Principal, Strategic Institutional Capital

Crux Climate Inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 300,000 - 500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote-first operating model

Healthcare

Paid time off

401k

Parental leave

Job summary

Crux Climate Inc. is seeking a Principal, Strategic Institutional Capital to build and execute Crux's institutional capital relationships, supporting origination and development of programmatic capital across debt, tax equity, and structured products.

This role collaborates with senior leaders to expand participation and manage partnerships through the deal lifecycle. The position focuses on insurance, private credit funds, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, and other investors, coordinating with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Engineering, Accounting, Business, or a related field; MBA or other advanced degree a plus.
• 10+ years of experience in principal investing, investment banking, capital formation, private credit, infrastructure finance, asset management, structured finance, or related capital markets disciplines.
• Strong relationships with equity and debt investors, with experience supporting or advancing institutional relationships and commercial opportunities from initial engagement through execution.
• Deep understanding of renewable energy transaction structures and market risks, and knowledge of infrastructure and energy transition investments within broader asset allocation strategies.
• Exposure to structuring or originating one or more of the following: debt, preferred equity, tax equity, equity, structured products, corporate JVs or other institutional capital solutions.
• Expertise in aligning deal structures with market standards and investor appetite, and ability to articulate investment opportunities and risks to diverse investors.
• Intellectual curiosity and strategic thinking, with the ability to help translate institutional market feedback into commercial opportunities.
• Interest in leveraging technology, AI, and data to modernize institutional capital formation.
• Familiarity with U.S. Broker-Dealer and Registered Investment Adviser regulatory frameworks a plus.
• FINRA SIE, Series 79 and 63 required or willingness to obtain under Crux’s broker-dealer sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Capital Origination & Program Development: Build and maintain relationships with investors and help execute Crux's institutional coverage strategy.
• Relationship Management & Coverage: Serve as a primary commercial relationship contact and provide market insights.
• Cross-Platform Commercial Support: Support origination of multi-product opportunities and assist in transaction execution.
• Franchise Building: Build Crux's brand through conferences, webinars, and partnerships to surface new opportunities.

Job description

We’re financing the future of energy

Crux is the capital platform for the clean economy. We modernize capital raising and deployment for clean energy and critical infrastructure with solutions across advisory, investments, technology, and intelligence.

Our team of 120+ is composed of experts in energy, tax, finance, government, and technology. We have raised $77 million in capital from some of the best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Lowercarbon Capital, New System Ventures, Overture, Ardent Venture Partners, QED, Canapi, and others. These funds are joined by strategic investors including Pattern Energy, Clearway Energy, EDF Renewables, Intersect Power, LS Power, Orsted, Hartree Partners, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, and OMERS Ventures.

An inflection point in American energy and manufacturing

Energy demand is growing for the first time in decades, driving an urgent need for more affordable and reliable electricity. More electricity requires new clean energy infrastructure and strong domestic supply chains for minerals and components — as well as large amounts of capital.

Traditional project financing is opaque, fragmented, and analog. At Crux, we’re changing that. Through unmatched insights and expertise, white-glove service, purpose-built tools, and risk underwriting, we power a more prosperous, clean, and secure energy future.

We are scaling quickly and looking for team members who are eager to combine deep expertise with an AI- and tech-forward mindset.

The Opportunity

We're hiring a Principal, Strategic Institutional Capital — a commercial team member who will help build and execute Crux's institutional capital relationships, supporting the origination and development of programmatic capital solutions across debt, preferred equity, tax equity, and structured products. This person will play a key role in advancing strategic JVs and separately managed vehicles across products, working closely with senior team members to expand institutional participation across the platform.

Strategic Institutional Capital is Crux’s coverage function for non-bank institutional capital providers, including insurers, private credit funds, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, and other infrastructure investors. The team serves as the relationship owner for Crux’s institutional capital partners, driving origination and shaping opportunities at the front end of the deal lifecycle in close coordination with product teams across Capital Solutions. This role will have primary responsibility for institutional relationships and executive engagement, driving commercial alignment and maintaining continuity across the full lifecycle of each partnership and its underlying investments to deliver a seamless client experience.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Capital Origination & Program Development

• Build and maintain relationships with investors — including but not limited to insurers, private credit funds, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, specialty credit funds, and various infrastructure and energy investors

• Partner with senior team members to help execute Crux's institutional coverage strategy and advance priority strategic capital initiatives.

• Translate a deep understanding of institutional mandates, investment priorities, and evolving capital needs into actionable partnership opportunities across Crux’s investor base.

• Contribute to the commercial development of programmatic capital solutions, including debt joint ventures, corporate facilities, preferred equity programs, insurance capital solutions, and other strategic initiatives.

• Continuously refine investor buy-boxes and market strategies to meet evolving demand, and support efforts to expand institutional relationships into recurring, multi-product capital programs.

Relationship Management & Coverage

• Serve as a primary commercial relationship contact for assigned institutional engagements, ensuring 80%+ of prequalified developer transactions have an investable universe.

• Act as a trusted advisor and partner to investors, providing insights into evolving market dynamics and opportunities.

