Founders Associate

Adaptyv Bio

Adaptyv is building an automated lab that lets AI agents run biology experiments. We're entering the era of agentic science where AI models can now design novel proteins, propose hypotheses, and iterate on experimental results. But they can't run the experiments themselves - that's still a manual, months-long process. We're building the infrastructure that gives AI agents access to the physical world. We are one of the fastest growing biotech companies, trusted by leading biopharmas, frontier AI labs, and the techbio companies pushing the field forward. This is a rare chance to help advance some of the most important work happening in biotech today. Our automated lab is powered by a deep software + hardware stack: lab instruments worth millions of USD reverse-engineered into API-controllable hardware, dozens of devices orchestrated through complex workflows, full observability on everything that happens in the lab, processing pipelines for messy physical-world data, and AI systems that troubleshoot production results and accelerate assay development. We’re growing rapidly and are hiring for talented people to scale and support the massive demand for AI-driven wet lab experimentation. ABOUT THE ROLE Adaptyv is growing fast. We are significantly expanding our lab this year, onboarding more and more customers every week, and building the systems needed to keep the company running smoothly as we scale. We are looking for a Business Operations Intern or Working Student to join our operations team in Lausanne. This is a hands-on generalist role where you will work directly with the founders and operations team on practical projects across the company. This role requires high agency and an entrepreneurial mindset. You should be comfortable switching between different types of work and taking ownership. WHAT YOU'LL DO * Use AI tools to improve workflows that are still too manual, messy, or slow * Help onboard new customers to our platform * Support finance administration * Coordinate with suppliers and service providers * Assist with lab expansion logistics related to our new lab in Lausanne * Support events, customer visits, and internal company coordination * Build lightweight tools and automations using Claude Code, Python, Notion, no-code tools, or whatever gets the job done WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR * Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a Bachelor's or Master's program. A background in biology is not a hard requirement. If you're coming from a different field, a genuine interest in the life sciences is important to us. * Entrepreneurial and self-directed. You spot problems before anyone asks and take action * Strong with AI tools, especially Claude Code or Codex. You use them to build real workflows, not just draft emails * Hands-on, organized, and reliable. You follow through, keep things tidy, and don't let things fall through the cracks * You thrive in a dynamic role where priorities can change quickly, and you are comfortable jumping between projects, responsibilities, and urgent operational needs DETAILS * Location: Lausanne, Switzerland (on-site) * Commitment: Minimum 3 months, minimum 16 hours per week (Working Student), or Full Time (Internship) * Start Date: ASAP Application deadline We are reviewing applicants on a rolling basis.

