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Salary: USD 125,000 - 150,000 / annual
Misumi Ventures is a newly launched $50 million early-stage venture fund investing at the intersection of frontier hardware, robotics, automation, and industrial AI. The fund will build a portfolio of 20–30 seed and early-stage companies. The fund's thesis is specific: hardware companies rarely fail because the idea was wrong—they fail in the gap between a working prototype and repeatable volume production. Portfolio companies gain direct access to MISUMI's manufacturing continuum: more than 30 million standard parts, 22 company-owned factories, 4,000 sourcing partners, and a five-region network across the Americas, China, Asia, Europe, and Japan.
As the Investment Associate, you will be the fund's first dedicated full-time investment professional, reporting to the Managing Partner. The scope is broad and includes:
**Sourcing and Co-Investor Relationships**: Build and maintain relationships with investors across the fund's sectors. Work accelerator and university research channels that produce frontier hardware companies. Keep a current map of funding activity in robotics, automation, aerospace, and industrial software. Run first meetings with founders and write investment memos that determine whether partners proceed to deeper diligence.
**Fund Positioning and Ecosystem Presence**: Own the fund's external presence—website, content, founder-facing communications, and participation in deep-tech and hardware communities. Run founder dinners, technical sessions, and events to establish the fund as a known quantity in its categories. Distinguish the fund from a corporate development budget in the eyes of founders and co-investors.
**Diligence and Portfolio Support**: Conduct technical and commercial diligence including customer references, expert calls, competitive and supply chain analysis, and market sizing. Post-investment, connect portfolio companies into MISUMI's engineering and sourcing organization and support them through recruiting, customer introductions, and subsequent financings.
**Fund Operations and LP Reporting**: Manage quarterly reporting to the LP in coordination with the fund administrator and MISUMI Americas finance. Produce portfolio and pipeline reporting for the investment committee. Own the CRM and data discipline.
This is not a narrow deal seat. You will participate in investment discussions and operate without an existing playbook at a fund making its first investments.
**Requirements**:
- Two to four years in venture capital, investment banking, management consulting, corporate development, or an operating role at a hardware or deep-tech company.
- Demonstrated technical fluency in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, manufacturing, or a related field highly preferred. You will evaluate physical products and need credibility with the engineers building them.
- Strong written communication. Memos, market analysis, and LP reporting constitute a large share of the work.
- Established relationships in the venture, engineering, or founder community a strong plus, or a clear plan for building them.
- Comfort operating without an existing playbook at a fund making its first investments.
**Preferred**:
- Prior exposure to hardware, robotics, aerospace, medtech, or industrial automation, whether as an investor, engineer, or operator.
- Familiarity with manufacturing, supply chain, or design-for-manufacturing.
