Direct Lending, Special Assets, Associate

blueowl; New York (NY); On-site; USD 125,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Owl is seeking an Associate to join the Special Assets credit team, focusing on stressed and underperforming credits. The role involves re-underwriting actionable credits, assessing liquidity and drivers of underperformance, and evaluating restructuring, amendment, waiver, and recovery options.

You will build and maintain financial models, support value-maximization strategies for portfolio companies, and assist with negotiations across the capital structure, in a fast-moving, high-stakes

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting or related financial discipline with outstanding academic record.
• 2–5 years experience in credit workouts/restructuring, leveraged finance, direct lending, private credit, or investment banking with distressed credit exposure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex situations into clear memos and presentations.
• Strong analytical skills and sound judgment; ability to prioritize and drive workstreams in fast-moving situations.
• Collaborative, detail-oriented and proactive in identifying issues and driving practical solutions.
• Strong accounting and corporate finance fundamentals; advanced Excel modeling skills (liquidity analysis, scenario/downside cases, debt waterfall).
• Experience reviewing/building short-term liquidity forecasts and covenant monitoring is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Help manage a portfolio of stressed and underperforming credits, including owned portfolio companies, by tracking performance, risks, and next steps.
• Re-underwrite actionable credits focusing on liquidity, drivers of underperformance, corrective measures, and recovery prospects.
• Build and maintain financial analyses and models for restructuring, amendments, waivers, and recovery alternatives (including scenario and downside cases).
• Support development and execution of strategies to maximize recoveries and value creation for owned portfolio companies.
• Participate in negotiations with financial sponsors, management, banks and other lenders to advance restructuring outcomes.
• Draft and coordinate restructuring, amendment, and waiver materials for deal teams and investment committee review.
• Contribute to deal discussions and investment committee presentations by synthesizing key credit issues and options.
• Provide analytical support to senior team members including ad hoc diligence requests.

Skills

Strong analytical skills

Excellent written and verbal comms

Collaborative, detail-oriented

Synthesize complex situations

Self-directed and proactive

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting or related field

Tools

Excel

Job description

Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset manager that is redefining alternatives®.

With over $319 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, we invest across three multi-strategy platforms: Credit, Real Assets and GP Strategic Capital. Anchored by a strong permanent capital base, we provide businesses with private capital solutions to drive long-term growth and offer institutional investors, individual investors, and insurance companies differentiated alternative investment opportunities that aim to deliver strong performance, risk-adjusted returns, and capital preservation.

Together with over 1,380 experienced professionals globally, Blue Owl brings the vision and discipline to create the exceptional. To learn more, visit www.blueowl.com

This role is in office Monday to Thursday.

The Role

Blue Owl is seeking an Associate to join the Special Assets team, a Credit deal team role focused on managing stressed and underperforming credit investments. The Associate will help re-underwrite actionable credits, assess liquidity and drivers of underperformance, and evaluate restructuring, amendment, waiver, and recovery alternatives. The role also involves building and maintaining financial models and scenario analyses, supporting value maximization strategies for owned portfolio companies, assisting with negotiations across the capital structure, and preparing internal memos, portfolio updates, and investment committee materials. As a part of the Credit deal team, the Associate will work closely with the underwriting team and senior professionals to synthesize complex credit issues into clear analyses and actionable recommendations in fast moving, high-stakes situations.

Responsibilities

• Help manage a portfolio of stressed and underperforming credits, including owned portfolio companies, by tracking performance, key risks, and next-step action plans
• Re-underwrite actionable credits with a focus on liquidity, drivers of underperformance, corrective measures, and prospects for recovery
• Build and maintain financial analyses and models to evaluate restructuring, amendment, waiver, and recovery alternatives (including scenario and downside cases)
• Support the development and execution of strategies to maximize recoveries, including performance improvement and value creation initiatives for owned portfolio companies
• Participate in negotiations with key constituencies (financial sponsors, management teams, bank group members, and other lenders across the capital structure) to advance restructuring and documentation outcomes
• Draft and coordinate restructuring, amendment, and waiver materials (including internal memos and periodic portfolio updates) for deal teams and investment committee review
• Contribute to deal team discussions and investment committee presentations by synthesizing key credit issues, options, and recommended paths forward
• Provide analytical and process support to senior team members as needed, including ad hoc diligence requests and cross-team initiatives

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in Finance, Accounting or related financial discipline with an outstanding record of academic achievement
• 2–5 years of relevant experience in credit workouts/restructuring, leveraged finance, direct lending, private credit, or investment banking with demonstrable distressed/stressed credit exposure
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex situations into clear memos, updates, and presentation materials
• Strong analytical skills and sound judgment; able to prioritize, self-direct, and drive workstreams forward in fast-moving situations
• Collaborative, detail-oriented, and proactive in identifying issues and driving practical solutions
• Strong accounting and corporate finance fundamentals; advanced Excel modeling skills (liquidity analysis, scenario/downside cases, recovery and debt waterfall analysis)
• Experience reviewing and/or building short-term liquidity forecasts (e.g., 13-week cash flow) and monitoring covenant compliance is a plus

The base annual salary range for this New York-based position will be $ $125,000 to $175,000. Actual salary offered will be based on the candidate’s skill, experience, and qualification for the role. Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus, based on factors such as individual and team performance.

Blue Owl is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, and other statuses protected by law.