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Antares Capital

Private credit manager delivering risk-adjusted returns

Vice President, Front Office Asset Management Program Manager

Full-Time
$175k - $235k+ Discretionary annual bonus
Expert
Bachelor's
Chicago, IL, USA+2 moreMore locations: New York, NY, USA | Atlanta, GA, USA
HybridMust work from the office; hybrid schedule indicated.
Project & Program ManagementProgram Management

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in business, finance, technology, engineering, data, or a related field.
  • At least 10 years of relevant experience, including significant experience leading complex technology, data, operating-model, or business-transformation initiatives.
  • Demonstrated success personally leading cross-functional initiatives across organizational boundaries and influencing stakeholders from problem definition through implementation, adoption, and measurable value realization without relying solely on direct reporting authority.
  • Strong business acumen and the ability to connect technology and data investments to business objectives and measurable outcomes.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication and executive presence, including the ability to translate complex, multidimensional issues into clear narratives, decisions, and actions tailored to C-suite, business, and technical audiences.
  • Demonstrated experience applying artificial intelligence, automation, or emerging technologies to improve business processes, accelerate delivery, or create measurable organizational value.
  • Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and coordinating internal and external delivery partners.
  • Experience within private markets, private credit, alternative asset management, or a closely related investment-management environment.
  • Ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy by setting direction, managing competing priorities, and driving initiatives forward without close supervision or frequent escalation for routine decisions.
  • Strong analytical, problem-structuring, and agile problem-solving skills, including framing ambiguous issues, testing assumptions, adapting as information emerges, and translating problems into executable paths forward.
  • Practical fluency with AI-enabled tools and approaches, including identifying opportunities to augment individual and team capacity, accelerate problem solving, and embed AI into scalable business and delivery processes.
  • Technology and data fluency sufficient to operate credibly across engineering, architecture, data, analytics, workflow, and platform teams.
  • Hands-on execution orientation and willingness to work directly through problems, decisions, and deliverables rather than operating solely through governance or oversight.
  • Ability to rapidly learn unfamiliar business and technology domains, identify what matters, and translate that understanding into action.
  • Strong ability to create momentum by converting ambiguity into structure, structure into decisions, and decisions into execution.
  • Strong stakeholder-management, influencing, and executive-communication skills.
  • Strong prioritization, decision-making, and execution discipline in complex environments.
  • Ability to move between strategic framing and detailed execution as circumstances require.
  • Strong consultative skills to understand business needs, constructively challenge assumptions, develop pragmatic solutions, and partner with stakeholders through implementation and successful outcomes.
  • Ability to connect delivery activity to adoption, business value, and measurable outcomes.
  • Strong written and verbal communication, including executive-level presentations and decision materials.
  • Working knowledge of private-credit investment processes, loan lifecycle, and portfolio-monitoring workflows sufficient to engage credibly with portfolio-management and investment-operations teams and identify meaningful technology and data improvements.
  • Ability to lead organizational change and manage adoption, including building stakeholder readiness, managing resistance, and sustaining engagement through multi-phase transformation.
  • Ability to maintain composure, credibility, and forward momentum in high-pressure, high-ambiguity environments with competing executive priorities.
  • Must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.
  • Must be willing to comply with pre-employment screening, including drug testing, reference verification, and background check.
  • Must be willing to work from the office.
Responsibilities
  • Lead complex, cross-functional transformation and strategic initiatives from initial problem framing through implementation, adoption, and measurable outcomes.
  • Translate strategic objectives into executable plans with clear priorities, sequencing, milestones, dependencies, decision points, and accountable owners.
  • Mobilize and lead integrated business and technology teams around defined outcomes, establishing effective operating cadences and clear accountability.
  • Coordinate execution across business stakeholders, technology, data, architecture, data governance, quality, and other enterprise capabilities while preserving functional ownership.
  • Identify and resolve cross-functional dependencies, risks, and execution barriers; elevate decisions requiring senior leadership intervention with clear options and recommendations.
  • Partner with initiative leaders to define success measures and appropriate baselines, and drive accountability for delivery, adoption, value realization, and measurable business outcomes.
  • Identify and apply AI-enabled approaches, automation, and emerging technologies to accelerate delivery, scale organizational capacity, and establish repeatable practices that improve business processes and outcomes.
  • Drive effective coordination across internal teams and strategic delivery partners, ensuring resources are aligned to priorities and outcomes.
  • Provide concise, decision-oriented communications to senior stakeholders on progress, risks, dependencies, outcomes, and required actions.
  • Lead emerging strategic initiatives that require cross-functional coordination, problem solving, judgment, and execution leadership.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with enterprise data, analytics, workflow, technology platforms, or technology-enabled operating-model transformation.
  • Experience in management consulting, technology consulting, internal strategy/transformation, or a comparable role requiring a highly consultative approach to solving complex business problems.
  • Experience and background in the buy-side financial technology industry.
  • Prior experience supporting, partnering with, or being embedded within a buy-side portfolio-management, investment-operations, or front-office team, rather than working adjacent to one.
  • An advanced degree or relevant professional certification.

