Private Equity Associate or Senior Associate

Soul Equity Solutions; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Soul Equity Solutions in Greater Los Angeles is seeking an Associate/Sr. Associate to join its private equity team. You will work directly with senior leadership on the full investment lifecycle, owning financial modeling, diligence workstreams, and portfolio company oversight.

Early hires involve meaningful responsibility from day one. The role offers ground-floor growth in a West Coast private equity setting, with opportunities to train the next generation of Associates and to take on

Qualifications

• 2-3 years of investment banking experience for Associate role
• 2-3 years of investment banking plus 2-3 years buy-side private equity / distressed investing for Sr. Associate
• Strong financial modeling, valuation, and analytical skills including LBO and recapitalization modeling
• Interest in complex transactions such as turnarounds, carve-outs, recapitalizations, or distressed acquisitions
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to interact credibly with management, lenders and advisors
• Ownership mentality in lean, entrepreneurial environment

Responsibilities

• Screen and evaluate new opportunities and build preliminary analyses
• Build and maintain financial models (LBO, recapitalization) and support structuring of equity, debt, and hybrid capital
• Lead diligence workstreams (financial, operational, industry, customer) and coordinate advisors
• Draft investment committee memoranda and present analysis to senior team
• Track portfolio performance, prepare board materials, and support operational improvements and exits
• Help build investment processes and infrastructure and support fundraising materials

Job description

Private Equity Associate / Sr. Associate - Special Situations | Full-time | Greater Los Angeles, CA | 2-6 Years of Experience

About The Company

Our client is a lower middle-market private equity firm focused on special situations investing, including recapitalizations, corporate carve- outs, and control-oriented acquisitions of financially or operationally complex businesses. With an investment strategy that dates back nearly two decades, the firm takes a deep value approach to situations most lower middle-market investors pass over, with particular depth in industrials and business services, though its mandate is not limited to a single sector. The firm is building out its investment team as it enters its next stage of growth.

About The Role

As an Associate / Sr. Associate, you'll work directly with the firm's senior team on every transaction across the investment lifecycle, including screening, diligence, structuring, and value creation. You'll own financial modeling, diligence workstreams, and investment committee materials, and serve as a hands-on partner to portfolio company management teams. Sr. Associates will take on greater ownership of day-to-day deal processes and help develop the Associates who join after them. As one of the first hires on the investment team, you'll have meaningful responsibility from day one.

Highlights

• Ground-floor seat: a genuine ground-floor opportunity at a firm in its earliest stage of institutional growth, not a supporting role on an already-built platform
• Full deal ownership: own transactions from initial screening through close, working directly with senior leadership on structuring, valuation, and portfolio company oversight
• Differentiated mandate: a special situations focus on complex, dislocated opportunities that most lower middle-market funds pass over
• A rare West Coast seat: one of very few private equity investment seats based on the West Coast
• Established deal flow: senior leadership's long-standing network of bankers, restructuring advisors, and operators delivers a steady pipeline, so you can focus on executing deals while helping to grow it

The Path Forward

• This is a chance to join an investment team at the very beginning of its institutional build-out. As the firm grows, early hires will help shape its investment processes, culture, and infrastructure, and will be positioned to take on increasing deal responsibility as the platform scales.
• Sr. Associates will also play a direct role in developing the Associates who follow them.

Key Responsibilities

• Screen and evaluate new opportunities, build preliminary analyses, and help the senior team decide which situations are worth pursuing.
• Build and maintain financial models, including LBO, recapitalization, and downside/restructuring scenarios, and support structuring of equity, debt, and hybrid capital solutions.
• Lead diligence workstreams (financial, operational, industry, and customer), conduct management meetings and site visits, and coordinate third-party advisors.
• Draft investment committee memoranda and present analysis and recommendations to the senior team.
• Track portfolio company performance and KPIs, prepare board materials, and support management teams on operational improvements, add-ons, refinancings, and exits.
• Help build the firm's investment processes and infrastructure, conduct market research, and support fundraising materials as needed.
• Sr. Associates will run day-to-day deal processes and help train future Associates.

Professional Experience & Qualifications

• Associate: 2-3 years of investment banking experience, ideally in restructuring, M&A, or leveraged finance.
• Sr. Associate: 2-3 years of investment banking experience plus 2-3 years of buy-side experience in private equity, special situations, or distressed investing, including taking a transaction from LOI through close.
• Strong financial modeling, valuation, and analytical skills, including hands-on LBO and recapitalization modeling.
• Interest in, or exposure to, complex transactions such as turnarounds, carve- outs, recapitalizations, or distressed acquisitions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. You can draft clear investment committee materials and interact credibly with management teams, lenders, and advisors.
• Ownership mentality and comfort in a lean, entrepreneurial environment without large-firm infrastructure.
• Commitment to being local in the greater Los Angeles area. The role is on-site, and the firm is open to candidates relocating with a genuine long-term commitment.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field.
• Sector exposure to industrials, manufacturing, aerospace & defense, or business services is a plus.

Compensation

$200-250k all-in compensation. Flexible depending on experience.

This firm is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.