MBA Investment Associate

Cortex is building an AI-native holding company in engineering services. We partner with founders of established engineering firms and develop AI tools alongside their teams to help them deliver projects faster, expand capacity, and grow.

Our approach brings together acquiring good businesses and developing technology that makes them more valuable. We’re building for long-term ownership, with an ambition to change how engineering work gets done.

We’re looking for an MBA Investment Associate to work directly with our CEO and M&A team on acquisition strategy and live opportunities.

You’ll help assess which businesses we should pursue, what they are worth, and where Cortex can create value. The work spans investment analysis, conversations with business owners, transaction execution, and evaluating how technology could improve a business after acquisition.

You’ll take ownership of defined work streams, develop your own recommendations, and contribute directly to decisions about our early acquisitions.

• Develop investment theses and source opportunities. Identify attractive markets and businesses, assess their fit with Cortex, and help build relationships with founders and intermediaries.
• Underwrite acquisitions. Analyze financial performance, customer relationships, competitive positioning, and risks. Build valuation models and write investment recommendations that make a clear case for pursuing or passing on an opportunity.
• Advance live transactions. Participate in founder conversations, support commercial and financial diligence, and evaluate transaction structures alongside the M&A team.
• Assess opportunities for growth and improvement. Work with our technical team to understand where AI could improve delivery, capacity, and profitability, and reflect those opportunities realistically in the investment case.

You’re currently pursuing an MBA and are interested in investing, entrepreneurship through acquisition, or leading a business. You may have a background in private equity, investment banking, consulting, corporate development, or operations.

You’re comfortable with financial statements and modeling, can form a view from incomplete information, and communicate clearly. You’re willing to challenge assumptions, thoughtful in conversations with business owners, and reliable about moving work forward independently.

An interest in how AI can reshape established businesses is important. A technical background is not required.

This is an opportunity to develop both investment judgment and an owner’s perspective. You’ll examine how a business makes money, whether an acquisition makes sense, and what it would take to improve the business under our ownership.

Working closely with a small founding team, you’ll see how sourcing, founder relationships, financial analysis, and technology come together in acquisition decisions.