Associate, Technology, Value Creation Team

About Permira

Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds across two core asset classes, private equity and credit, with total committed capital of approximately €80bn. The Permira private equity funds make both long-term majority (Buyout) and minority (Growth Equity) investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Healthcare, Services. The Permira credit funds support businesses with flexible financing solutions across Direct Lending, Strategic Opportunities and CLO Management. Established in 2007, the firm advises investment funds and products which have provided approximately €20 billion of debt capital to over 300 businesses.

Role Overview

We’re hiring an Associate to join our Technology Value Creation Team (VCT). This is a high-impact role spanning across the full lifecycle of our investments—from diligence to post-close initiatives—collaborating closely with other investment professionals, portfolio CTOs, and cross-functional leaders.

This role offers exposure to both investing and operating workstreams and is ideal for individuals seeking a unique blend of strategy, execution, and long-term leadership development across leading software and software-enabled companies.

In this role, you’ll also work closely with Permira’s in-house AI Labs to identify and implement opportunities to transform portfolio companies into AI-first businesses. You’ll help drive AI-powered product strategy, organizational enablement, and operational change on top of battle-tested enterprise SaaS VCP levers–unlocking both top-line acceleration and EBITDA margin expansion.

This role is based in Menlo Park, CA with an expectation of 4 days per week in office to facilitate high collaboration with the investing and operating teams. Total compensation for this role is $300k. 

Key Responsibilities

• Lead technical diligence, assessing product differentiation, software architecture, engineering maturity, and AI readiness
• Partner with deal teams to synthesize product and technical insights into compelling value creation initiatives that are core to the investment theses
• Drive post-close value creation in partnership with CEOs, CPTOs, and other functional leaders
• Define AI-driven product strategy and alignment to commercial outcomes (e.g., pricing, packaging, bookings acceleration, churn mitigation)
• Collaborate with our AI Labs to embed AI-first capabilities into portfolio company workflows, tooling, and offerings
• Assess portfolio company exposure to disruptive AI entrants and new technologies and develop strategies to mitigate risk and adapt
• Identify and support implementation of AI-centric use cases that drive revenue growth, improve customer experience, and expand margins
• Support go-to-market execution (e.g., enablement, monetization, sales motion design)
• Partner on operational improvements across product, engineering, and AI  

What We’re Looking For

We’re seeking candidates with strong analytical skills, sharp commercial acumen, and deep technology underpinnings. Essential skills and characteristics include:

• Track record of top performance in your current role
• 3+ years of experience supporting investment diligence and value creation processes—both technical and commercial—including assessment of product maturity, software architecture, GTM readiness, and market positioning
• Experience with or exposure to AI/ML technologies, architectures, or applied use cases in enterprise software
• Strong analytics and problem-solving skills
• High emotional intelligence and influence with a proven ability to build trust across teams
• Cultural fit within Permira – intellectually curious, low ego, team-first, entrepreneurial mindset

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