Associate - Life Sciences

Driving lasting impact and building long‑term capabilities with our clients is not easy work. You are the kind of person who thrives in a high performance/high reward culture – doing hard things, picking yourself up when you stumble, and having the resilience to try another way forward.

In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we’ll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities you need to become a stronger leader faster than you ever thought possible. Your colleagues—at all levels—will invest deeply in your development, just as much as they invest in delivering exceptional results for clients. Every day, you’ll receive apprenticeship, coaching, and exposure that will accelerate your growth in ways you won’t find anywhere else.

When you join us, you will have:

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast‑paced learning experience, owning your journey.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions for our clients. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• World‑class benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well‑being for you and your family.

As an Associate with a focus on projects in the pharma industry (subject to project availability), you will join a client service team and take ownership of a workstream to solve some of the toughest challenges our clients face.

And these aren’t just any clients—they’re some of the most influential organizations around, from Fortune 500 giants to innovative startups. We will expect you to go the extra mile, delivering solutions that solve immediate problems and drive long‑term change. And we’ll rely on your judgment and integrity to ensure our recommendations are effective and long‑lasting.

You will take on a role that goes beyond advising. You’ll be at the heart of the action—helping to uncover the true challenges behind a client’s strategy and creating actionable plans that drive real change. Working alongside clients and other McKinsey colleagues, you’ll combine research, analyzing data, interviews, and brainstorming to generate fresh insights and breakthrough solutions. Your commitment to our values will be crucial in earning our clients’ trust and delivering results that matter.

As you collaborate directly with clients, you’ll help them solve problems, refine strategies, and implement transformations. By equipping them with the tools and knowledge to continue innovating and improving after we’ve left, you’ll ensure the impact of our work endures. In doing so, you’ll uphold McKinsey’s commitment to making a meaningful difference in the industries and communities we serve.

You’ll work as a consultant in Geneva or Zurich.

The application deadlines in Switzerland are bi‑monthly. Exact dates can be found here.

To apply, please hand in: CV, copies of academic transcripts (from high school onward), and letters of reference/certificates from past employment, if any.

• PhD (Associate entry level) or master’s degree with several years of work experience in a life science (e.g. medicine, biology) discipline with an outstanding record of academic achievement.
• Internships or work experience in life science related areas (pharmacology, biotech, pharmaceutical and medical products, chemicals, medical affairs, healthcare and public health, etc.).
• Excellent organization capabilities, including the ability to initiate tasks independently and see them through to completion.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to adjust your style to suit different perspectives and seniority levels.
• Ability to create work‑product focused materials/outputs, which may include PowerPoint decks, Excel models, articles, or other written deliverables.
• Exceptional time management to meet your responsibilities in a complex and largely autonomous work environment.
• Ability to work or attend meetings outside of traditional business hours or take on projects with limited or no notice at times.
• Ability to travel to and work in varying environments that may be challenging and/or not accessible (e.g., factories, hospitals, mines).
• Fluency in English is a must, very strong language skills in German (Zurich) or French (Geneva) are an advantage.
• Working or studying experience in Switzerland is a must.

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