Senior Investment Associate

About Applied Ventures

Applied Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), the world's leading materials engineering company for the semiconductor and display industries. We deploy up to $100M annually, are stage-agnostic, and invest globally in deep tech founders building the next generation of semiconductors, advanced materials, photonics, AI/ML hardware, Physical AI, AI for Science and Materials, energy-efficient computing, and display technologies. We operate with a dual mandate: deliver top-quartile financial returns and create strategic value for Applied Materials' business units, R&D organizations, and global customers. We take board seats, write meaningful checks, and help our companies navigate the path from lab to fab. We are building "CVC 2.0" — a CVC that competes on conviction, technical depth, and operating leverage, not just capital.

Location: Santa Clara, CA (hybrid) · Function: Corporate Venture Capital · Level: Senior Associate (Post-MBA / Post-PhD) · Reports to: Global Head of Applied Ventures

What You'll Do

• Source & shape theses. Build proprietary deal flow across our priority sectors; pressure-test investment theses; cultivate founders, labs, accelerators, and co-investors across the US, Europe, and Asia (Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Israel, India).
• Run diligence and execute deals. Lead end-to-end diligence (technology, market, team, IP, manufacturability, unit economics, customer validation); build models, cap tables, and return scenarios; coordinate technical diligence with AMAT R&D and BUs; draft IC memos that lead with a point of view.
• Support the portfolio. Drive KPI tracking, board prep, follow-on strategy, and customer introductions; tap AMAT's fab infrastructure, materials expertise, and global accounts; take board observer seats as you grow.
• Build the firm and the ecosystem. Represent Applied Ventures at industry, university, and government forums; contribute to LP / co-investor reporting, fund strategy, and CVC 2.0 partnerships (e.g., ITRI/ITIC in Taiwan, KVIC in Korea).

Who You Are

We want technical depth, commercial instinct, and a chip on your shoulder — the kind of person who reads the patent and the cap table, who won't stop until they understand. Equally important: that intensity comes with humility. No room for sharp elbows.

• Curiosity that borders on obsession. Three layers deeper than the deck. Read the underlying papers and data room. Earn the founder's respect with your preparedness.
• Chip on your shoulder. Hungry, driven, allergic to mediocre work.
• Diligent and detail-obsessed. Numbers tie. Models footnote assumptions. You catch the inconsistency on page 14 because you read page 14.
• Depth and breadth. First-principles in a single stack; zoom out to value chains and customer pain. Microscope and telescope.
• Self-starter, minimum supervision. See the gap, scope it, do it. Bring back a recommendation — not a question.
• Network builder. Genuine, durable relationships, not LinkedIn collection. People return your calls two years later.
• Humility, no sharp elbows. You make the team better. Disagree directly, commit fully. Brilliance with bad behavior doesn't work here.
• Technical & commercial fluency. Hold your own on atomic-layer processes, compute-in-memory, photonic integration, advanced packaging, novel materials, and modern AI systems — and build the model, structure the deal, read the cap table.
• Global mindset. Comfortable across time zones and ecosystems; networks in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Europe, Singapore, or India a plus.
• Integrity: Uncompromising professional integrity. This is non-negotiable.

Qualifications

• Education. MBA from a top program AND/OR MS/PhD in a relevant STEM field (engineering, materials science, physics, chemistry, CS, applied math, ML, or equivalent). Strong STEM undergrad highly preferred, even for MBA-only candidates.
• Experience (required). 4–8+ years post-graduate experience spanning at least two — ideally all three — of: (1) venture capital or growth equity, (2) strategy / management consulting (deep tech, tech, or semis practice), and (3) technology product development at a deep tech, semis, hardware, materials, or AI company.
• Deep tech AND AI experience is non-negotiable. Hands-on exposure to one or more of: semiconductors, advanced packaging, advanced materials, photonics, AI/ML hardware, Physical AI, AI for Science / Materials, energy-efficient computing, or displays. You have invested in, advised, or built in these spaces — not just read about them.
• Owner of rigorous work product. Track record of owning IC memos, landscapes, technical diligence, financial models, and product strategy end-to-end — not just supporting them.
• Nice to have. Direct VC track record (named on closed deals); patents, publications, or shipped products; multilingual or international working experience in key deep tech ecosystems.

Why This Role

• Platform. Invest alongside the company that builds the equipment that builds the chips that run the world.
• Mandate. Real capital, global, stage-agnostic — seed to growth, US to Asia, materials to AI hardware.
• People. Small, senior, global team. Direct line to the Global Head and partners.
• Trajectory. A path to investment lead and partner for those who earn it.

Additional Information

Time Type: Full time. Travel: Yes, 10% of the Time. Relocation Eligible: Yes. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable. Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer.