women and individuals from marginalized groups tend to apply only when they meet all of the criteria. If you believe you’re qualified, but don’t necessarily check every box, please submit an application.

We offer a 1-year contract with the possibility to prolong the contract. Fixed-term contracts are the standard at ETH, however the position is financially secured in the long run.

ETH Zurich is a family-friendly employer with excellent working conditions. You can look forward to an exciting working environment, cultural diversity and attractive offers and benefits.

We believe in personal growth. For that we do regular team feedback sessions and value everyone's opinion. We find the best solutions through diversity.