Felix Steiner

Head of Business Development - New Space @ Yuri

About

As the Head of Business Development – New Space at Yuri, I drive the global growth of our commercial business in the space biotech sector. With more than 10 years of experience in deep tech industries, I have built strong competencies in business development, product management, and project management. My focus is on expanding Yuri’s global footprint by building strategic partnerships with international space agencies and spacecraft providers, and by opening up new commercial pathways for a scalable space life science manufacturing. This includes collaborations with launch and space station partners, as well as the development of scalable offerings for customers across research and industry. I lead the sales and business development activities for Yuri’s microgravity platforms and lab-as-a-service solutions, working closely with a diverse, worldwide customer base of universities, life science institutes, biotech and pharma companies, and investors (family offices, VCs). I am passionate about advancing the New Space ecosystem and accelerating the development of space life sciences.

Country

Germany

City

Constance

Industry

Aviation & Aerospace

Skill

Marketing, Technology Transfer, Venture Capital, Joint Ventures, Business-to-Business (B2B), B2G, Product Strategies, International Relations, Research and Development (R&D), After-Sales, Business Strategy, User Experience (UX), Teamwork, Product Strategy, Partnerships, Events, Operations Management, Business Development, Product Management, Strategic Partnerships

Experience

Head of Business Development - New Space

Yuri

2024-7 - Present · 2 yrs 3 mos

Meckenbeuren, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Driving Yuri’s post-ISS commercial strategy and global microgravity biotech fabrication. I lead GTM & partnerships, US market entry and site expansion, venture fundraising & non-dilutive financing, and government/agency relations through the ISS-to-CLD transition. - Strategy & roadmap: Own the post-ISS plan for space-enabled biofabrication (e.g., ScienceTaxi / BioForge), taking products from pilot missions to scalable revenue lines. - Venture capital & financing: Build and manage the VC and strategic-investor pipeline, structure deals and due diligence, and align milestones (missions, CMC, regulatory) to funding tranches and grants. - Global expansion: Lead US market entry (entity setup, GTM, key accounts) and broader footprint planning; negotiate MOUs and multi-mission agreements with CLD operators (Axiom, Starlab, VAST) and free-flyers. - Agency collaboration: Work closely with international space agencies (e.g., NASA, ESA, DLR) and program offices to secure flight opportunities, payload integration, and co-funded R&D. - Government affairs: Develop policy briefs and proposals, win grants/PPPs, and navigate export control, dual-use considerations, and compliance with national programs. - Commercial offerings: Monetize microgravity-enabled use cases (biologics crystallization, multilayer biomaterials, advanced tissue models) via licensing, manufacturing-as-a-service, and subscription assay models. - Cross-functional leadership: Align science, engineering, regulatory/CMC, and mission ops; run pipeline prioritization, partner success, and launch timelines end-to-end.

Space Access Lead

Yuri

2023-5 - 2024-7 · 1 yr 3 mos

Meckenbeuren, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Leading the growth of Yuri's global commercial business. Being responsible for all collaborations with international space agencies and the space access via spacecraft partners e.g. Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Voyager, .... . Growing Yuri's global customer base for space life-sciences!

Sales Engineer & Product Manager

Yuri

2022-5 - 2023-5 · 1 yr 1 mo

Meckenbeuren, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Leading the space-research-service BD/Sales (Lab as a Service) and future spacecraft partnership management + responsible product manager for the microgravity simulator business. Working together with a worldwide customer base and partners. At Yuri, I strive to enable access to microgravity for all industries, starting from simulated microgravity with the Yuri RPM (Random Positioning Machine), up to real microgravity research with the yuri ScienceTaxi.