Biosciences Fund - Associate/Senior Associate

Come join Connecticut Innovations as a Venture Capital Associate/Senior Associate supporting our Biosciences Fund!

Connecticut Innovations (CI)

As Connecticut's strategic venture capital arm and one of the most active investors on the eastern seaboard, CI has a portfolio of 250 companies across various industries, with deep strength in life sciences, technology and climate tech. CI meets with hundreds of companies every year, identifying the most promising early-stage companies looking to grow in the state. Every year, CI invests in 20+ new companies, in addition to providing follow-on capital to another 50 existing portfolio companies. CI also invests as a Limited Partner in outside venture funds based in CT (17 in the past 6 years).

• CI has invested $450 million in innovative startups in the last decade alone
• Outside funds have invested 10X this amount

CI’s latest fiscal year generated $43.2 million in proceeds, which as an evergreen fund will be put to work investing in more companies.

Our culture is vibrant, diverse and collaborative. We embrace all perspectives and have mission alignment on our impact to Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem. We host or participate in over 20 ecosystem events per year, and our headquarters at The District in New Haven is a catalyst for partnership and an innovation ecosystem community hub.

CI Bioscience Innovation Fund (CBIF)

CI makes investments from the $200 million CBIF in the form of equity investments and loans to speed bioscience breakthroughs to market. The portfolio consists of over 100 companies covering verticals including digital health, pharmaceuticals, biotech, life sciences tools, diagnostics, medical devices, and more.

• Since 2013, CI’s Bioscience investment activity has more than doubled, and we have seen $3.5+ billion in outside capital leveraged within this portfolio.
• Recent CI Bioscience portfolio IPOs include Arvinas, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, RallyBio, Sema4, Veradermics. Combined market cap of these companies, including purchase price of BHVN by Pfizer, is $20 Billion.
• Recent CI Bioscience portfolio acquisitions include Avitus, Biorez, Dia Imaging Analysis, Diameter Health, Halda Therapeutics, Medically Home, Modifi Bio, Populi.

CBIF Venture Capital Associate/Senior Associate (Durational Role)

The CBIF Venture Team is small and close knit. Each team member plays a pivotal role in building out the deal pipeline, supporting the investment due diligence process pre-investment and serving as a growth consultant post-investment, to enable portfolio company scaling. It is a team that embraces diversity of thought, listens with an open mind, thinks big and concretely, and invests with the mission in mind.

We are hiring a CBIF Venture Capital Associate/Senior Associate in a durational role (up to 3 years) to support our active, high-tech bioscience portfolio. This is a unique hands-on venture capital experience in an innovative, collaborative work environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. This opportunity to contribute, add value, and make an economic impact on the State of Connecticut is quite rare.

Team members play a key role in executing our investment strategy by researching and cultivating promising investment opportunities and participating in all phases of the investment process including sourcing, due diligence, meetings with management, focused company and industry research, financial modeling, writing investment recommendations. Post-investment, team members monitor the portfolio company and support the business on strategic growth initiatives and potentially serve as board members or board observers.

Team members will also support the Connecticut Innovations’ BioAccelerator, a founder-first program designed to turn high-potential life science ideas into fundable companies—rapidly—with deep operational support, investor access, and non-dilutive resources

Responsibilities

• Help shape CBIF’s point of view on innovation in healthcare, life sciences, and related sectors, developing insight into where the market is heading and how investment strategy should evolve.
• Source and evaluate new investment opportunities across healthcare, life sciences, and enabling technologies.
• Assess startups and growth-stage companies through market, product, competitive, and technology analysis.
• Lead financial modeling and valuation, support deal structuring, and participate in negotiating and closing investment terms in collaboration with the CBIF team.
• Prepare investment memos, reports, and presentations for CI advisory committees and the CI Board of Directors.
• Work closely with portfolio companies to identify strategic, commercial, and partnership opportunities that drive growth and impact.
• Support the efforts of the BioAccelerator through provision of tailored operational support across multiple new Companies and technologies.
• Represent CI at industry events and within the innovation ecosystem to strengthen visibility and sourcing.

Qualifications

• PhD strongly preferred; MD/PhD highly desirable. Candidates with a Master’s degree in business or science will be considered, doctoral-level training is a significant advantage.
• Knowledge of the healthcare and life sciences landscape, including therapeutics, biotechnology, MedTech, diagnostics, and digital health.
• You have a network or interest in building a network within the life sciences venture capital ecosystem, including relationships with relevant academic institutions, VCs, incubators, and accelerators.
• Experience in conducting market, product, competitive and valuation analysis.
• Startup/growth experience in a venture-backed company is highly valued, especially serving as a founder.
• Experience in investment origination, due diligence, deal execution, and portfolio company management preferred.
• Experience within biotechnology, lifesciences or MedTech companies as an operator is preferred.

Personal Characteristics

• Entrepreneurial mindset, ambitious self-starter with proven ability to work in a collaborative and diverse environment. High energy, effort, fun and positive mental attitude are all must-haves.
• Problem-solving skills and ability to work well with autonomy and ambiguity.
• Motivated to succeed in a fast-paced environment. Must be able to demonstrate very high IQ and EQ.
• Willingness and ability to move between relatively routine and detail-oriented work, to a higher degree of critical thinking and judgment.
• Demonstrated curiosity in top .05%
• Appropriate combination of self-confidence and humility, a consummate team player with a history of making teams perform at a higher level.
• Motivation, commitment, and dedication to excellence must be exemplified in all prior work and academic history. Outsized drive and ambition are essential.

This role will work at Connecticut Innovations’ headquarters in New Haven, CT, and our team is in the office most days unless we visit companies. Having a Connecticut residency is required for this role. Out of state candidates are welcome to apply only if the candidate (and family) fully moves to Connecticut prior to the start date.

Connecticut Innovations offers a base salary, with additional bonus opportunities based on team and individual investment performance, generous paid time off, flexible work schedules, and a culture that encourages work-life balance. Connecticut Innovations is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of people from all walks of life with the demonstrated qualifications outlined above.