Chief Scientist - IHC & FISH

Bring more to life.

Are you ready to accelerate your potential and make a real difference within life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology?

At Leica Biosystems, one of Danaher's 15+ operating companies, our work saves lives-and we're all united by a shared commitment to innovate for tangible impact.

You'll thrive in a culture of belonging where you and your unique viewpoint matter. And by harnessing Danaher's system of continuous improvement, you help turn ideas into impact - innovating at the speed of life.

At Leica Biosystems, we're not just shaping the future of cancer diagnostics - we're transforming lives. Our mission of "Advancing Cancer Diagnostics, Improving Lives" is the driving force behind everything we do. As a global leader with the most comprehensive portfolio spanning from biopsy to diagnosis, we empower clinicians with innovative, reliable solutions so they can give patients timely, accurate answers when they need them most. When you join Leica Biosystems, you're not just taking a job; you're becoming part of a passionate team that knows every moment matters when it comes to cancer. You'll help develop diagnostic solutions that turn anxiety into answers, and aid the acceleration of next-generation, life-changing therapies. Surrounded by a diverse and collaborative global community, you'll be inspired each day to stretch, grow, and make an impact.

Learn about the Danaher Business System which makes everything possible.

The Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) for Advanced Staining serves as the enterprise-wide scientific authority for Immunohistochemistry (IHC), Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH), and next-generation tissue-based diagnostic technologies. This executive role shapes the long-term scientific vision, oversees innovation strategy, and ensures the organisation maintains global leadership in advanced staining, assay development, and translational pathology solutions. The CSO drives scientific excellence across discovery, development, clinical evidence generation, and regulatory strategy while cultivating a high-performance culture of innovation and scientific integrity.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to:

• Set and lead the enterprise scientific strategy for IHC, FISH, and advanced staining, defining the long-term innovation roadmap, assessing emerging technologies, and advising executive leadership on strategic scientific and market opportunities.
• Direct world-class R&D execution, overseeing assay discovery through validation, ensuring scientific rigor and data integrity, and establishing strong scientific governance frameworks that drive high-impact innovation.
• Build and develop organisational scientific excellence, leading and mentoring multidisciplinary teams while cultivating a high-performance culture grounded in innovation, accountability, and technical mastery.
• Provide executive oversight of regulatory and quality strategy, guiding scientific content for global submissions, ensuring compliance with CLIA, CAP, IVDR/FDA, and embedding quality-by-design principles across all development programs.
• Strengthen cross-functional integration and external scientific influence, partnering with manufacturing, commercial, and clinical teams; expanding strategic collaborations with academia and industry; and representing the organisation as a recognised global thought leader.

The essential requirements of the job include:

• Doctoral-level scientific training (PhD, MD, or MD/PhD) in pathology, molecular biology, cancer biology, or a closely related life-science discipline.
• Extensive expertise in IHC and FISH assay development, gained through diagnostics, biotech, or advanced academic research environments.
• Proven executive-level scientific leadership, including successful delivery and commercialisation of complex diagnostic technologies.
• Deep experience operating within regulated diagnostic environments, such as CLIA, CAP, IVDR, FDA, and companion diagnostics frameworks.
• Advanced technical mastery in tissue-based assay design, multiplexing, probe/antibody development, digital pathology, image analysis, and AI/ML-enabled biomarker detection.

Travel Requirements:

• Ability to travel - 20% travel, Global

Do you have a Doctoral degree?

Join our winning team today. Together, we'll accelerate the real-life impact of tomorrow's science and technology. We partner with customers across the globe to help them solve their most complex challenges, architecting solutions that bring the power of science to life.