From 1861 he was a member of the geological survey group of the Société helvétique des sciences naturelles (Swiss Society of Natural Sciences), tasked with mapping the western part of the Jura Mountains. In 1868 he became a substitute teacher at the Neuchâtel Academy, where he later served as a professor (1873–95). He is credited with creating a geological map that extended to the western part of Switzerland (Neuchâtel, Jura and Vaud).