Senior Business Development Manager

Every cancer patient deserves a treatment that works for them. Today, too many never get one in time: fewer than 5% of new cancer drugs make it through clinical trials and every failure costs patients years.

Orakl exists to change those odds. We bridge biological and artificial intelligence by building large cohorts of virtual cancer patients: real patients’ tumors, paired with their medical history and deep biological data. Because we can test treatments on these virtual patients at scale, we can predict, with causal evidence, how a patient will respond to a drug long before it reaches the clinic. This helps pharma companies bet on the right drugs, for the right patients, much earlier on.

We were founded in 2023 by Fanny Jaulin, PhD, Diane-Laure Pagès and Gustave Ronteix, PhD as a spin-out from Gustave Roussy, one of Europe’s leading cancer centers, and we build on 10 years of research. We are backed by top international VCs and growing fast. Discover more here on Orakl’s website.

Orakl is looking for a Senior Business Development Manager to build and run its partnership pipeline with pharma and biotech. You will find the right accounts, reach the right people inside them and turn first conversations into qualified opportunities for the VP Business Development. You will own the front end of Orakl’s commercial engine: account strategy, prospecting, discovery and pipeline discipline. You will work closely with the VP BD, the Product Marketer, the scientific teams and the founders, and alongside the Communications & Events Lead on conferences.

• Define where Orakl plays. Identify and prioritise the pharma and biotech accounts where Orakl’s offerings create the most value, based on their oncology pipelines and development stage.

• Position Orakl’s offer. Tailor Orakl’s value proposition to each account’s programmes, priorities and decision makers.

• Open new relationships. Engage decision makers at target accounts through direct outreach and introductions from Orakl’s scientific, clinical and investor network.

• Qualify and convert opportunities. Assess every lead, inbound or outbound, and lead discovery meetings with VPs to understand their programmes, needs, decision process, budget and timing. Hand qualified opportunities to the VP BD.

• Make the pipeline a management tool. Keep pipeline data reliable so the team and leadership can forecast and decide from it.

• Measure what works. Track conversion by channel and by stage, and focus effort where it delivers results.

• Monitor the competition. Follow competitors, partnerships and deals in AI and patient-derived oncology models.

• Inform strategy. Share market insights with internal teams and leadership to sharpen Orakl’s positioning and priorities.

• 5 to 8 years in business development, sales or account management, selling platforms, data or services to pharma and biotech.

• A record of building pipeline from scratch and converting first meetings into qualified opportunities.

• Scientific background (MSc or PhD in life sciences or a related field); comfortable discussing oncology, translational research and clinical development with scientists.

• A network in pharma oncology or translational teams in Europe or the US is a plus.

• Clear writer and confident presenter, at ease with senior scientists and executives.

• Hands-on and autonomous in a fast-moving startup.

• Fluent in English; French a plus.

• Work on-site (our offices in Ile-de-France) with occasional remote work, and regular travel to conferences and clients in Europe and the US.

• A central role in building Orakl’s commercial engine, with the opportunity to grow with the BD team as Orakl scales

• Direct exposure to pharma decision makers and to Orakl’s founders

• Join a fast pacing start up growing

• Occasional remote work

1. Hiring Manager Call: getting to know each other, aligning on expectations context.

2. Technical Deep Dive: detailed conversation about your experience and fit for the role, using examples of what you’ve done and how you like to work.

3. Case study: a take-home case to prepare and then to present in-person to the team.

4. Reference Call: with one or two former colleagues with whom you worked closely, including a direct manager.

5. Founder Interview: A final discussion with at least one founder on vision, culture fit, and mutual ambitions.