About the company

Antares Capital manages private credit investments for institutional investors. It deploys capital through private debt strategies to support middle-market companies and other borrowers, earning returns from interest, fees, and capital appreciation. The firm relies on a long track record and a seasoned, cycle-tested team to assess risk, structure loans, and monitor portfolio credit quality. With approximately $80 billion of capital under management as of December 31, 2024, and offices in multiple North American and European cities, Antares differentiates itself through depth of experience, scale, and a broad, globally aware approach to credit investing. The company aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors and create long-term value for all partners by staying disciplined through credit cycles and maintaining a strong risk-management culture.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

$7M

Headquarters

Chicago, Illinois

Founded

1996

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Antares closed SLF III at $8.5 billion in May 2026, above target.
  • March 2026's $1.7 billion Ares-led continuation fund monetized old loans and attracted fresh capital.
  • Fitch's June 2026 stable outlook and $5.2 billion undrawn capacity support expansion.

What critics are saying

  • Private credit competition is pressuring structures and pricing across 2026 vintages.
  • AI disruptions will stress portfolio companies, especially healthcare and business-services borrowers.
  • A default spike would crush fundraising, impair AUM growth, and damage the franchise.

What makes Antares Capital unique

  • Thirty years of sponsor relationships still anchor Antares' direct-lending origination machine.
  • Antares held first place in 2026 large-cap direct lending with 26% share.
  • Fitch affirmed Antares BBB in June 2026, supporting institutional trust.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Profit Sharing
  • Paid Vacation
  • Fertility Treatment Support
  • Family Planning Benefits
  • Parental Leave

Company News

aiCIO
Oct 6th, 2026
Octagon Credit Investors names investor relations head.

Octagon Credit Investors names investor relations head. John Zilko will lead institutional client development at the $31 billion manager. Alternative credit manager Octagon Credit Investors LLC announced Wednesday the appointment of John Zilko as head of investor solutions and business development, reporting to COO Douglas McDermott. The firm - owned by insurance asset manager Conning - manages $31 billion in assets across collateralized loan obligations, broadly syndicated loans, structure credit, multi-asset credit and direct lending strategies in the below-investment-grade corporate credit and private credit markets. "John has a proven track record of building and leading institutional client businesses at some of the most respected firms in our industry. His deep credit market expertise, strategic perspective, and collaborative approach make him an exceptional addition to Octagon," Octagon CEO Gretchen Lam said in a statement. "As we continue to expand our business, John will play an important role in identifying new areas of demand, growing our client base, and advancing our commercial strategy." Zilko previously was head of Americas investor coverage at CPP Investments-owned credit manager Antares Capital and had been head of U.S. institutional sales at PineBridge Investments. "It is a rare opportunity to join a firm of Octagon's caliber," Zilko said in a statement. "Octagon has built an enduring franchise over more than three decades, grounded in disciplined investing and longstanding client relationships. The breadth of the firm's credit capabilities creates significant potential to serve both existing and new investors in new ways.: Zilko earned a bachelor of arts degree in finance from the University of South Florida. CPP Investments Partners with AT&T, GIP on fiber joint venture. Forged Fiber 37 will invest across 16 US states to help meet the growing demand resulting from the artificial intelligence boom. AT&T Corp. announced on Tuesday an agreement with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and BlackRock Inc.'s Global Infrastructure Partners unit to form a joint venture to invest in commercial fiber internet infrastructure. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval. Under the agreement, AT&T will hold a 50% stake in the venture - Forged Fiber 37 - with GIP and CPP Investments owning the other 50%. A statement from AT&T noted that the new organization will accelerate the delivery of the infrastructure needed to support the high-performance connectivity demanded by the artificial intelligence boom. "Demand for reliable, high-capacity connectivity continues to grow, making fiber infrastructure an increasingly important part of the digital economy," said James Bryce, CPP Investments' head of infrastructure, in a statement. "By combining AT&T's extensive fiber expertise with strategic capital, this joint venture is well positioned to expand critical connectivity across the United States and to generate long-term investment value for the CPP Fund." GIP manages more than $200 billion in assets. CPP Investments managed C$863.6 billion ($606.46 billion) in assets as of June 30, benefiting more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries.

