Senior Associate, Ankura Capital Advisors

Ankura is a team of excellence founded on innovation and growth.

Practice Overview

Ankura Capital Advisors is a growing M&A advisory practice that partners with family-owned, founder-led, and PE-backed companies across the full deal lifecycle — sell-side and buy-side processes, capital raises, carve-outs, and special situations. We operate with the analytical rigor of a larger platform and the ownership model of a firm where your work actually matters.

We’re looking for a Senior Associate who is excellent at the work and ready for more: more visibility, more ownership, and a genuine role in building something

Role Overview

If you’re strong at what you do but feel like a small gear in a large machine — building materials that pass through four layers before a client sees them, running processes you’ll never close — this role was written for someone like you.

At ACA, you’ll have meaningful ownership of execution, working closely with MDs on live transactions from start to finish. Client contact is direct — we’re looking for someone who is comfortable being on the front lines of a deal, engaging with clients and counterparties as a representative of the firm, not behind the scenes. You’ll have genuine exposure across the firm as we continue to grow, and you’re joining a platform where the person who helps build what comes next has a real path to grow with it.

Compensation is competitive at the Senior Associate level.

The AI Requirement — And We Mean Requirement

Ankura is an AI-first firm. Microsoft Copilot is embedded across the organization, and ACA is building its deal execution workflows around it. This is not an experiment — it is how we work.

We are looking for someone who has already done this. Not someone curious about AI, but someone who has:

• Built repeatable workflows using Copilot, ChatGPT, or comparable tools

• Used AI to materially change how diligence, research, or client materials get produced

• Advocated for — or led — AI adoption at their current firm, formally or otherwise

• Reaches for AI tools instinctively, with strong judgment about when to apply them and when not to

The right candidate will see this as a feature of the role, not a footnote in the qualifications. They will also have the opportunity to help continue building ACA’s AI infrastructure — not just inherit it.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day M&A execution (sell-side, buy-side, carve-outs, special situations) under MD direction

• Build and oversee fully integrated financial models — 3-statement, LBO, merger/accretion-dilution, scenario and sensitivity analysis

• Own valuation and returns workstreams: trading and transaction comps, DCF, precedent transactions, synergy analysis

• Coordinate business, financial, and operational due diligence; manage data room workflows, trackers, and Q&A processes

• Create and refine pitch and marketing materials: teasers, CIMs, management presentations, board materials, and IC memos

• Use AI tools to accelerate research, diligence review, benchmarking, and content production — and actively contribute to how those workflows evolve at the firm

• Support business development: identify targets and buyers, maintain buyer and sponsor landscapes, support new mandates

• Build and maintain direct relationships with clients, prospective clients, and professional advisors

Qualifications

• 3+ years of investment banking experience with meaningful, hands-on M&A transaction exposure

• Demonstrated experience using AI tools to change how work gets done — workflow building, not just casual use

• Advanced financial modeling, valuation, and analytical skills

• Prior restructuring, debt advisory, or leveraged finance experience preferred

• Exceptional written and verbal communication; executive presence with clients

• Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills; familiarity with Capital IQ, FactSet, or PitchBook

• High degree of integrity, maturity, and attention to detail

• Self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with real ownership

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred

• SIE 7, 79, and 63 licenses required at time of hire or shortly thereafter

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future.

#LI-MJ1

#LI-Hybrid

For individuals assigned and/or hired to work in California, Colorado, New York or other states with relevant pay transparency laws, Ankura is required to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This compensation range is specific to the said markets and considers a broad range of factors including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled.  The range does not include additional benefits outside of salary. At Ankura, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each role. A reasonable estimate of the current base pay range is between $65,000 to $155,000; this range is not a promise of a particular wage.

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Ankura is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against based on disability. Equal Employment Opportunity Posters, if you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening, submit an online application, or participate in an interview/assessment, please email [email protected] or call toll-free +1.312-583-2122. This email and phone number are created exclusively to assist disabled job seekers whose disability prevents them from being able to apply online. Only messages left for this purpose will be returned. Messages left for other purposes, such as following up on an application or technical issues unrelated to a disability, will not receive a response.