The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI is the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences within Switzerland. We perform cutting-edge research in the fields of future technologies, energy and climate, health innovation and fundamentals of nature. By performing fundamental and applied research, we work on sustainable solutions for major challenges facing society, science and economy. PSI is committed to the training of future generations. Therefore, about one quarter of our staff are post-docs, post-graduates or apprentices. Altogether, PSI employs 2300 people.

For the Group SDSC Hub at PSI we are looking for a

Senior Data Scientist

Apply online now

Your tasks

As a Senior Data Scientist at the Swiss Data Science Center, you will use your expertise in machine learning, statistics, computer vision, natural language processing, or related fields to help domain experts working in Earth and environmental science, physical and engineering sciences, biology, biotechnologies, personalized medicine and health, computational social science, economics, and more, to identify how to analyze or model their data, and to answer precise scientific questions or develop algorithms that perform automatically some challenging tasks.

This involves exchanging actively and regularly with the domain experts to understand the precise desiderata of the project in domain science terms, translating it in data science terms, determining which approaches and formulations are most effective to achieve the desired goals, implement the corresponding algorithms, perform the evaluations hand-in-hand with the domain experts, and eventually release open-source code and write research papers in the domain science with the domains expertise, and contribute to the communication of the results.

Main duties and responsibilities include:
  • Research with labs within the ETH Domain (EPFL, ETH Zurich, EMPA, EAWAG, PSI and WSL), and other research facilities at the national scale.

You will also help:
  • Advising MSc Students
  • Evaluating project proposals

Your profile

The ideal candidates are researchers with a PhD degree in machine learning or related field who have some experience working with concrete applied problems, keen on working in a data-driven way, and skilled at deriving useful insights from appropriate preliminary analyses of the data or determining why a particular model is not a good fit for the data considered and how it can be improved.

We are looking for multidisciplinary machine learners with sharp skills in one or more of the following fields:
  • Deep Learning
  • Bayesian Modeling
  • Computer Vision
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Reinforcement Learning
  • Statistics
  • Optimization
  • Signal Processing
We also expect that candidates are proficient in Python/R, Scala, C/C++.

We offer

The Swiss Data Science Center was founded through a strategic focus area of the ETH Board, and since 2025 has become a National Research Infrastructure. It has offices at EPFL, ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Our mission is to help academic teams and industries leverage data science and state-of-the-art machine learning in domains that are of strategic relevance for Switzerland. In other words, SDSC aims at bridging the gap between those who create data, those who develop data analytics and systems, and those who could potentially extract value from it. The center is composed of a large and diverse multi-disciplinary team. Click herefor more details on our academic research collaborations.

We offer:
  • A stimulating, cross-disciplinary environment
  • Opportunities for turning research into impactful solutions
  • Excellent ties to research groups worldwide
Our institution is based on an interdisciplinary, innovative and dynamic collaboration. You will profit from a systematic training on the job, in addition to personal development possibilities and our pronounced vocational training culture. If you wish to optimally combine work and family life or other personal interests, we are able to support you with our modern employment conditions and the on-site infrastructure.

This is a fixed-term position. The employment contract will initially be limited to 2 years.

For further information, please contact Dr Benjamin Bejar Haro, phone +41 56 310 30 68.

Please submit your application online by 30 June 2025 (including list of publications and addresses of referees) for the position as a Senior Data Scientist (Index-Nr. 7109-00).

Paul Scherrer Institute, Human Resources Management, René Gröbli, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland