The ETH Zurich technology platform NEXUS Personalized Health enables discovery and translational research for personalized health. We offer a broad range of expertise across Clinical Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Software Engineering, Systems Operations, and Screening & Lab Automation.
Systems Operations bridges the gap between building systems and making them run reliably in real-world research and clinical contexts. The team currently has 5 members and is intentionally diverse, spanning roles such as site reliability engineering as well as operational profiles involved in clinical study execution. The group typically takes over work as systems mature from development into real-world use, and it also picks up operational priorities that arise across NEXUS.
As Group Leader Systems Operations, you lead a diverse team and define how NEXUS operates systems for itself and together with users and partners. You create clarity across responsibilities, reduce friction, and establish predictable service delivery that enables projects to succeed in practice.
Team leadership: lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team with different professional backgrounds and ways of working.
Operational ownership: take responsibility for the reliable operation of internal and partner-facing systems within an agreed scope, including deployments, environments, access patterns, and day-to-day stability.
Transition and lifecycle management: define and run handovers from development into controlled test phases and longer-running operation, including acceptance criteria, documentation, and ownership boundaries.
Regulated and structured execution: coordinate work that requires regulatory awareness, certification constraints, validated processes, or strict documentation, for example in clinical study settings.
Stakeholder and expectation management: proactively manage expectations, resolve conflicts early, and translate between technical realities and user needs, preventing misunderstandings from turning into escalations.
Service delivery and prioritization: run intake, triage, and prioritization across multiple parallel demands, balancing urgency, risk, and value with transparent decision-making.
Reliability practices: establish pragmatic standards for monitoring, backups, change management, and access control. This role does not require on-call, but it does require ownership and predictability.
Cross-team collaboration: work closely with Software Engineering, Clinical Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, and Screening & Lab Automation to keep end-to-end delivery coherent.
Process improvement: simplify and standardize where it helps, without creating bureaucracy.
Resource management: plan capacity, priorities, and reporting for the group across a growing portfolio of operational commitments.
Quick Self-Check
You will thrive in this role if:
You enjoy stabilising, operating, and continuously improving systems over time - not just building greenfield solutions.
You create clarity, calm, and reliability in complex stakeholder environments.
You are comfortable navigating difficult conversations, conflict, and escalation, and can resolve them constructively.
You proactively clarify ownership and are willing to define and enforce it when needed.
You combine technical depth with strong people skills and structured execution.
You enjoy leading with responsibility for both people and service outcomes, not just technical delivery.
You like building operational processes that reduce friction without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy.
You are comfortable working across diverse profiles, from engineers to clinical operations and other non-technical stakeholders.
Profile Non-Negotiables:
Proven leadership experience in operations, platform engineering, site reliability, clinical operations, or comparable roles with delivery responsibility.
Strong stakeholder skills: align expectations, negotiate trade-offs, resolve conflicts constructively.
Experience running systems or operational processes in environments where reliability, documentation, and access control matter.
Ability to translate between technical teams and users without overloading others with technical detail.
Solid technical foundation to engage with engineers on deployment, environments, automation, and system reliability.
Excellent communication skills in English.
Strongly Expected:
Experience defining operating models, handover criteria, and service boundaries between teams.
Comfort with structured documentation and traceability when required by context.
Advantageous:
Experience in healthcare, clinical research operations, or hospital environments.
Familiarity with security-conscious deployments and pragmatic risk management.
Knowledge of German.
Workplace We offer At NEXUS we value knowledge exchange and working together as a team, where everyone brings in their own expertise
We have flat hierarchies and a can-do attitude. We offer flexible working hours and family-friendly working models, training opportunities, and a broad and exciting field of work at the cutting edge of translational research
In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us – we are consistently working towards a climate-neutral future. Curious? So are we. We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents:
Cover letter (please include 1–2 examples where you took over systems/processes into reliable operation, and one example of a conflict or expectation misalignment you resolved constructively)
CV
Reference letter(s) and contact details of referees
Copies of relevant diplomas and certificates
Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.
ETH Zurich is one of the world’s leading universities specialising inscience and technology. We are renowned for our excellent education,cutting-edge fundamental research and direct transfer of new knowledgeinto society. Over 30,000 people from more than 120 countries find ouruniversity to be a place that promotes independent thinking and anenvironment that inspires excellence. Located in the heart of Europe,yet forging connections all over the world, we work together todevelop solutions for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.
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