A hospital in Croatia, an emergency laboratory – this is where Katja first encountered diagnostic devices from Roche. A defining moment: “Ever since then, I knew that I wanted to work at Roche,” she recalls. After five years in clinical chemistry in Croatia, the time had come: Katja’s curiosity and motivation brought her to our Penzberg site in Germany.

“The change? The best decision! I am a person who always wants to create something new. At Roche, I’ve not only started a new career, I’m now helping to shape innovations.”
Katja, Research & Development at Roche

While Katja was gaining her first professional experience in Croatia, Nils was training as a chemical laboratory technician at Roche in Penzberg. Parallel to his studies in bioengineering, he continued to work as an intern and student trainee, then as a technician in research and development at Roche. Sydney also made the direct leap to Roche a few years later: from school, she went on to train as a chemical laboratory technician, which she successfully completed in 2023. Moritz found a job with us after completing his degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The common denominator: passion for innovation

As different as their paths to Roche were – Katja, Nils and Moritz have one central thing in common: after various stations, their path led them to our innovative mass spectrometry project.

Today, they all work together at the Penzberg branch in Staffelseestraße in Munich, which is fully dedicated to the automation, standardization and integration of this pioneering technology. The intelligent combination of sample preparation, chromatographic separation, the actual mass analysis and the evaluation of the data in an automated, optimized process enables faster, more precise and reliable analyses in diagnostics. This can lead to an increase in productivity and efficiency in the laboratory as well as improved patient care.

Over the last ten years, around 500 colleagues worldwide have been involved in this complex project. Although not everyone works with everyone else on a daily basis, the close exchange between the departments is tangible. Interfaces are a matter of course, and contact with one another is a way of life – as is the case with our quartet.

Teamwork as a recipe for success

When Katja, Nils, Moritz and Sydney come into the building in Staffelseestraße in the morning, they know each other, greet each other and help each other. “I could already feel the positive atmosphere during the job interview,” says Sydney. “Values such as trust, respect and team spirit are really lived out here – that’s important to me.”

According to Nils and Moritz, this contributes just as much to their success as the start-up spirit:

“Everyone pulls together here, the support is enormous. It’s an environment in which you’re not only productive, but also feel good as a person.”
Moritz, Research & Development at Roche

“To create something truly new, we work together in an agile way – across all levels and locations. In research, we often encounter unexpected challenges. The ability to react quickly and flexibly has shaped us into a strong team.”
Nils, Research & Development at Roche

Between the lab and the desk: everyday working life

But what does everyday working life look like? Sydney, for example, didn’t know on her first day at work. She only knew a lot of things from theory. Today, things are different: she plans and carries out experiments with calibrators and controls as a matter of course. Calibrators serve as adjustment aids for the measuring devices in order to generate precise values – comparable to a calibrated scale. Controls act as test samples with a known target value. If the measurement result of the control is correct, this indicates that the device is functioning correctly. Sydney operates the measuring devices, documents and evaluates the results and data. “When everything is green in the reporting, I know that the effort was worth it,” she says with a smile.

Nils was the first trainee in the mass spectrometry project at Roche. During his training, the vision that was being worked on in our innovative competence center for life sciences only existed in the minds of those involved in the project. He experienced its development at first hand. Today, he is in charge of sample management and is the central contact person for the provision of samples for the various experiments.

Nils and Katja share an office: he prepares the samples she needs for her measurements. Katja’s current focus is on reference value studies in the field of steroids and vitamin D. Reference value studies are essential to establish normal ranges for certain measured values in biological samples. These ranges are required for approvals and later serve as a basis for comparison when interpreting laboratory results for patients.

Moritz’s work also revolves around biological samples: As a technician in research and development, he investigates how long samples can be stored under different conditions without affecting the validity of the results. Regardless of which aspect is being worked on, the project constantly offers new learning opportunities. “There is hardly any routine here,” says Moritz. “The innovative power of the project means that there are always new challenges that allow you to grow and gain valuable knowledge.”

Part of something groundbreaking

“I’m motivated by the prospect of being part of something truly groundbreaking,” says Sydney. “Something that has the potential to make a lasting difference to patients’ lives. Often you don’t even realize the scope of your own work. But that’s exactly what drives me: The knowledge that our work can make a real difference.”
Sydney, Research & Development at Roche

When Katja, Nils, Moritz and Sydney pause for a moment to reflect on their contribution, it fills them with pride. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective, like a visit from a routine diagnostics laboratory, to really grasp the scope of one’s own work. “The visitors could hardly believe what we were actually developing here until they saw it for themselves,” says Moritz.

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