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HarbourVest

HarbourVest

Global private markets investment manager

Associate – Primary Investments

Full-Time
$140k - $150k/yr

+ Annual bonus + Long-term reward programs

Junior, Mid
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS)
Boston, MA, USA
Hybrid

Hybrid arrangement with up to 18 remote workdays per quarter, subject to manager approval.

About the job

Requirements
  • A strong work background in manager research, investment consulting, investment banking, or related financial services.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Strong quantitative skills with deep experience in Excel.
  • A strong academic background with coursework in finance, business, or accounting.
  • Two to three years of experience in manager research, investment consulting, investment banking, or related financial services.
  • A Bachelor of Arts or equivalent experience.
  • A Bachelor of Science or equivalent experience.
Responsibilities
  • Perform due diligence on Private Equity, Growth Equity, and Venture Capital managers and fund opportunities, including preparing detailed performance and benchmarking analyses, participating in manager diligence meetings, making reference calls, and conducting independent research.
  • Source and evaluate new Private Equity, Growth Equity, and Venture Capital fund opportunities; develop investment theses; present key findings to senior professionals; and prepare diligence materials for presentation to the global Investment Committee.
  • Complete special projects for internal use and client requests, including industry research and market updates, and prepare materials for HarbourVest's Annual Meeting and other client meetings.
  • Monitor primary fund investments by attending Annual Meetings, reviewing quarterly and annual reports, participating in portfolio update calls, and building and enhancing relationships with fund managers.
  • Source and refer direct equity, credit, and secondary opportunities internally and facilitate or assist with their initial assessment.
  • Build and expand a personal network and knowledge base through continued interaction with professionals at HarbourVest.
Desired Qualifications
  • Strong work ethic and ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment.
  • Proven leadership skills and ability to succeed working independently and in collaborative teams.
  • High level of maturity with ability to multitask.

About the company

HarbourVest Partners is a global private markets investment firm that manages private equity allocations through fund-of-funds, secondary investments, and direct investments in operating companies. Clients invest, and HarbourVest allocates capital across venture capital, leveraged buyouts, and other strategies via funds, secondaries, and direct co-investments, with access through commingled funds or separately managed accounts and fees consisting of ongoing management fees and potential performance fees. The firm differentiates itself with a globally scaled, integrated platform that combines multiple private equity channels and offers both pooled and bespoke account structures. Its goal is to make private markets accessible to a wide range of investors by providing flexible, multi-channel investment solutions.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

$10.6B

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Founded

1982

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • UC Investments sold $1 billion of stakes to HarbourVest on August 19, 2026.
  • HarbourVest won a $4.75 billion co-investment close, exceeding its $4 billion target.
  • Brian Taranto and Kaitlin May joined in July 2026 to scale wealth products.

What critics are saying

  • HVPE paused new commitments through 2026, signaling weak visible reinvestment opportunities.
  • HVPE traded at a persistent high-20% NAV discount in April 2026, pressuring fees.
  • If discounts persist through July 2029, continuation votes and fundraising credibility erode.

What makes HarbourVest unique

  • HarbourVest closed HCF VII at $4.75 billion on July 10, 2026.
  • It combines primaries, secondaries, and co-investments across one global private-markets platform.
  • Two decades of local private-wealth hiring deepens distribution in Europe and the United States.

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Benefits

Hybrid Work Options

Company News

GFM Limited
Aug 19th, 2026
UC Investments sells $1bn private equity portfolio to HarbourVest.

UC Investments sells $1bn private equity portfolio to HarbourVest. * August 19, 2026 * - 9:28 am The University of California's investment office has sold around $1bn of private equity interests to secondaries specialist HarbourVest Partners, providing another sizeable transaction for a market that has seen discounts widen amid renewed pressure on private assets, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter as reeling that UC Investments, which oversees roughly $190bn across retirement, endowment and cash portfolios, began the sale process earlier this year. The portfolio changed hands at a discount of more than 10% and includes interests in software and other technology-focused buyout funds, the people said. Campbell Lutyens advised UC Investments on the transaction. UC Investments' latest annual report showed that its private assets had a market value of approximately $39bn as of mid-2025. Private equity accounted for slightly more than half of that exposure.

AltAssets
Aug 6th, 2026
HarbourVest hires DWS executive to expand private wealth coverage across Southern Europe.

HarbourVest hires DWS executive to expand private wealth coverage across Southern Europe. August 6, 2026 HarbourVest Partners has brought in former DWS executive Guido Lombardi as private wealth lead for France, Belgium, Luxe If you would like to access this article you must become a Premium Subscriber. Premium subscribers receive complete access to its daily breaking news, premium stories, weekly Fundraising & IR Review, Knowledge Bank and LP profiles - all which are accessible via its mobile platform.

Reuters
Aug 6th, 2026
Optical networking firm Lumilens valued at $5.5 billion in latest funding round

Lumilens, which makes optical gear to speed up data flowing between AI servers, raised over $700M in a Series C round co-led by Atreides Management, Bain Capital Ventures, Meritech, Seligman Ventures and Spark Capital, valuing the company at $5.51 billion.

finews.com
Aug 5th, 2026
Harbourvest has no regrets about expanding into Switzerland.

Harbourvest has no regrets about expanding into Switzerland. Two years after opening an office in Zurich, the US private markets specialist Harbourvest says the move has paid off. Clients value the firm's local presence, which has significantly strengthened its position in Switzerland, according to Daniel Signer, Head of Switzerland. He also emphasises the diversification benefits that private equity can offer investors. In light of the headlines, Harbourvest's clients have many questions. "We explain to them how we've built and diversified our portfolios," say Daniel Signer and Alexander Eschmann Wednesday, 5 August 2026 06:00

PE Hub
Aug 4th, 2026
Advent, HarbourVest agree to acquire FNZ Bank in Germany.

Advent, HarbourVest agree to acquire FNZ Bank in Germany. FNZ Bank connects more than 50,000 financial advisers, 200 asset managers and over 400 distribution partners across Germany. 26 seconds ago