Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow in 3D-Electron Diffraction (3D-ED)

As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, you will join Global Discovery Chemistry (GDC) in Basel and pursue an innovative research project at the forefront of biomedical science and drug discovery. You will work alongside leading scientists in a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary environment while gaining exposure to the broader ecosystem that translates scientific discovery into medicines. Our fellows are empowered to ask bold scientific questions, apply cutting‑edge technologies, and develop approaches that have the potential to transform patient care. Research Opportunity: Crystal structure determination plays a critical role in modern drug discovery and development, supporting molecular design, stereochemical assignment, solid‑form characterisation, and regulatory submissions. However, many pharmaceutical compounds crystallise only as nanocrystals or highly heterogeneous materials, placing them beyond the reach of single‑crystal X‑ray diffraction, which relies on sufficiently large crystals. This postdoctoral project aims to advance and expand the application of 3D‑Electron Diffraction (3D‑ED/MicroED) at Novartis and offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the future development of crystallographic methods for challenging pharmaceutical compounds. The Fellow will develop and apply innovative experimental and computational approaches for structure determination, stereochemical assignment, and solid‑form characterisation, working at the interface of crystallography and pharmaceutical research. Based in the Diffraction Lab in GDC in Basel, the Fellow will collaborate closely with experts in structural and materials science and computational chemistry, contributing to establish next‑generation structural characterisation capabilities and accelerate decision‑making across drug discovery and development at Novartis. Why Join the Program? The Novartis Biomedical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is designed to develop the next generation of scientific leaders, powering the future of medicine, through rigorous research, and immersive learning experiences, such as implementation of AI tools in biomedical research. Postdoctoral Research Fellows benefit from guidance from accomplished scientific leaders and subject matter experts, access to advanced technologies, platforms, and research capabilities, collaboration across disciplines and organizational boundaries, a global and diverse community of postdoctoral fellows, dedicated programming designed to help fellows thrive throughout their careers, and personalized experiential learning opportunities through a Postdoc Practicum. This is a full‑time training position of up to three years in duration. Reimagining Medicine Together: Novartis’s purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. Key Responsibilities include bringing scientific expertise and curiosity to advance the use of 3D‑ED, developing criteria and best practices for analysis of pharmaceutical compounds by 3D‑ED, implementing and advancing 3D‑ED methodologies to stereochemical assignment, polymorphism, and solid‑form characterisation, driving innovation in 3D‑ED data analysis, applying 3D‑ED to generate structural insights that support projects across Research, Development and Commercial departments, supporting integration of 3D‑ED into established crystallography workflows, and communicating research findings. Essential Requirements: PhD in a relevant scientific discipline, demonstrated record of scientific achievement, strong commitment to learning and innovation, solid background in crystallography, expertise in 3D‑ED and single‑crystal X‑ray diffraction, ability to independently collect and analyse 3D‑ED data, expertise in SHELXL and/or Jana, experience handling complex crystal structures, collaborative team player with excellent communication skills. Desirable Requirements: experience with 3D‑ED dynamical refinement using Jana, powder X‑ray diffraction, and programming in Python or C/C++.