Senior Associate

clark; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401k/retirement plan

Paid time off

Life insurance

Commuter benefits

Tuition reimbursement

Backup daycare

EAP/Work-Life

Job summary

Align Capital Solutions in the housing-focused real estate advisory space seeks a Senior Associate to help optimize capital stacks for multifamily and mixed-use projects, integrating private equity, taxable and tax-exempt debt, and grant programs.

You will lead due diligence, build complex financial models, validate operating pro formas, and present findings to investment committees and PHAs. A Bachelor's degree in real estate/finance and 5–7 years of experience are required; MBA preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in real estate, finance, economics, or business is required.
• 5-7 years of relevant work experience in multifamily development or finance, including a demonstrated track record of closing transactions.
• Strong understanding of real estate fundamentals including operating pro formas, market dynamics, and financial modeling.
• Experience with various capital structures and sources to finance real estate projects such as construction debt, private equity, LIHTC, and government programs.

Responsibilities

• Capital Stack Optimization: structure capital stacks from diverse sources including private equity and debt.
• Strategic Underwriting: lead due diligence for apartment and mixed-use investments.
• Sophisticated Financial Modeling: develop multi-tiered models for development and preservation deals.
• Public-Private Partnership Liaison: collaborate with PHAs and state agencies to validate pro formas.
• External Stakeholder Management: coordinate with lenders, underwriters, and tax-exempt issuers.
• Contract & Documentation Oversight: review project contracts with regulatory considerations.
• Investment Memoranda & Strategy: author comprehensive investment memos.
• Proposal Development: respond to RFPs/RFQs for mixed-income development opportunities.
• Stakeholder Presentation: present modeling outputs to committees and boards.

Skills

Financial modeling

Real estate fundamentals

Team collaboration

Independent work

Deadline management

Excel modeling

PowerPoint presentations

Education

Bachelor's degree in real estate, finance, economics, or business

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

At Align Capital Solutions , we bring private sector financial expertise to some of the most challenging housing markets in the U.S. As a dedicated real estate advisory firm, we work as financial consultants to institutional, public, and non-profit owners and developers of multifamily rental housing. Through original research and technical expertise, we specialize in exploring, identifying, and executing innovative financial structures that deliver superior outcomes. By connecting our clients with key debt and equity providers, and leveraging legal and tax insights, we enable the creation of impactful multifamily housing assets that meet specific risk and return objectives. Our expertise bridges the gap between project vision and financial reality, ensuring better outcomes for both our clients and the communities they serve.

As a Senior Associate, you will gain firsthand knowledge of how the capital markets influence financial decision-making for both public, private, and public-private-partnership investments in housing. With the increased emphasis on delivering more housing within our communities, Align is poised for considerable growth and will be a real estate advisory leader in the marketplace with .

Responsibilities

• Capital Stack Optimization: Consult with clients on project and portfolio-level capital needs, with a primary focus on structuring capital stacks that integrating a wide variety of sources, including: private equity, taxable debt, tax-exempt debt, subordinate "soft" debt, and grant programs. Experience structuring Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) is not required.
• Strategic Underwriting: Lead the due diligence for apartment and mixed-use investments. Evaluate assets through the lens of Area Median Income (AMI) restrictions, real estate market fundamentals, and state/local tax abatements (e.g., PILOT agreements).
• Sophisticated Financial Modeling: Develop and maintain complex, multi-tiered financial models for development and preservation deals. Models must accurately simulate the blended cost of capital, waterfall distributions, and the impact of long-term affordability covenants on project exit values.
• Public-Private Partnership Liaison: Partner with private developers and public housing authorities (PHAs) or state agencies to validate operating proformas, ensuring compliance with both market-rate expectations and restricted-rent regulatory requirements.
• External Stakeholder Management: Coordinate with third-party partners to secure optimal financing, including tax-exempt bond issuers, conduit issuers, underwriters, HUD/FHA lenders, commercial banks, CDFIs.
• Contract & Documentation Oversight: Assist in the review and management of all relevant Project contracts and documents related to finance requirements. Review project level contracts with a specific eye toward regulatory agreements that ensure long-term financing viability.
• Investment Memoranda & Strategy: Author comprehensive investment memos that synthesize macroeconomic trends with the specific drivers of affordable housing.
• Proposal Development: Lead the creation of responses to RFPs/RFQs for solicited and unsolicited mixed-income development opportunities, showcasing the firm's ability to solve "funding gaps."
• Stakeholder Presentation: Regularly present technical modeling outputs and feasibility analyses to investment committees, non-profit boards, and government agencies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in real estate, finance, economics, or business required - MBA/master of real estate preferred
• 5-7 years of relevant work experience in multifamily development or finance, including a demonstrated track record of closing (or assisting with the closing) of transactions.
• Strong understanding of real estate fundamentals including the ability to navigate operating pro formas, analyze market dynamics, and build financial models.
• Working knowledge of various capital structures and sources used to finance real estate projects, such as construction debt, private equity, tax-exempt financing, LIHTC, Fannie/Freddie programs, among others.
• Experience in a highly collaborative, team-based setting
• Demonstrated ability to work independently; taking initiative and meeting deadlines
• Excel skills including financial and real estate cash flow modeling, including knowledge of key financial and real estate concepts and metrics
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Clark offers a total compensation package that includes base salary, bonus potential, and a comprehensive benefits package including health/dental/vision benefits, paid time off, retirement/401k, and Company Contribution plan. Additional benefits include life insurance, commuter benefit, short & long term disability, fitness reimbursement, FSA, tuition reimbursement, back-up daycare, tutoring & family support benefits, EAP/Work-Life assistance, and a holiday contribution program. For this role the base salary range is $120,000 - $140,000. Compensation may vary outs