01Lead
Merck
Senior Director for AI and Automation in Drug Discovery, building the systems and operating model that connect computation, machine learning, automation, and experimental science.
Scientist at heart. Technology leader in practice.
Senior Director for AI & Automation in Drug Discovery
Merck / Darmstadt and Boston
Building systems that make science move.
I build and scale AI-driven and automated discovery capabilities across chemistry and biology, then carry the same operating instinct into science, deep-tech ventures, and the communities I help lead.
01Heidelberg / Darmstadt / Boston
Curious about difficult problems, serious about useful outcomes.
Scroll to explore
00 / A wider view
Build the system. Grow the people. Keep the science honest.
My work sits where science, technology, and operating reality meet. I build platforms, teams, and ventures that turn difficult scientific problems into decisions and progress. The same instinct guides how I work in a lab, a boardroom, a startup, or a sports hall.
Senior Director, Merck AIDDAI and automation / 150+ scientists supported / Darmstadt + Boston
Governance and industry perspectiveProPhet / AI-driven small-molecule discoveryRSC Digital Discovery Industry Advisory Board
01 / The arenas
One way of working, four arenas.
02Build
Quastify
Founder and CEO of Quastify, a research-led deep-tech company building physics-grounded AI and simulation workflows for chemistry, pharma, and materials science.
03Think
Science
Physicist and theoretical chemist, lead author of BayBE, Merck's open-source Bayesian optimization package, with 60+ publications and 70+ talks.
04Play / coach
Volleyball
Amateur player at VC Walldorf, volunteer club chair, club coach, and coaching competitive male youth of the North Baden region.
02 / Current work
From discovery platforms to deep-tech ventures.
AI and automation in drug discovery
As Senior Director, I lead AIDD, Merck's flagship AI and automation capability for drug discovery. Across Darmstadt and Boston, I build and scale the capability connecting machine learning, computational chemistry, software, data, laboratory automation, and experimental science.
- Platform strategy, governance, and adoption across R&D
- Closed-loop experimentation across chemistry and biology
- Teams that turn emerging technology into decision-ready results
Physics-grounded AI for chemistry.
Founder and CEO of Quastify, a research-led deep-tech company building physics-grounded AI and simulation workflows for chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and materials.
Visit QuastifyLeadership proof
150+scientists supported by an enterprise HPC platform
2operating hubs: Darmstadt and Boston
5disciplines connected across the discovery system
2019 → nowMerck progression from scientist to Senior Director
Earlier positions
2019–presentMerck progressionScientist → Associate Director → Director → Senior Director
2016–2018Visiting LecturerUniversity College London
2012–2019ResearcherBonn, Göttingen, Heidelberg
03 / The science
Keep the physics. Increase the reach.
My academic foundation is in theoretical chemistry and molecular simulation. Today I carry that scientific discipline into applied platforms, open research, public talks, and the decisions that make complex technology useful.
60+publications
70+talks
PhDtheoretical chemistry
Lead author of Merck's largest open-source software package for Bayesian optimization and self-driving experiments. Its paper won the Merck Science Award 2025 and Digital Discovery's 2025 early-career research award.
Board member of ProPhet, an AI-driven small-molecule drug discovery company, and member of the Industry Advisory Board of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Digital Discovery.
Research threads
01AI and automation in drug discovery02Digital chemistry and computational biology03Molecular simulation and materials science04Physics-grounded machine learning05Closed-loop experimentation
04 / Field notes
Ideas are meant to leave the screen.
05 / Outside the lab
The other half of leadership is showing up locally.
Volleyball
I am an amateur player at VC Walldorf, where I also serve as volunteer chair. Coaching is where I practice making understanding useful to someone else.
VC WalldorfClub leadership
As volunteer chair, I help create the conditions in which people can play, improve, and keep coming back.
Jugendförderung
Meine wichtigste Coaching-Aktivität ist das Coaching wettbewerbsorientierter männlicher Jugend in der Region Nordbaden.
NVV trainer team
06 / Say hello
Connect on the work that matters.
For conversations about science, technology, talent development, or building systems that have to work in the real world.