• Partner closely with Structuring, Legal, and Business Management to help deliver integrated capital solutions.

• Help maintain relationship continuity as opportunities transition from origination to execution, supporting opportunities for repeat deployment and expanded engagement.

Cross-Platform Commercial Support

• Support origination of multi-product opportunities spanning debt, tax equity, preferred equity, structured products, and future investment vehicles.

• Support transaction execution, ensuring seamless client experience for investors.

• Provide expertise in structuring and presenting investment opportunities to align with investor profiles.

• Gather evolving market feedback to inform product development and capital strategy.

Franchise Building

• Serve as a visible presence for Crux in the market — through industry conferences, webinars, whitepapers, and direct engagement with institutional investors and strategic partners — to build brand visibility and surface new partnership opportunities.

• Help develop and deepen relationships across the institutional capital ecosystem to expand Crux's network of strategic capital partners.

• Support the growth of the Strategic Institutional Capital group as the organization scales.

What you bring

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Engineering, Accounting, Business, or a related field; MBA or other advanced degree a plus.

• 10+ years of experience in principal investing, investment banking, capital formation, private credit, infrastructure finance, asset management, structured finance, or related capital markets disciplines.

• Strong relationships with equity and debt investors, with experience supporting or advancing institutional relationships and commercial opportunities from initial engagement through execution.

• Deep understanding of renewable energy transaction structures and market risks, and knowledge of infrastructure and energy transition investments within broader asset allocation strategies.

• Exposure to structuring or originating one or more of the following: debt, preferred equity, tax equity, equity, structured products, corporate JVs or other institutional capital solutions.

• Expertise in aligning deal structures with market standards and investor appetite, and ability to articulate investment opportunities and risks to diverse investors.

• Skilled in crafting and executing tailored strategies, with the ability to contribute to building and scaling new institutional capital programs, strategic partnerships, or commercial initiatives within a high-growth, entrepreneurial, or evolving business environment.

• Comfort working across cross-functional teams to help originate, negotiate, and execute complex transactions involving multiple stakeholders.

• Existing relationships or familiarity with one or more institutional capital segments — including insurance companies, private credit funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, and infrastructure investors — a plus.

• Strong understanding of institutional investment processes, capital markets, and structured financing solutions.

• Intellectual curiosity and strategic thinking, with the ability to help translate institutional market feedback into commercial opportunities.

• Interest in leveraging technology, AI, and data to modernize institutional capital formation.

• Familiarity with U.S. Broker-Dealer and Registered Investment Adviser regulatory frameworks a plus.

• FINRA SIE, Series 79 and 63 required or willingness to obtain under Crux’s broker-dealer sponsorship.

What we bring

• Backing, traction & brand:

  • We have raised $77 million in capital from some of the best venture and strategic investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Lowercarbon Capital, New System Ventures, Ardent Venture Partners, Pattern, Clearway, EDFR, Intersect, LS Power, Orsted, Hartree Partners, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, and OMERS Ventures.

  • $500m debt warehouse facility from Nuveen to invest in clean energy.

  • Have been profitable and are growing exponentially

  • We have closed over 120+ transactions in just the last 2 years, facilitating billions of dollars of capital flowing into renewables projects

• Culture & working dynamic

  • Remote-first operating model: Work from anywhere in the US and Canada, or work out of our optional offices in DC, NYC, & SF. Optional co-working opportunities with co-workers in, Seattle, Denver, Boston, LA, and beyond.

  • High growth & high ownership culture: We grow quickly by giving extremely talented people a lot of responsibility.

  • Best of financial services & technology: We have brought together a team that are experts in clean energy finance, and the best technologies. Use your expertise while getting to be on the cutting edge of applying AI to your day and your clients’ experience.

  • Regular team offsites: We sustain culture by bringing the entire company together 2 times a year. Individual teams may also meet up more frequently.

• Benefits

  • Healthcare: We cover 100% of premiums for employees with a variety of plans on Aetna (nationwide) and Kaiser (WA and California) and subsidize 70% for dependents (total as a group), if relevant.

  • Dental & vision: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and 50% for dependents (each), if relevant.

  • Holidays: 10 company holidays per year.

  • Paid time off: 20 days per year.

  • 401k: We support a 401k account but don't have a matching program set up at this time (typical for an early-stage startup).

  • Parental leave: 16 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents.

• Compensation:

  • Total cash compensation: $300,000s-$500,000s, depending on years of exp. & revenue scope, not inclusive of equity value.

  • Stock options in a rapidly growing company.Values

    • Care for each other:We want to work on a team where people support each other - in their growth, in their work, and towards our shared mission. When we do that, we have fun.

    • Build and improve rapidly: We move quickly. To do that, we focus, consistently ask ourselves if we are prioritizing the right things, and execute them as best as possible.

    • Focus unremittingly on customers: Our first obligation is to our customers and partners, and we keep their needs front and center in everything we do.

    • Demonstrate ownership: We are all owners of Crux. This is our team, our company, our product and we show that to each other.

    • Convene a team that reflects the breadth of experiences in the country: We’re building a team with a wide range of backgrounds and a culture where everyone can thrive.

We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.