Preclinical Trials

AboutNūmi

Nūmi is a bioproduction platform harnessing human mammary cells to produce key ingredients with proven health benefits across all stages of life. More specifically, it is the first European cultivated breast milkcompany aiming to produce human milk constituents to better match the ideal nutrition for babies. We are an early-stage, VC-backed biotech based in the heart of Paris (Hôpital Cochin, Paris 14th) and supported by world-class investors and scientific partners.

Nūmi'sValues

• Positivity: At Nūmi, we cultivate positivity every day. Our mission drives us to communicate with passion and energy, always keeping the bigger impact in sight. We celebrate quick wins, but never losetrackofourultimategoal.
• Excellence: At Nūmi, excellence starts with dedication and a commitment to constant improvement. We embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and push ourselves to deliver high-quality results. Through effort, attention to detail, and integrity, we grow both individually and collectively as a team.
• Team-Work and Pedagogy: At Nūmi, we believe that teamwork makes us stronger. We encourage knowledge-sharing, open feedback, and mutual respect. Each Nūmiz is here to lift others up, ensuring that the collective succeeds.
• Ambition: At Nūmi, we set ambitious goals and challenge ourselves to think big. Nūmi is driven by bold ideas and relentless determination, always aiming for the stars to create real impact.

Why this role matters

Nūmi's ingredients are not commodity products. Each one is designed to deliver a specific, evidence-backed functional benefit for infant nutrition and beyond. Proving that benefit rigorously through in vitro bioactivity assays and preclinical studies is what turns our ingredients from raw materials into science-backed nutritional actives.

We are looking for a Preclinical Trials & In Vitro Bioactivity Lead to own the design and delivery of Nūmi's bioactivity strategy. This is a hybrid scientific and program-management role. You will design the overall bioactivity portfolio, arbitrate what is developed in-house versus outsourced to CROs and academic partners, own the CRO management relationship, and lead the interpretation and synthesis of results into the regulatory dossier and into commercial narratives.

You will report into a matrix structure with our R&D team, our Reg & QC Implementation Lead and our external academic partners, and you will potentially grow a small in-houseteam over time.

Key Responsibilities

Bioactivity Strategy & Portfolio Design

• Define the in vitro bioactivity portfolio required to support Nūmi's ingredient claims: digestion models, gut epithelial barrier, immune cell modulation, gut microbiome / prebiotic activity, brain-relevant bioactivity, and other functional readouts as the pipeline evolves.
• Prioritise which assays are developed in-house versus outsourced to CROs, based on strategic importance, technical availability and speed.
• Define the preclinical animal study portfolio (rodent, piglet models) needed as regulatory support.

CRO Management and External Collaboration

• Identify, qualify and manage relationships with contract research organisations (CROs) for outsourced in vitro and in vivo studies.
• Own scoping, RFP process, contract negotiation input, study design review, milestone tracking, data quality control and study interpretation with each CRO.
• Coordinate with academic partners (organoid platforms, microbiome specialists, infant nutrition academics) to complement our internal capabilities.

In-House Bench Ownership (Selective)

• Design and oversee execution of selected high-strategic-value in vitro assays run in-house.
• Coordinate with the R&D team on assay development, protocol qualification and data interpretation.

Data Integration into Regulatory Dossier

• Partner with the CMC Lead and Reg & QC Implementation Lead to translate bioactivity and preclinical data into defensible content for the EFSA Novel Food dossier (safety, efficacy, nutritional profile sections).
• Ensure GLP or equivalent standards are respected across the studies feeding the dossier.

Scientific Voice and Communication

• Represent Nūmi's science externally at conferences, in academic partnerships and in commercial discussions with strategic partners.
• Translate complex bioactivity data into decision-ready narratives for internal leadership, board and investors.

Requirements

Experience & Knowledge

• PhD preferred, or MSc with significant equivalent experience, in cell biology, molecular biology, immunology, nutrition sciences, microbiome sciences or a related field, with 5 to 10 years of hands‑on experience post-PhD or post-MSc.
• Deep expertise