About us

We are developing Wear & Forget® wearables for continuous sweat biochemistry monitoring, combining on-demand sweat extraction with aptamer-based biosensing. Based at the Lausanne Biopôle, we are a small, multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers (fewer than 20 FTEs) driven by a shared passion for impact. We thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where creativity, scientific excellence, and rapid iteration are at the core of everything we do.

The Scientific Problem

Electrochemical biosensors are limited not only by the molecular recognition element, but also by the interface that translates that recognition event into an electrical signal. Increasing electrode surface area can enhance signal intensity, but a larger surface area alone does not necessarily lead to better sensor performance. The challenge is therefore not simply to fabricate a new electrode using the latest nanomaterial to maximise surface area. It is to understand which material, structural, and interfacial properties improve analytical sensitivity.

The Thesis

We are looking for a Master's student to investigate advanced 3D and nanostructured electrode materials for electrochemical biosensing.

You will design and experimentally evaluate different strategies for engineering the electrode–biosensor interface, including combinations of:

• Nanostructured and porous electrode architectures,
• Conductive nanomaterials,
• Nanoparticle-based surface engineering,
• Composite materials,
• Advanced nanoparticle deposition and printing technologies.

Access to advanced nanoparticle generation and direct-deposition technologies will also allow the project to explore material architectures that are difficult to obtain using conventional wet-chemical fabrication alone.

Depending on your background and the direction of the results, your work may include:

• Synthesis and fabrication of 3D materials,
• Nanoparticle generation, deposition and printing,
• Electrodeposition and surface modification,
• Electrochemical characterisation,
• Characterisation with EDX, XPS,
• Integration with electrochemical biosensors,

Who You Are

You are an experimentalist interested in the intersection of materials science and electrochemistry.

The strongest backgrounds include:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Electrochemistry
• Micro/Nanoengineering
• Biomedical Engineering with strong materials/electrochemistry experience

You should naturally ask questions like:

• Why does increasing electrode surface area sometimes improve biosensor performance and sometimes not?
• Which parts of a 3D electrode are actually electrochemically accessible?
• When does nanostructuring improve electron transfer, and when does it mainly increase background?
• Does the material itself matter, or is electrode morphology the dominant factor?
• Can nanoparticle deposition create better-controlled sensing interfaces than conventional fabrication?
• Which material and structural parameters ultimately determine the detection limit?

If these are the questions you want to answer experimentally, we want to hear from you.

What We Offer

• Work directly with the founders and scientific leadership, with close technical mentorship and significant ownership of your project.
• A real industrial R&D challenge, where your work can directly influence the next generation of MoleSense biosensors rather than ending as an isolated academic exercise.
• An existing biosensing platform on which your materials can be rapidly integrated, tested and iterated.
• The opportunity to work across materials science, electrochemistry, biosensing, microtechnology and wearable medical devices within one multidisciplinary team.
• Exposure to the end-to-end development of a medical wearable, from fundamental materials science and sensor engineering toward product development and clinical translation.
• The possibility of contributing to scientific publications, patents and intellectual property, depending on the results of the project.
• A fast-moving startup environment where good experimental ideas can move quickly from hypothesis to prototype.
• Strong performers may have the opportunity to continue with MoleSense in a full-time scientific or engineering role after completing their thesis.
• The opportunity to join a rapidly growing Swiss health-tech startup at an early stage and grow with the scientific and engineering team.

Who Should Apply

We welcome excellent Master's students from EPFL, ETH Zürich, KTH, TU Delft, TUM, DTU, KU Leuven and other European universities whose programmes allow an industrial or external Master's thesis.

The student remains enrolled at their home university and should identify or obtain the required academic supervisor according to their university's regulations.

How To Apply

Besides your application online, please send the following documents and answers to the questions to "ata dot golparvar atsign molesense.ch"

• Your CV
• University transcript
• Current Master's programme and university
• Expected thesis duration and ECTS requirements
• Earliest possible starting date
• A short description of the most technically challenging experimental project you have personally performed

And answer briefly:

What is one experiment you would perform to determine whether the improvement from a nanostructured electrode comes from increased surface area or from the intrinsic properties of the material itself?