M. Sc. Student – Upstream Development (m/f/d) 80%

Job ID

REQ-10061733

Sep 30, 2025

Austria

Summary

#LI-Onsite
Location: Schaftenau, Austria

Novartis reached nearly 300 million people in 2024 - a company record. Join our mission to improve lives through innovative medicine. If you're a student interested in a hands-on Master’s thesis in drug substance development, we invite you to gain real-world experience for about 9 months with our TRD Biologics / Cell Culture Upstream Development team at Schaftenau.

TRD Biologics Austria is responsible for the development and optimization of drug substance upstream and downstream processes, drug formulations and respective analytical methods. We work with state-of-the-art technologies to bring new biopharmaceutical products from the lab to full production scale. You will join a committed, interdisciplinary team that collaborates closely to make medications available to patients worldwide.

Join our Upstream Development team in Schaftenau and help shape the future of healthcare. Let’s continue to build on our momentum — and make an extraordinary impact, together.

About the Role

Key Responsibilities:

Cell culture media are complex solutions. Make yourself familiar with essential nutrients that support the growth & maintenance of mammalian cells, as well as expression of recombinant proteins featuring specific quality characteristics.
Drive a feasibility study to establish and apply LC (liquid chromatography)-MS (mass spectrometry) based methods to get more insights into nutrient consumption and metabolic by-product formation.
Adapt media or feed compositions and test new media components by cultivations in high-throughput bioreactor cultivation systems to improve process performance and / or product attributes.
Team collaboration & presentation: work closely with your colleagues in USP and analytical development; prepare your results to present to the team, gaining a broad insight into the drug development process at Novartis.

Essential Requirements:

You are currently enrolled in a Master’s program in the life science field such as Biotechnology or Bioprocess Engineering.
A solution-oriented mindset and a high willingness to learn new skills and concepts in our state-of-the-art cell culture laboratories.
You have a self-driven, team-oriented work style – you take responsibility for your tasks and enjoy working collaboratively.
Interest or knowledge in data science, statistical data analysis, and process modeling, simulation, automation and basic programming (e.g. Phyton) is an advantage.
Advanced communication skills in German and English, both written and spoken.

Novartis Austria is one of the most modern and innovative manufacturing sites in the Novartis network. The sites in Tirol have approximately 3,500 employees and there are approximately 350 employees in the marketing & sales office in Vienna.
The site in Tirol is in the middle of the Austrian Alps with excellent infrastructure.

Benefits & Rewards :

In accordance with Austrian law, we are obliged to disclose the minimum salary as stated in the collective bargaining agreement. For this position the minimum salary is € 2.010,75€/month (on a full-time basis).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Accessibility and Accommodation:

If because of a medical condition, physical disability or a neurodiverse condition you require an adjustment during the recruitment process, please reach out to disabilities.austria@novartis.com and let us know the nature of your request as well as your contact information. The support which we can provide will include advice on suitable positions as well as guidance at all stages of the application process. Austrian law provides candidates the opportunity to involve the local disability representative, Behindertenvertrauensperson (BVP), in the application process. If you would like to request this, please let us know in advance as a note on your CV.

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture

Join our Novartis Network: Not the right Novartis role for you? Sign up to our talent community to stay connected and learn about suitable career opportunities as soon as they come up: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network

Benefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally: https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards

Division

Development

Business Unit

Innovative Medicines

Location

Austria

Site

Schaftenau

Company / Legal Entity

AT33 (FCRS = AT033) Novartis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing GmbH

Functional Area

Research & Development

Job Type

Part time

Employment Type

Temporary (Fixed Term)

Shift Work

No

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Adjustments for Applicants with Disabilities

If because of a medical condition, physical disability or a neurodiverse condition you require an adjustment during the recruitment process, please reach out to disabilities.austria@novartis.com and let us know the nature of your request as well as your contact information. The support which we can provide will include advice on suitable positions as well as guidance at all stages of the application process. Austrian law provides candidates the opportunity to involve the local disability representative, Behindertenvertrauensperson (BVP), in the application process. If you would like to request this, please let us know in advance as a note on your CV.

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Job ID

REQ-10061733