Senior Bioengineer, Vienna
Parallel Bio · Vienna
The Mission
Drug discovery has a translation problem: more than 95% of drugs that succeed in animal models fail in humans. We're building the alternative: human-first drug discovery, powered by organoids and AI, running on real human biology from the very first experiment.
Our platform is 87% concordant with clinical patient data - a vast improvement over the 3% translational success rate of animals. We’ve demonstrated the ability to model immunotoxicology, immunogen stimulation, and two autoimmune diseases with more on the way. Numerous pharma partners including 3 Fortune 500 companies are already using the platform. We've raised ~$30M from AIX Ventures, Marc Benioff, Jeff Dean, and Y Combinator. With the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 and the FDA's March 2026 validation framework, the regulatory tailwinds only continue to get stronger.
The opportunity ahead of the company is generational: build the first scaled engine for generating real human biological data, and use it to fundamentally change how medicines are discovered.
The Role
Note to candidates: the list below describes a strong profile, not a set of hard requirements. If you do not match every point but believe you are a strong candidate, please apply.
Our platform runs high-throughput immune organoid experiments to accelerate the development of new therapeutics. Building the next generation of models means building the culture formats they run in: the architecture of the construct, the hardware that holds it, and how separate compartments are brought into contact.
There is no established answer to any of that. The approach will be arrived at through successive prototypes rather than selected off the shelf, and setting the technical direction and the standard for what a finished format looks like is part of the role.
The work is done in close partnership with the assay development and platform teams across sites, so that what is built at the bench holds up when it becomes a process running at throughput. Breadth of immunological background matters more here than depth in any single indication, since the work will span disease areas as the platform develops.
The high-level goals for this role are fourfold:
Advance the architecture and performance of our organoid models, including new approaches to integrating immune cells into tissue constructs.
Design the physical formats that multi-organoid systems will need, including plate architecture, how organoids are nested, and whether and how they are allowed to interact.
Develop co-culture systems that combine immune organoids with other tissues to support disease modeling across multiple indications.
Bring bench-level automation into routine culture work, from custom culture hardware through to automated media handling.
This is a hands-on role with a high degree of independence at the bench. The project is one to own end to end: designing and building the solutions, making the technical calls that move the work forward, and running several workstreams in parallel. The role works closely with automation and software teams across sites.
Note that maintaining cell cultures and experimental continuity requires some weekend work on a rotating basis.
Areas of Responsibility
Organoid engineering
Design and test improved organoid formats, including scaffold composition, geometry, hydrogel and matrix selection, and perfusion.
Develop new methods for introducing and positioning immune populations within tissue scaffolds.
Design, prototype and iterate custom culture hardware. Plate inserts, membranes, compartmentalized wells or 3D-printed devices are all in scope.
Characterize what you build, tying engineering changes to biological readouts rather than to the construct alone.
Multi-organoid and multi-tissue formats
Work out what the plate looks like when more than one organoid sits in it, including how organoids are positioned relative to each other and how a format supports parallel conditions.
Determine whether organoids should be coupled and by what means, whether that is a channel, a shared compartment, a membrane or a defined gradient, and design the hardware that makes the chosen approach testable.
Build co-culture systems linking immune organoids to other tissue types to turn these into disease models with defined readouts.
Transfer and automation
Design with the constraints of automated systems in mind, so that formats developed at the bench can be adopted without redesign.
Work with the assay development and platform counterparts on how a format is characterized, so that what is handed over is validated rather than only built.
Implement bench-level automation for routine culture steps, including automated media exchange, plate handling and sampling.
Write and implement SOPs and hardware documentation that hold up to tech transfer.
Team and culture
Work with US team on platform development and share your expertise with colleagues as the team grows.
Share knowledge with peers and junior researchers, present findings in internal meetings and challenge conclusions, including ours.
Job Requirements
Technical abilities
PhD in bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biophysics, biotechnology or a related field, with 5+ years of hands-on experience beyond the PhD; or an MSc with 8+ years of industry experience.
Demonstrated experience building 3D tissue or organoid culture systems, including hydrogels, scaffolds, ECM selection and matrix characterization.
Hands-on experience designing and fabricating custom culture hardware. CAD, 3D printing, soft lithography, laser cutting or comparable prototyping methods.
Experience with scalable organ-on-chip, microfluidic or perfusion systems is a strong advantage.
Solid cell culture skills and the ability to work with primary human cells.
Broad immunological background across innate and adaptive immunity. Depth in a specific disease area is welcome but not expected.
Experience with iPSC culture or differentiation is useful but not required. We will train on that side of the platform where relevant.
Practical experience with liquid handlers and associated lab hardware, for example Hamilton, Tecan or Lynx platforms, alongside plate readers and automated incubators.
We do not expect you to arrive as a programmer, but some scripting exposure and the capacity to learn matter, since driving instruments and handling data are part of the work. Familiarity with Python or R is a plus, as is familiarity with imaging and computational analysis tools.
Strong record of documenting designs and experiments and communicating results.
Independence and problem-solving
Track record of driving a technical project independently, from concept through prototype to validated system, with limited day-to-day supervision.
Comfortable holding several projects in parallel and setting priorities between them independently.
Comfortable working where there is no single right solution, and willing to reach the answer through successive prototypes rather than a single design.
Able to work at the boundary between engineering and biology and to judge when an elegant engineering solution is not the one the biology needs.
Excellent collaborator with a history of working across disciplines and across sites.
Interest in contributing to a growing, international team.
Parallel Bio is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.