Business Wire
May 12th, 2026
Antares Capital closes $8.5B Senior Loan Fund III, exceeding initial targets

Antares Capital, a leading alternative credit manager with approximately $90 billion in capital under management, has closed its Senior Loan Fund III with $8.5 billion in total commitments, exceeding initial targets. The fund invests in diversified portfolios of primarily senior secured loans across US and Canadian borrowers. SLF III attracted broad participation from new and existing investors, including employees, family offices, asset managers, insurance companies and other global institutions. The fundraise reflects continued institutional demand for private credit amid heightened manager selectivity. Antares leverages nearly 30 years of experience and long-standing sponsor relationships to source investment opportunities. The firm, backed by CPP Investments, maintains offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and London.

Yahoo Finance
Apr 23rd, 2026
Thoma Bravo's $5.1B Medallia wipeout deepens software, private credit reckoning

Thoma Bravo is nearing an agreement to transfer control of customer experience software firm Medallia to its lenders, wiping out $5.1 billion in equity. Creditors including Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global and Antares Capital, who hold $3 billion in Medallia debt, will take over the company. Thoma Bravo acquired Medallia for $6.4 billion in 2021 during the low-interest rate era. Lenders have already written down the debt significantly, with valuations ranging from 74 to 79 cents on the dollar. The collapse highlights mounting stress in private credit and software sectors. Business development companies are now trading at their deepest discounts to net asset values in over 5.5 years. There were $46.9 billion in distressed software loans across the private credit market as of February 2026.

Bloomberg Law
Apr 2nd, 2026
Pritzker-backed cleaning firm PLZ secures private credit refinancing from Ares

PLZ Corp., a cleaning-products maker backed by PPC Partners, has refinanced its debt through private credit lenders. Ares Management and Antares Capital arranged the financing for the company. PPC Partners was originally founded by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and his brother Anthony, members of the billionaire Pritzker family. The investment firm's backers include family groups and institutions worldwide. PLZ has been working with Houlihan Lokey to address its debt refinancing. Representatives for PLZ, PPC Partners, Ares and Antares declined to comment on the transaction.

Royal Crescent Publishing Limited
Mar 30th, 2026
Antares closes $1.7B continuation fund led by Ares for private credit portfolio

Antares Capital has closed a $1.7 billion continuation fund led by Ares Management, marking its second such vehicle. The fund purchased assets from a closed-end private credit fund, comprising over 300 first-lien, floating-rate loans. Ares Credit Secondaries funds led the transaction alongside a commitment from Antares. The deal provides existing investors with liquidity options whilst offering new investors access to Antares' private credit portfolio. Antares, which manages approximately $90 billion in assets, will continue managing the continuation vehicle and underlying loans. The transaction represents the second continuation vehicle between Ares and Antares within the past year. Evercore served as lead financial adviser, with GreensLedge and Moelis & Company also advising on the deal. Ares cited the investment as demonstrating its scaled capital base and expertise across credit and secondaries markets.