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Planetary Health, Senior Associate - Investment

Boston, MA

Imagine if you had the skills, knowledge, and teammates to both understand the root of the world’s most pressing problems and build the technologies and companies best positioned to solve them. RA Capital has done exactly that for more than two decades, backing bold ideas in medicines to further human health and now expanding into Planetary Health to improve how efficiently we utilize the world’s precious resources.

RA Capital is among the leading providers of capital and services to the most promising innovators in the world.  We invest flexibly—seed to IPO and beyond, anywhere in the world—with $10 B+ under management and a culture that prizes curiosity, rigor, and collaborative debate. We are investors who not only fund companies but get elbow deep in building them. From helping them recruit talent to helping them recruit patients for their studies to helping match them to strategic partners and even going to Washington to win reforms, RA Capital’s large team has people with nearly every relevant expertise one might need to turn an idea into a cure that actually helps people. 

If you live for first-principles problem-solving with great colleagues, thrive on complexity, and want to do meaningful work that ripples across industries and ecosystems, you’ll feel at home at RA Capital. Here, questions are welcomed, ideas are tested, and victories are shared. Even our lawyers are creative and engaging. And don’t get us started on our compliance team’s wicked sense of humor; nothing about what we do is boring. 

Are you ready to bring your creativity, discipline and collaborative spirit to help us invent the future? Join us and you’ll collaborate daily with investors, founders, physicians, biologists, engineers, economists, and reform advocates who think in systems and act with urgency.  

Join us to invent a happier, healthier, more productive future - and have fun doing it.

 

Overview

Our Team:
Planetary Health invests in high-growth early-stage companies and high return infrastructure opportunities that support planetary health by reducing pollution, advancing resource availability, and restoring environmental quality. Our investment verticals include materials/mining, manufacturing, energy, agriculture/food, and environmental services. We support scalable, market-driven solutions and leverage RA Capital’s two decades of evidence-based investing and company-building expertise.

Position Overview:
We’re seeking an experienced Senior Associate to join our Planetary Health Investment Team. Reporting to Managing Partners, you'll spearhead deal sourcing, diligence, and support to portfolio companies.

**Please note this is not a position on our Healthcare Investment team or TechAtlas team**

Candidates must be eager to experiment with ways to incorporate AI into their work to be more efficient and effective. RA Capital is looking for people who are proactive about using AI where possible, looking for new tools and even creating new tools; AI is transforming our work, and we are specifically looking for AI-forward people to ensure that we are leveraging these tools to make us as effective as possible.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Thesis Development: Create and update competitive landscapes (market maps) in key sectors that help inform investment decisions by identifying which opportunities are best positioned for financial success. Also collaborate with our research team on thesis development. 
  • Deal Sourcing: Source investments via research, networking, inbound filters & company calls. Support investment pipeline management.   
  • Due Diligence: Lead in-depth market analysis, financial modeling, competitive analysis, and investment memo writing.
  • Portfolio Support: Assist Managing Partners with company building (go-to-market strategy, hiring, fundraising).

Key Skills:

  • Team player who cares about supporting their colleagues.
  • Proactive doer who gets things done with little oversight; willing to hustle to help build the platform.
  • Demonstrated ability to identify high-growth companies and investment opportunities.
  • Excellent attention to detail, organization, and project management skills.
  • Intellectually curious individual who is constantly looking for new ways to up-level their knowledge and growth.
  • Networker with charisma—candidates and founders gravitate to your energy.
  • Mission aligned with supporting early-stage tech innovation and planetary health companies.
  • Excels at prioritization.

Requirements:

  • Strong academic track record with a Bachelors degree in Engineering, Physical Sciences or a related major. Advanced technical degree (Masters/PhD) preferred.  
  • 3–6 years in venture capital, investment banking, consulting, operations, and/or startup leadership. Strong preference for operating experience, particularly in start-up companies. 
  • Strong analytical toolkit: familiarity with unit economics analysis, market sizing and analysis, technoeconomic analysis, and first principals analysis of products and technology. Financial modeling skills required. 
  • Excellent writing & communication—e.g. ability to summarize complex concepts with a crisp summary. 
  • Comfortable in ambiguous environments—context-switch with multiple priorities quickly and effortlessly, and grounding decisions in data and consistently learning from them.
  • Must be based in the Greater Boston area. No relocation provided.
  • Must be willing to work on a hybrid schedule (4 days on-site) in our Boston office.
  • Must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

​RA Capital is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you require an accommodation during the interview process, please reach out to careers@racap.com for assistance.

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