Join Syngenta Crop Protection as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Cheminformatics Data Science

Company Description

As a global leader in crop protection, Syngenta Crop Protection plays a crucial role in helping farmers combat threats to crops, ensuring the availability of safe, nutritious, and affordable food for all. Our mission is to minimize the use of land and other agricultural inputs while safeguarding plants from seed to harvest. Headquartered in Switzerland, we specialize in protecting crops from weeds, pests, diseases, and extreme weather conditions.

Job Description

Syngenta is currently offering a 2-year fixed-term Postdoctoral Fellowship in our chemistry department, located in Stein AG, Switzerland. This is an excellent opportunity to develop new skills while contributing to cutting-edge science and innovation. At Syngenta, your work will have a meaningful impact, and we are dedicated to nurturing the talents of today and tomorrow.

We are looking for a dynamic individual to enhance our High-Throughput Experimentation (HTE) platform through the integration of advanced experimental design algorithms into our software platform. Key responsibilities include:

• Conducting a comprehensive analysis of existing methodologies for experimental design, including Bayesian approaches, and summarizing their features.
• Developing a robust Python package that integrates relevant algorithms with our internal data management software.
• Utilizing large-scale chemical reaction datasets to create machine learning algorithms for optimized experimental design.
• Establishing customizable, on-demand machine learning models for reaction optimization.
• Creating intuitive graphical user interfaces for easy result interpretation by end-users.

In this role, you will collaborate closely with automation scientists and chemists, continuously improving the platform through iterative feedback. You will be part of a diverse team of chemists and computer scientists with extensive knowledge in cheminformatics and software development. Syngenta promotes open-source software development and encourages the public sharing of collaborative achievements.

Qualifications

• PhD in cheminformatics or machine learning.
• Proven experience in chemical informatics, algorithms, and/or software design.
• Working knowledge and application of statistics and data modeling to large-scale life sciences data.
• Strong expertise in chemical informatics, including the manipulation of chemical structure information and representations (ideally using RDKit).
• Solid understanding of chemical concepts, including structure, reactivity, and properties.
• Proficiency in Python programming.
• Familiarity with machine learning techniques and data visualization skills.
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English.
• Self-motivated, effective communicator, and able to drive insights into actionable results.

What We Offer

• Contribution to valuable and impactful work within a stimulating environment.
• Collaboration with interdisciplinary teams.
• An excellent working environment at our Global Research Center in Stein.
• Commitment to scientific and technical excellence, with ongoing professional development.
• Access to state-of-the-art tools and professional infrastructure.

If you're interested, we invite you to submit your online application with a 2-5 page Research Summary. Note that applications without a Research Summary will not be considered.

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to non-discriminatory practices in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, and other employment activities. We promote work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements.

Additional Information

Company Name: Syngenta Group

Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellow (m/f/d) Cheminformatics Data Scientist – 2 years