Principal, Product Investment Design

Job Description Summary

For over forty years, HarbourVest has been home to a committed team of professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to deliver impactful solutions to our clients and investing partners. As our global firm grows, we continue to add individuals who seek a collaborative, open-door culture that values diversity and innovative thinking.

In our collegial environment that’s marked by low turnover and high energy, you’ll be inspired to grow and thrive. Here, you will be encouraged to build on your strengths and acquire new skills and experiences.

We are committed to fostering an environment of inclusion that promotes mutual respect among all employees. Understanding and valuing these differences optimizes the potential of both the individual and the firm.

HarbourVest is an equal opportunity employer.

This position will be a hybrid work arrangement. You will receive 18 remote workdays per quarter to use at your discretion, subject to manager approval. For example, you may choose to work in the office 4 days per week and take one remote day weekly (typically 13 weeks per quarter), leaving 5 additional remote days to be used as needed.

HarbourVest is creating a new senior role, Principal, Product Investment Design, within its Product Design & Development function. This role provides dedicated, senior-level investment leadership at the earliest and most conceptual stage of new product design, working alongside the Head of Product Design & Development to translate strategically aligned product ideas into fully structured, operational, and distributable products.

The role sits within Product Design, which establishes the product blueprint: the investment and portfolio construction approach, pricing, commercial positioning, foundational legal and tax structuring, and new investment and operating platform requirements. It is distinct from, but works closely with, Product Development, which executes the build and launch across legal, tax, operations, compliance, finance, and distribution stakeholders.

What you will do

• Lead integrated investment design: Create recommendations balancing investment manufacturing capacity and capabilities, portfolio management and investment allocation, tax structuring, and marketability into firm-level trade-off decisions for new products.
• Platform infrastructure building: Define requirements and pressure-test feasibility from a detailed transaction investment perspective, and evaluate trade-offs across investment, operations, and distribution functions in the creation of new or expanded platform opportunities.
• Engage clients and partners: Engage as an active participant in exploratory strategic and distribution partner product discussions, seed investment negotiations, and early anchor funding meetings to represent the firm's investment capabilities. Serve alongside the Head of Product Design & Development as a senior representative supporting bespoke, investment-led product positioning and corresponding collateral creation in coordination with the Product Design’s Marketing team.
• Oversee portfolio economics: Partner with Product Design Product Finance team to support the evaluation of term changes (e.g. pricing, structure) and consistency of investment manufacturing economics across the product portfolio and forward product pipeline.
• Leadership Support: Provide critical leadership redundancy in cross-firm product-centric investment leadership.

What you bring

• Demonstrated investment transaction experience
• Familiarity with portfolio construction and portfolio management
• Breadth across multiple investment strategies (e.g., primary, secondary, direct/co-investment, credit, and infrastructure)
• Ability to evaluate legal, tax, regulatory, operational, and commercial trade-offs and apply them at strategic firm level
• Credibility with investment teams, distribution partners, clients, and senior stakeholders
• Entrepreneurial interest in building and professionalizing a firm-level product function

Education Preferred

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Science (B.S) or equivalent experience required, Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science (M.S) or equivalent experience preferred

Experience

• 12+ years of experience in investment, portfolio management, or related transaction work

Base Salary Range

$300,000.00 - $325,000.00

This USD base salary range represents only one component of total compensation for this role and is provided in accordance with local requirements. This role is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, which is determined based on individual and overall firm performance. In addition to salary and bonus, total compensation may include eligibility for long-term reward programs and a comprehensive total rewards package that may include retirement, health, insurance, paid time off, and wellness programs. Our total rewards offerings are influenced by several business factors, and eligibility for certain components will vary by position and geography. Please note the posted ranges do not apply outside the U.S. and should not be converted to other currencies as a proxy for compensation in other countries.