Associate, Compute

Primary; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Primary in San Francisco is hiring an investment associate to help build out our compute practice. You will source, diligence, and originate investments across the full compute stack and work closely with the team to grow the portfolio.

The role emphasizes learning velocity, curiosity about compute, and a deep Bay Area network, with hybrid in-office 3x/week in SF and occasional travel to NYC. Prior investing experience is not required.

Qualifications

• 2-4 years of experience with at least 1-2 years in a production engineering role at a leading tech company, AI lab, or high-growth startup.
• Computer Science degree or equivalent experience.
• Based in San Francisco and available for full-time with periodic travel to NYC.

Responsibilities

• Source and build relationships with founders, engineers, and operators across the SF compute and AI ecosystem.
• Run diligence on prospective investments - technical differentiation, competitive dynamics, market sizing - alongside the compute pod.
• Represent Primary and our Compute100 efforts across community events, dinners, and podcast tapings to build the firm's brand and network in the Bay Area.
• Help develop and pressure-test investment theses across the compute stack.
• Support the existing compute portfolio, including Etched, as needed.
• Build and maintain a running map of high-signal people and companies worth tracking.
• Help extend Primary's reach into the technical communities - Neo, top engineering orgs, research labs - that produce the next generation of compute founders

Skills

Production engineering experience

Curiosity about compute

Networking in SF tech scene

Education

Computer Science degree or equivalent

Job description

About Primary

Primary is a seed-stage venture capital firm dedicated to delivering exceptional support to the founders of transformational businesses. By pairing meaningful investment resources with the largest portfolio impact team of any seed investor, our portfolio companies have reached an industry-best seed-to-A graduation rate.

About the Role

We’re hiring an investment associate to help build out our compute practice in San Francisco. Our compute practice sits at the center of the firm’s next chapter - we led the seed round in Etched, now valued at $21B, and have a broader compute portfolio with investments across memory, advanced packaging, quantum, and biological compute.

You will be working directly with Brian Schechter and Gaby Lorenzi. You’ll source, diligence, and help originate investments across the full compute stack - including software and hardware opportunities in thermals, advanced packaging, cooling, power, data center management and token efficiency. We’re looking for a technical person, who studied computer science, electrical engineering, or a comparable degree, who has spent time inside startups in the past, and is looking to be a part of building a growing investment practice in one of the most consequential markets of our time – compute. Prior investing experience is not required. Deep technical understanding of compute is also not required.

We're hiring for learning velocity, genuine curiosity about compute, and a deep network in San Francisco to support your growth, not a finished resume. This is a career-defining bet for the right person: help plant Primary's flag in San Francisco and grow into one of the firm's next great investors.

Based in San Francisco, Hybrid in-office 3x/week

What You'll Do

• Source and build relationships with founders, engineers, and operators across the San Francisco compute and AI ecosystem
• Run diligence on prospective investments - technical differentiation, competitive dynamics, market sizing - alongside the compute pod
• Represent Primary and our Compute100 efforts across community events, dinners, and podcast tapings to build the firm's brand and network in the Bay Area
• Help develop and pressure-test investment theses across the compute stack
• Support the existing compute portfolio, including Etched, as needed
• Build and maintain a running map of high-signal people and companies worth tracking
• Help extend Primary's reach into the technical communities - Neo, top engineering orgs, research labs - that produce the next generation of compute founders

About You

• Must be available to work full-time in SF with periodic travel to NYC
• 2-4 years of experience with at least 1-2 years of experience in a production engineering role at a leading tech company, AI lab, or high-growth startup
• Computer Science degree or equivalent experience
• Deeply plugged into the San Francisco technical and AI scene
• Genuine, self-directed curiosity about compute
• Comfortable operating with real ambiguity and building process where none exists yet
• Down-to-earth, collaborative, and able to build trust quickly