(Senior) Preclinical Innovation Manager (m/f/d)

At Fresenius Kabi, we care deeply about saving and improving human lives with affordable, accessible, and innovative healthcare products and the highest quality clinical care. As a (Senior) Preclinical Innovation Manager (m/f/d), you will be part of our preclinical team and play a central role in shaping the early scientific strategy behind our future clinical nutrition and Pharma products. Your work will focus on generating and evaluating preclinical evidence that supports the functional potential and physiological relevance of novel ingredients, formulations, and concepts.

Are you eager to drive scientific discovery and purposeful exploratory research? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities and enjoy scouting for innovation that could improve the quality of life of patients? Then we would love to hear from you!

Key Responsibilities

• You will lead the design and scientific oversight of exploratory preclinical studies (e.g., proof of concept, mode of action) to support early innovation and concept development.

• You are responsible for analyzing and integrating data from multiple preclinical sources to generate robust scientific rationales for the progression of innovation concepts.

• You identify and evaluate new scientific opportunities, novel ingredients, and technologies.

• In collaboration with academic partners, CROs, and internal teams, you will design physiologically relevant in vitro and in vivo models to enable early innovation and provide scientific input.

• You contribute to internal knowledge building by tracking emerging trends in nutritional science, and related areas.

Required Qualifications

• You hold a PhD in Life Sciences (e.g., Biomedical, Pharmacology, Biochemistry or other relevant life science degree) with > 5 years of experience in preclinical or translational research, ideally combining both academic and industry settings.

• You gained hands-on experience with study design, analysis/ interpretation of in vivo and/or complex in-vitro models but also acquired experience collaborating with external research institutions and/or managing scientific partnerships.

• You possess strong scientific curiosity, critical thinking skills, the ability to translate data into meaningful insights and prepare and present scientific and strategic content to diverse audiences.

• You are adept at influencing outcomes and aligning stakeholders through strong interpersonal communication, cross-functional collaboration, effective relationship-building and thrive in a collaborative and diverse environment.

• Fluency in English required, German is a plus.

Highly desirable attributes

• Good understanding of physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms relevant to clinical nutrition.

• Previous experience with early innovation management in Pharma, Nutrition- or Biotech environment, e.g. technology evaluation, new target identification, basic understanding of current ICH and regulatory authority guidelines relevant for preclinical development.

• Experience — or a strong interest — in leveraging AI tools and large biological databases (e.g., omics, high-content screening) to drive innovation in early drug discovery is a plus.

• Working knowledge of IP considerations and pipeline decision gates in early innovation.