Private Equity Senior Vice President or Principal

Senior Vice President / Principal, Special Situations Full-time  |  Los Angeles, CA  |  7-10 Years of Experience

About the Company

This is a lower middle-market private equity firm pursuing a special situations mandate — flexible, opportunistic capital deployed into distressed and stressed businesses, rescue and event-driven financings, corporate carve-outs, and complex or illiquid situations that traditional buyout and credit funds tend to pass over. The firm is led by an experienced senior investment team that has worked together for a number of years, based in Los Angeles and supported by a group of remote operating partners who help drive portfolio company performance. The firm is currently raising its debut institutional fund, targeting roughly $200 million, with its first close already underway.

About the Role

This Senior Vice President / Principal role sits on the deal team of a first institutional fund built around a special situations mandate, targeting founder- and family-owned lower middle market businesses facing dislocation, complexity, or time pressure, where creative structuring across debt, equity, and hybrid capital creates an edge. You will be one of the first senior investment hires as the fund advances toward its next close, working directly alongside the firm's senior leadership on every deal rather than as part of a large, siloed team.

What Makes This Opportunity Compelling

This is a genuine ground-floor seat at a firm in its earliest stage of institutional growth, not a supporting role on an already-built platform. You will own transactions from initial screening through close, help build the analytical and diligence infrastructure of a growing firm, and work directly with senior leadership on structuring, valuation, and portfolio company oversight. The mandate itself is differentiated: complex, dislocated special situations opportunities that most lower middle market funds pass over.

The Path Forward

This role carries a genuine, performance-based path to Principal/Managing Director as the fund scales and raises subsequent vehicles. As the firm grows past its debut fund, this hire is expected to take on greater deal leadership and, over time, a broader partnership role, including managing junior team members as the team is built out.

Key Responsibilities

Deal Sourcing & Origination

• Proactively identify and generate proprietary deal flow through relationships with intermediaries, advisors, lenders, management teams, and industry contacts
• Build and maintain a network across the lower middle market to drive consistent, high-quality origination
• Evaluate inbound opportunities and lead initial screening and triage

Deal Execution

• Source, evaluate, and lead execution of special situations investments: distressed and stressed businesses, rescue and opportunistic financings, event-driven opportunities (M&A transitions, carve-outs, litigation or regulatory-driven situations), and complex or illiquid assets
• Drive financial modeling, valuation, and structuring across debt, equity, and hybrid solutions, with a strong emphasis on downside protection alongside upside participation
• Develop investment theses, manage diligence workstreams and third-party advisors, and own transaction documentation and negotiation through to close

Portfolio & Firm Support

• Partner with portfolio company management on performance monitoring, strategic initiatives, and operational improvement post-close
• Help build the firm's investment processes, tools, and diligence infrastructure as an early team member
• Mentor and help onboard junior investment staff as the team scales

Professional Experience & Qualifications

• 7-10 years in private equity, special situations, distressed credit, or related investing, with meaningful reps executing transactions from inception to close
• Direct experience with distressed, rescue financing, event-driven, or complex/illiquid investments strongly preferred; a non-traditional path into value-oriented investing is welcome
• Genuine lower middle market fluency; comfort with founder- and family-owned businesses
• Strong financial modeling, structuring, and negotiation skills across debt, equity, and hybrid capital
• Self-directed builder who can operate without heavy infrastructure and set a high bar for a growing team
• Entrepreneurial orientation, motivated by building something from the ground up rather than joining an already-established platform
• Willing and able to be on-site in Los Angeles, CA

Compensation range:

$375K-$450K total cash (50/50 base/bonus split)