Investment Associate; VC Profile

Position Overview

As an Investment associate at Zacua Ventures, you will be a core member of a small, high-performing investment team backing the most promising startups across the built environment. You will take end-to-end ownership of deals, from sourcing and thesis development through diligence, investment decision, and portfolio support.

This role anchors the fund’s coverage of deep-tech and hard-tech: industrials, advanced materials, energy, and decarbonization more broadly. It also complements the rest of the team, across technologies like AI, robotics, SaaS, and digital construction technologies. You will be the team’s point person for the science- and engineering-heavy opportunities that define the harder end of our mandate, and you will be expected to develop a differentiated point of view on where the built environment decarbonizes and re-industrializes next.

You will work directly with the Partners, lead diligence processes independently, and help mentor junior members of the team. The position is full-time based out of Madrid with a hybrid set-up between office and home work and frequent international travel.

• 1. Deal Sourcing & Thesis Development:
  • Own sourcing across the fund’s deep-tech and hard-tech verticals, including industrials, advanced materials, energy, and decarbonization, through proprietary networks, industry events, research, and ecosystem relationships.
  • Develop and maintain differentiated investment theses, mapping emerging technologies, value chains, and market timing, and translate them into a focused pipeline.
• 2. Due Diligence Leadership:
  • Lead end-to-end diligence on prospective investments, with particular ownership of technical and commercial validation for science- and engineering-intensive companies.
  • Assess technology readiness, IP, scalability, unit economics, team, and market, and coordinate external technical experts and reference calls where needed.
• 3. Investment Analysis & Financial Modeling:
  • Build and own financial, valuation, and exit models, including cap table and returns analysis, to underpin investment decisions.
  • Pressure-test founder assumptions and structure terms in coordination with the General Partners.
• 4. Investment Recommendations & IC:
  • Author clear, opinionated investment memos summarizing the thesis, key risks, and recommended terms.
  • Present recommendations to the Investment Committee and drive deals to a decision.
• 5. Portfolio Management & Value Creation:
  • Support portfolio companies post-investment, with a focus on deep-tech and hard-tech names, including follow-on strategy, fundraising support, and board or observer engagement.
  • Track performance against milestones and help unlock commercial, technical, and strategic introductions across our network.
• 6. LP, Co-investor & Ecosystem Relationships:
  • Manage relationships with co-investors, strategic corporates, and Limited Partners relevant to the deep-tech mandate.
  • Represent Zacua Ventures externally and contribute to the fund’s visibility and reputation in the climate and built-environment ecosystem.
• 7. Mentorship & Team Leadership:
  • Guide and review the work of analysts and interns, upholding the team’s standards for diligence, modeling, and written analysis.

• 1. Deal Sourcing & Thesis Development:
  • Own sourcing across the fund’s deep-tech and hard-tech verticals, including industrials, advanced materials, energy, and decarbonization, through proprietary networks, industry events, research, and ecosystem relationships.
  • Develop and maintain differentiated investment theses, mapping emerging technologies, value chains, and market timing, and translate them into a focused pipeline.
• 2. Due Diligence Leadership:
  • Lead end-to-end diligence on prospective investments, with particular ownership of technical and commercial validation for science- and engineering-intensive companies.
  • Assess technology readiness, IP, scalability, unit economics, team, and market, and coordinate external technical experts and reference calls where needed.
• 3. Investment Analysis & Financial Modeling:
  • Build and own financial, valuation, and exit models, including cap table and returns…