Location: Switzerland / Remote (strong preference for candidates based in or familiar with Swiss regulatory and business practices)
Start Date: As soon as possible. Ideally early to mid-July 2025.
Level: Mid-senior role with growth path to CFO & COO
About DeSci Labs
At DeSci Labs, we’re on a mission to rebuild scientific publishing from the ground up. We believe the future of science is open, transparent, and decentralized. That’s why we’re developing the open-source infrastructure that will accelerate scientific progress—powered by Web3 and AI.
Founded in Switzerland in 2021 by scientists and engineers, DeSci Labs was the first to build a fully open-access scientific publishing platform on Web3: DeSci Publish. To date, we’ve raised over $8 million in funding and are preparing for an upcoming token launch designed to shift ownership of scientific infrastructure to the global research community.
What We’re Building
- DeSci Publish: A revolutionary preprint network where manuscripts, data, and code coexist. It offers AI-powered analytics, an AI research assistant, version control, validated badges, and automatic submission tools. This summer, we are launching decentralized journals—eliminating paywalls and publication fees.
- CODEX (Collaborative Data Exchange): An open scholarly protocol designed to create a persistent, collaborative scientific record. It ensures research artifacts are securely stored, universally accessible, and transparently validated.
- Web3 Incentives: A token economy that rewards authors, journals, and reviewers for high-quality contributions, redistributing wealth from commercial publishers to the scientists who advance the creation of knowledge.
Our Culture
We are a fully remote team spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. Our values—truth-seeking, openness, fairness, and bravery—shape everything we do.
The Role: Director of Finance & Operations
Location: Switzerland (Remote - Europe)
We’re looking for a Director of Finance & Operations to join our leadership team and drive our next phase of growth. You will take ownership of critical financial and operational functions across both DeSci Labs (Swiss for-profit startup) and the DeSci Foundation (Swiss non-profit).
This is a cross-functional role with exposure to (crypto) finance, startup operations, Swiss & EU compliance, and the Web3 ecosystem —with a clear path to evolve into CFO/COO as we grow.
Key Responsibilities
📊 Financial Leadership
- Own the financial infrastructure across multiple legal entities (Labs and Foundation), incl. budget planning, monthly controlling, and liquidity management (fiat & crypto).
- Collaborate with our Swiss accounting partner to oversee bookkeeping, tax filings, payroll processing, and annual financial statements.
- Execute monthly payments, manage bank accounts, ensure compliance of our internal regulations (e.g. expenses).
- Prepare and distribute the monthly investor reporting, including tracking and presenting key company and product KPIs.
- Oversee reporting and cash planning across government grants.
- Support fundraising processes and token-related planning.
⚙️ Operations & Legal
- Manage HR operations (contracts, ESOP, absence tracking etc.).
- Oversee legal and compliance topics, incl. contract drafting, signing flows, and organizational governance for both entities.
- Lead operational processes for board meetings, shareholder assemblies, and investor updates.
- Serve as point of contact for service providers (legal, accounting, HR tech).
🧠 Strategic Support & Leadership
- Work closely with the CEO and CTO on executive-level decisions and company strategy.
- Help structure workflows and introduce scalable tools and processes to improve team collaboration and efficiency.
- Support the DeSci Foundation in its operational and financial setup, especially as it prepares for more active grant-making and token treasury management.
- Play a key role in token launch execution, including internal coordination, partner selection, and organizing the token launch.
What We’re Looking For
- 3–5 years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, or operations—ideally in a VC-backed startup or crypto/Web3 environment.
- Background in Business, Finance, Accounting, or Economics; Master’s degree preferred.
- Familiarity with Swiss business practices (e.g., accounting rules, payroll, tax law) is a strong plus.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to work independently across multiple areas.
- Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to work hands-on in a fast-moving, remote startup environment.
- Fluent in English and German
- Experience with multi-entity setups, crypto finance, or foundation governance is a bonus.
Why Join Us?
- Play a pivotal leadership role at the intersection of crypto, science, and public infrastructure.
- Join a mission-driven team building the future of knowledge exchange.
- Remote-first culture with flexibility and autonomy.
- Competitive salary and token participation.
- Annual global retreats in inspiring locations.
- Generous IT allowance and travel support for business needs.
- Opportunities for rapid professional growth and a clear path to CFO or COO as we scale.
Let’s get science back on track—together.
Important: To confirm you’ve read the full job post, please include the keyword “SwissOps2025” in the application form where asked.
