Field Applications Scientist I, EMEA

Overview

Position: Field Applications Scientist I, EMEA

Position Type: Full-Time

Department: Scientific Support

Location: DACH region (Germany / Austria / Switzerland). Remote. Must be close to a major airport (within 50 kms).

Experience: MS required; 4+ years experience in a Field Applications role

Description

Watchmaker Genomics is an early-stage life science company based in Boulder, Colorado with a R&D facility in Cape Town, South Africa. Our team is passionate about innovation and values collaboration, creativity and scientific rigor. We believe the intersection of biology, engineering and computer science presents exciting opportunities for developing novel technologies that promote research and improve human health. Watchmaker Genomics specializes in the design, development and production of DNA- and RNA-modifying enzymes that enable high-growth applications in genomics, molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine.

Position Summary

Watchmaker Genomics (WMG) is inviting applications for the full-time position of Field Applications Scientist I, EMEA (remote) based in the DACH region.

This position reports to the Associate Director, Field and Automation Support and will be mainly responsible for providing field technical support for Watchmaker’s Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS) and precision enzyme product portfolios. This position will support the EMEA technical team by providing pre- and post-sales technical and scientific support, including presenting technical content to customers and distributors, co-travel with sales team members, attending and/or presenting at conferences and assisting with various marketing activities. This position is field based, with up to 75% travel within EMEA (potential for international travel outside EMEA).

Prior experience with providing field application support is required. The successful candidate will be self-motivated, proactive, and thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced working environment contributing directly to our company culture and success.

The position is expected to have a deep technical understanding of our current product portfolio, maintain knowledge of current and new NGS products, workflows-associated applications, competitor products and NGS automation support offerings, and identify and escalate changes in the market dynamics. This position is also accountable for providing customer feedback on WMG products, in addition to identifying unmet customer needs that will enable the development of new and innovative products.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for providing pre- and post-sales technical and scientific support, both onsite and remote, for customers and distributors across WMG’s NGS and precision enzyme product portfolio.
• EMEA-based travel (up to 75%) activities including co-travel with sales team members, meetings with key customers, providing training and troubleshooting, and participating in trade shows/conferences. Possible opportunity for further international travel.
• Provides deep product knowledge to solve customer challenges. Triages issues, troubleshoots investigations, and identifies solutions.
• Creation of training material, and presenting technical content to new or current customers or distributors.
• Inform and implement processes as a part of our EMEA-field based scientific support organization.
• Maintain expert-level knowledge of current and new NGS products and workflows, our precision enzyme portfolio and associated applications, competitor products and NGS automation support offerings.
• Provide customer and market feedback on WMG products; Identify and communicate unmet customer needs that will aid in the development of new and innovative products.
• Work closely with the commercial team to identify and support collaborations with leading research institutions and industry partners to accelerate the sales cycle, including both pre-sales and post-sales troubleshooting.
• Support marketing activities including generation of customer-facing technical content (i.e. posters, app/tech notes, white papers, webinars) as well as participating in and presenting at trade shows/conferences.
• Participate in sales, marketing, and product strategy meetings when appropriate.
• Follow best practices and documentation requirements for customer-related activities and events in CRM.
• Additional duties as required within the remit and responsibilities of the role.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Relevant experience providing field-based applications support for next-generation sequencing (NGS) experiments and/or other advanced genomics applications. Relevant experience includes working in high-throughput sequencing labs developing, optimizing and troubleshooting NGS workflows both manually and on automated platforms and managing large sequencing projects.

Qualified candidates will have a proactive approach with a can-do attitude, and be great communicators with a high level of self-motivation. Candidates will also have a strong desire to continually improve, learn and collaborate to help WMG stay at the forefront of exciting new applications spaces. Candidates will be able to demonstrate a high standard experience to our customer base, excel in the art of troubleshooting, and take ownership and pride in their work.

Candidates will have the courage to initiate discussions with customers to challenge the current "status quo" and have the confidence to drive change and adoption of new concepts. Full product training will be provided.

The following skills and experience are requirements for the position:

• MSc in Genetics, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or related field
• 4+ Years experience within NGS field applications
• Advanced knowledge of and practical experience with experimental design, applications/assay development, NGS library preparation, PCR, qPCR, good lab practices, and troubleshooting. Automation knowledge of NGS assays is a plus.
• Ability to travel up to 75% of time
• Strong customer consultative skills which includes application of scientific knowledge and analysis, exceptional customer engagement, and fostering of customer relationships
• High self-motivation and must have demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative team environment
• Experience with CRM software (particularly Salesforce.com) highly desirable
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Fluent in English (required), multiple languages is a plus (German, preferred)

Application Requirements

To apply for the position, please submit the following in a PDF format on watchmakergenomics.com:

• Letter of motivation (upload where it says cover letter)
• Resume or Curriculum vitae, highlighting relevant qualifications and experience

Applications without a Letter of Motivation will not be considered.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and the position will remain open until filled; however, early submission is encouraged as review will begin immediately.

If selected to participate in the interview process, the names and contact information of three professional references who are able to assess your suitability for the position in terms of the specified requirements will be requested.

*** NO RECRUITMENT AGENCIES PLEASE

We are only accepting direct applications for this position. We are not working with external recruiters or agencies at this time. Unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from third-party recruiters will not be considered and will be deemed the property of Watchmaker Genomics.