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Investment Associate - Tech Growth Equity and Growth Buyout

Lazard Elaia Capital is hiring!

About

At Lazard Elaia Capital, we believe exceptional companies are built by exceptional teams - and that great investors earn the right to partner with founders by bringing curiosity, clarity and conviction.

LEC backs fast-growing European B2B technology and AI companies with c.€10-100 million in revenue that are already profitable or scaling with discipline. We invest €20-60 million, in minority or control situations, and tailor capital and governance to each company's ambition.

Our firm is built from a distinctive alliance between Lazard, one of the world's foremost financial institutions, and Elaia, a leading European technology venture capital firm. Elaia brings deep local roots and technology insight from early-stage innovation; Lazard brings long-standing global connectivity with the world's leading strategic and financial stakeholders.

At LEC, our strength lies in the diversity of perspectives we bring to every partnership. We take the time to understand each company’s path, working closely with entrepreneurs and leadership teams as active thought partners. We work off-playbook by design: no rigid templates, no default capital structure, and no single path for what a category leader should become.

Job Description

Your role

As an Associate, you will be a core member of LEC’s lean investment team, contributing across the full investment cycle — from origination and execution to portfolio management and exit. This is a high-ownership role for someone ready to develop independent judgment, build sector expertise and take real responsibility early. You will help identify exceptional companies, form conviction, drive diligence workstreams and support management teams after closing, growing your impact as you earn trust through the quality of your thinking, initiative and execution.

What you will do :

  • Originate opportunities and build conviction
    Source and evaluate investments. Leverage the Lazard and Elaia ecosystems while developing your own network of founders, senior level executives, advisers and co-investors.

    Develop theses. Map priority markets, identify technology shifts, track emerging category leaders and turn research into clear, investable views.

    Become a sub-sector expert. Over time, we expect you to develop expertise on market segment or business model to carry real weight inside the team.

  • Evaluate and execute investments
    Lead diligence workstreams. Drive commercial, financial, legal and technical diligence, doing extensive hands on research, as well as coordinating advisers and synthesising findings.

    Shape investment judgement. Create financial models and analyses that underpin our investment decisions. Co-author Investment Committee memos, contribute to recommendations and communicate complex analysis with clarity and conviction.

    Support structuring and closing. Contribute to structuring and negotiation, and coordinate the mechanics required to move from conviction to completed investment.

  • Partner with portfolio companies
    Monitor performance. Track KPIs, financial performance and strategic priorities, turning data into practical insights for the team and portfolio leadership.

    Support value creation. Work with management teams on priority initiatives and contribute to board-level governance with preparation, analysis and follow-through.

  • Support exits and help build LEC
    Prepare for exits. As companies mature, support exit readiness, from shaping the equity story and preparing materials to engaging advisers, buyers and strategic stakeholders.

    Build the firm. Contribute to recruiting, build internal knowledge systems, shape investment processes and the culture of a firm that is still writing its own story.

Preferred Experience

You are already in the investment arena. You have spent 2–4 years in private equity, growth equity, venture capital, M&A, investment banking, consulting or a closely related field — and you are ready to move from analysing companies to helping choose, back and build them.

You are genuinely curious about technology. You start your morning with tech news, follow the latest AI releases a little too closely, and enjoy understanding why one product, platform or business model might reshape an entire market.

You have an investor’s instinct. You follow markets, enjoy debating companies and business models, and probably have a view on Buffett, bubbles, moats, multiples or why a great company is not always a great investment.

You are fluent in numbers. Financial models do not scare you; in fact, you might secretly enjoy them. You are comfortable with valuation, rigorous in your analysis, and naturally use data, spreadsheets and first-principles thinking to separate signal from noise.

You can turn complexity into conviction. You know how to identify what really matters in a company, simplify messy information into a clear view, and communicate your thinking with structure, confidence and humility.

You take ownership without waiting to be asked. You are proactive, organised and comfortable driving workstreams independently — while having the judgement to know when to bring others in.

You build trust easily. Whether with founders, management teams, advisers or colleagues, you combine ambition with humility, sharp thinking with empathy, and commercial instinct with genuine relationship-building skills.

You have builder energy. You are excited by the idea of helping shape a platform that is still being built — contributing not only to deals, but also to the culture, standards and reputation of the firm.

You are excited to be in Paris, with an international mindset. Initially based in Paris, there is a potential opportunity to relocate to London in a 2–3 year timeframe. Fluency in French is welcome but not required.

LEC is committed to equal opportunity. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and are committed to building a team shaped by diverse perspectives, experiences and ideas.

Additional Information

  • Contract Type: Full-Time
  • Location: Paris
  • Experience: > 2 years
  • Occasional remote authorized
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