Senior Investment Associate

Senior Associate\n\nApplied Ventures, LLC\n\nLocation: Santa Clara, CA (hybrid) \u00b7 Function: Corporate Venture Capital \u00b7 Level: Senior Associate (Post-MBA / Post-PhD) \u00b7 Reports to: Global Head of Applied Ventures\n\nAbout Applied Ventures\n\nApplied Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), the world\u2019s leading materials engineering company for the semiconductor and display industries. We deploy up to $100M annually, are stage-agnostic, and invest globally in deep tech founders building the next generation of semiconductors, advanced materials, photonics, AI/ML hardware, Physical AI, AI for Science and Materials, energy-efficient computing, and display technologies.\n\nWe operate with a dual mandate: deliver top-quartile financial returns and create strategic value for Applied Materials\u2019 business units, R\u0026D organizations, and global customers. We take board seats, write meaningful checks, and help our companies navigate the path from lab to fab. We are building \u201cCVC 2.0\u201d \u2014 a CVC that competes on conviction, technical depth, and operating leverage, not just capital.\n\nWhat You\u2019ll Do\n\n * Source \u0026 shape theses. Build proprietary deal flow across our priority sectors; pressure-test investment theses; cultivate founders, labs, accelerators, and co-investors across the US, Europe, and Asia (Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Israel, India).\n * Run diligence and execute deals. Lead end-to-end diligence (technology, market, team, IP, manufacturability, unit economics, customer validation); build models, cap tables, and return scenarios; coordinate technical diligence with AMAT R\u0026D and BUs; draft IC memos that lead with a point of view.\n * Support the portfolio. Drive KPI tracking, board prep, follow-on strategy, and customer introductions; tap AMAT\u2019s fab infrastructure, materials expertise, and global accounts; take board observer seats as you grow.\n * Build the firm and the ecosystem. Represent Applied Ventures at industry, university, and government forums; contribute to LP / co-investor reporting, fund strategy, and CVC 2.0 partnerships (e.g., ITRI/ITIC in Taiwan, KVIC in Korea).\n\n\n\nWho You Are\n\nWe want technical depth, commercial instinct, and a chip on your shoulder \u2014 the kind of person who reads the patent and the cap table, who won\u2019t stop until they understand. Equally important: that intensity comes with humility. No room for sharp elbows.\n\n * Curiosity that borders on obsession. Three layers deeper than the deck. Read the underlying papers and data room. Earn the founder\u2019s respect with your preparedness\n * Chip on your shoulder. Hungry, driven, allergic to mediocre work.\n * Diligent and detail-obsessed. Numbers tie. Models footnote assumptions. You catch the inconsistency on page 14 because you read page 14.\n * Depth and breadth. First-principles in a single stack; zoom out to value chains and customer pain. Microscope and telescope.\n * Self-starter, minimum supervision. See the gap, scope it, do it. Bring back a recommendation \u2014 not a question.\n * Network builder. Genuine, durable relationships, not LinkedIn collection. People return your calls two years later.\n * Humility, no sharp elbows. You make the team better. Disagree directly, commit fully. Brilliance with bad behavior doesn\u2019t work here.\n * Technical \u0026 commercial fluency. Hold your own on atomic-layer processes, compute-in-memory, photonic integration, advanced packaging, novel materials, and modern AI systems \u2014 and build the model, structure the deal, read the cap table.\n * Global mindset. Comfortable across time zones and ecosystems; networks in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Europe, Singapore, or India a plus.\n * Integrity: Uncompromising professional integrity. This is non-negotiable.\n\n\n\nQualifications\n\n * Education. MBA from a top program AND/OR MS/PhD in a relevant STEM field (engineering, materials science, physics, chemistry, CS, applied math, ML, or equivalent). Strong STEM undergrad highly preferred, even for MBA-only candidates.\n * Experience (required). 4\u20138+ years post-graduate experience spanning at least two \u2014 ideally all three \u2014 of: (1) venture capital or growth equity, (2) strategy / management consulting (deep tech, tech, or semis practice), and (3) technology product development at a deep tech, semis, hardware, materials, or AI company.\n * Deep tech AND AI experience is non-negotiable. Hands-on exposure to one or more of: semiconductors, advanced packaging, advanced materials, photonics, AI/ML hardware, Physical AI, AI for Science / Materials, energy-efficient computing, or displays. You have invested in, advised, or built in these spaces \u2014 not just read about them.\n * Owner of rigorous work product. Track record of owning IC memos, landscapes, technical diligence, financial models, and product strategy end-to-end \u2014 not just supporting them.\n * Nice to have. Direct VC track record (named on closed deals); patents, publications, or shipped products; multilingual or international working experience in key deep tech ecosystems.\n\n\n\nWhy This Role\n\n * Platform. Invest alongside the company that builds the equipment that builds the chips that run the world.\n * Mandate. Real capital, global, stage-agnostic \u2014 seed to growth, US to Asia, materials to AI hardware.\n * People. Small, senior, global team. Direct line to the Global Head and partners.\n * Trajectory. A path to investment lead and partner for those who earn it.\n\n\n\nHow to Apply\n\nApply via the Workday / LinkedIn posting linked below.\n\nApplied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.\n\n## Qualifications\n\n### Education:\n\nBachelor\u0027s Degree\n\n### Skills\n\n### Certifications:\n\n### Languages:\n\n### Years of Experience:\n\n4 - 7 Years\n\n### Work Experience:\n\n## Additional Information\n\n### \n\n### Shift:\n\n10-Day 8-Hr (United States of America)\n\n### \n\n### Travel:\n\nYes, 10% of the Time\n\n### \n\n### Relocation Eligible:\n\nYes\n\n### Referral Payment Plan:\n\nEmployee Referral (Standard)\n\nU.S. Salary Range:\n\n$161,000.00 - $221,000.00\n\nThe salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable. \n\nFor all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.\n\nApplied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. \n