What are the responsibilities and job description for the Private Equity Associate position at Engtal?
Private Equity Associate – Portfolio Operations (Confidential)
Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid)
Position Type: Full-time
Firm Type: Lower Middle Market
A Chicago-based private equity firm is seeking a Private Equity Associate. This role partners closely with the investment team and portfolio company leadership, with a primary focus on financial analysis, earnings quality, and performance insight across active portfolio companies.
The position is designed for candidates with strong QoE, financial diligence, and modeling experience who want to apply that skill set inside a private equity platform, working directly with live portfolio companies post-acquisition.
Responsibilities
- Perform QoE-style financial analysis across portfolio companies, including adjusted EBITDA, addbacks, normalization, and earnings sustainability assessment
- Build and maintain financial statement–based models for portfolio performance monitoring, management reporting, variance analysis, and value creation initiatives
- Partner with portfolio company management teams to improve financial visibility, reporting quality, and KPI tracking
- Support diligence and post-close workstreams, including analysis related to add-on acquisitions
- Collaborate with the investment team on ongoing portfolio monitoring and strategic decision-making
Ideal Candidate Profile
- 3–6 years of experience in private equity (portfolio operations, value creation, or analytical roles), transaction advisory / financial due diligence, or investment banking with strong financial statement modeling exposure
- Strong fluency in private equity financial concepts, including adjusted EBITDA, addbacks, normalization, income statement analysis, working capital, and cash flow drivers
- Demonstrated ability to build clean, structured models from imperfect or incomplete financial data
- Comfort applying judgment when evaluating earnings quality and financial adjustments
- Experience working within a private equity firm environment strongly preferred
- CPA, CFA, or similar credentials a plus but not required
Salary : $120,000 - $150,000