Adaptyv Bio

Adaptyv is building an automated lab that lets AI agents run biology experiments. We're entering the era of agentic science where AI models can now design novel proteins, propose hypotheses, and iterate on experimental results. But they can't run the experiments themselves - that's still a manual, months-long process. We're building the infrastructure that gives AI agents access to the physical world. We are one of the fastest growing biotech companies, trusted by leading biopharmas, frontier AI labs, and the techbio companies pushing the field forward. This is a rare chance to help advance some of the most important work happening in biotech today. Our automated lab is powered by a deep software + hardware stack: lab instruments worth millions of USD reverse-engineered into API-controllable hardware, dozens of devices orchestrated through complex workflows, full observability on everything that happens in the lab, processing pipelines for messy physical-world data, and AI systems that troubleshoot production results and accelerate assay development. We’re growing rapidly and are hiring for talented people to scale and support the massive demand for AI-driven wet lab experimentation. ABOUT THE ROLE We are going from roughly 25 people to roughly 50 in the next twelve months. We have close to 30 roles open right now, across protein scientists, lab automation engineers, backend and product engineers, ML people, and commercial. Hiring is currently run by the founders, on top of everything else the founders do. That is the single biggest thing standing between us and the company we're trying to build. This is the hire that fixes it, and we want to aim high with it. Not a recruiter who works a req list. Someone who owns talent as a function: what we hire for, how we assess it, how we pitch it, who does the recruiting, and what the org actually looks like on the other side of doubling. The hard part of this job is that our roles don't sit in one talent pool. In the same week you might be trying to find a protein biochemist who can read a sensorgram, an engineer who can make a liquid handler behave, and a backend engineer who has never touched biology. Those people read different signals, hang out in different places, and are sold with different pitches. You have to be able to hold all of that at once, and know which one you're talking to. We would love someone who can speak both languages well enough to spot exceptional people themselves. You don't need a PhD and you don't need to ship code. You do need enough real understanding of what our scientists and engineers actually do that you can tell the difference between someone who sounds impressive and someone who is. This is a Lausanne role. Most of the company is here, most of the people you'll hire will be here, and the job is much easier when you can walk over to a hiring manager and argue about a candidate in person. WHAT YOU'LL DO * Own hiring end to end. Define what we're hiring for with the team, write and post the roles, build the pipeline, run the process, and close people. * Build the recruiting team. As we scale, you'll hire and manage specialist recruiters, most likely a technical recruiter first. You'll be a player-coach for a long time before you're purely a manager. * Own the inbound pipeline. We get a lot of applicants and a real share of them are strong. Right now good people can get lost in the pile. Making that never happen is one of the most valuable things you can do here. * Run our work trials. A lot of our best hires come through paid work trials rather than interview loops. Scheduling them, matching them to the right people internally, and making them a great experience for the candidate is core to the job. * Make the pitch. You'll often be the first human a candidate talks to. You're selling the mission, and you should genuinely believe it. * Own Ashby and push it further. Our ATS is already wired into AI tooling: automated candidate scoring, assisted review, templated and scheduled candidate comms. You'll inherit that and be expected to make it better, not merely operate it. * Work with hiring managers across biology, software, automation, and commercial. Different teams, different bars, different definitions of good. You'll help each of them get sharper about what they actually need. * Build the parts of the org that hiring touches: leveling, compensation bands, interview structure, onboarding, and how we make offers. Fast and light, not corporate. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR * You've hired technical people at real depth, for several years, in a high-growth environment. You've owned searches that mattered and closed people who had other options. * You can talk to scientists and to engineers. You understand enough biology and enough software or lab automation to run a credible conversation, ask a sharp follow-up, and form your own view of someone's quality. This is the thing we care most about and the thing most recruiters cannot do. * You are not a mercenary. We are not looking for someone optimizing for placements or fee cycles. We want someone who cares about what we're building, who wants the company to be excellent in ten years, and who treats every hire as a long-term bet rather than a filled seat. * You use AI tools seriously. We run on Claude Code and similar tooling across the company, including in hiring. The best version of this person is automating their own pipeline, writing their own scripts against Ashby, and finding leverage the rest of us haven't thought of. If your instinct is that recruiting is purely a human craft that shouldn't be automated, we'll frustrate each other. * Self-starter, high autonomy. Nobody will hand you a prioritized req list. You'll figure out what's most broken, fix it, and tell us what you did. * Fast learner. You'll be dropped into unfamiliar technical domains constantly and expected to get to a useful level of understanding quickly. * Startup speed, not corporate process. Good candidates disappear in days. We'd rather move fast and occasionally be wrong than run a beautiful process that loses people. * Good taste in people, and the confidence to hold a bar. Part of this job is telling a founder that the person they liked isn't good enough. * Bonus: experience with the Swiss labor market, hiring in European biotech or deep tech, or building a talent function from nothing. WHAT THIS ROLE IS NOT * Not a coordinator role. You'll do scheduling when it needs doing, but if that's what you want to do all day, this will bore you. * Not a pure people or HR generalist role. Payroll, benefits, and Swiss employment admin exist and are mostly handled. Talent is the job. * Not an agency-style seat. You're not filling reqs handed down to you. You're deciding, with the founders, what we should be hiring for at all. WHY THIS ROLE IS INTERESTING Most talent leaders inherit a hiring machine and tune it. You'd be building one, at a company that is unusual enough to be genuinely fun to pitch: an automated lab that AI agents can run experiments in, used by the best pharma companies and the best AI labs in the world. The people you hire over the next two years will decide whether that works. There are not many jobs where the leverage is that direct. Application deadline We are reviewing applicants on a rolling basis.

Axle Energy

ABOUT US At Axle Energy, we’re building the infrastructure that will underpin the decarbonised energy system. Our software moves energy usage to times when electricity is cheap and green, by controlling vehicle charging, heating systems, and home batteries. We control hundreds of thousands of energy assets. We’re building in a legacy industry and moving gigawatt-hours of electrons in the real world, but we operate at lightning speed, and we’re growing the team to meet customer demand. We’re proud to be supported by world-leading investors, including Accel. Read more about what we’re building here. ABOUT THE ROLE This is a wide-ranging role that’ll require you to move at speed across diverse topics; in return, you’ll gain high levels of ownership and exposure. Example topics include: * entering new markets, from research & analysis to planning & delivery * helping our new and existing clients get the most out of our software * exploring and delivering on opportunities for growth in new verticals and customer segments This is a high-velocity, high-impact role. To succeed, you’ll need to learn quickly, act with purpose, and absorb & process highly technical information. You’ll need to be strong with data, and have a ‘run through walls’ attitude to overcome the inevitable barriers. WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU A meaningful slice of equity in Axle, alongside a competitive salary, with total compensation ranging from £75k–£200k (base salary + equity). We operate with a deliberately flat structure and aim to keep pay equitable across the company, with a 1:1 median ratio between founder and team compensation. Enhanced parental leave to support you through life's meaningful moments. Bi-annual retreats to strengthen team connection & shared purpose. Hybrid working - We have a dog-friendly office around Farringdon. To maximize collaboration, we ask that you spend 2-3 days a week in the office. The opportunity to directly shape the future of energy markets and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world. We are extremely keen to build a diverse company, and we’re particularly eager to hear from candidates who don't fit the traditional role stereotypes. If you’re motivated by our mission, please do reach out, even if you feel you might not ‘check all the boxes’. INTERVIEW PROCESS 1. Initial interview 2. Take-home exercise 3. Final interview (in-person) 4. Offer, references, and welcome to the team!