Venture Capital Analyst
What this job does:
The most junior investment team member at a life sciences VC fund, responsible for conducting deep scientific due diligence on potential investments in therapeutics, platform technologies, and diagnostics. Day-to-day involves reading papers, building competitive landscape analyses, attending scientific conferences, and preparing internal memos summarizing findings for senior partners. Serves as the scientific engine of the deal evaluation process - answering the question "Is this science real and differentiated?"
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Rapidly reading and evaluating unfamiliar scientific literature, assessing experimental design and data quality, synthesizing findings across studies to form a judgment, identifying gaps in existing research
Typical starting salary range
$80k to $115k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Scientific due diligence: evaluating literature, data packages, technology platforms (35%)
- Deal sourcing and landscape scanning: identifying companies, academic labs, conference scouting (20%)
- Writing investment memos and internal presentations (20%)
- Market and competitive analysis: landscape maps, competitor pipelines, IP analysis (15%)
- Other: portfolio company support, networking, team meetings (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Deep scientific expertise in one or more therapeutic areas; ability to critically evaluate preclinical and clinical data; scientific literature synthesis and rapid cross-domain learning; excellent written communication (memos, slide decks); competitive landscape and market mapping; familiarity with drug development and regulatory pathways; independent thinking and judgment under uncertainty; networking and interpersonal skills; proficiency with PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, SEC filings, patent databases
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about rapidly reading, evaluating, and synthesizing unfamiliar scientific literature to form a judgment - exactly what PhD scientists do when reviewing papers and preparing for qualifying exams. Talk about critically assessing experimental design, identifying methodological weaknesses, and forming a clear view on the strength of scientific claims.
Alternative job titles to search:
Science Analyst (VC); Research Analyst (Venture Capital); Scientific Associate; Due Diligence Analyst; Venture Fellow; Analyst - Life Sciences Investments; Junior Associate
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
