Associate, Project Finance

Avantus is hiring an Associate, Project Finance in San Diego, CA. The role involves supporting a team in sourcing, negotiating, and executing project sales and structured financings for clean energy projects. Candidates should have strong industry knowledge, communication skills, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment. Responsibilities include project valuation, transaction support, and monitoring of financed projects. Collaboration with various teams is essential.
ABOUT AVANTUS


Avantus develops, owns, and operates utility-scale clean energy projects across California and the Desert Southwest. Our development pipeline represents one of the nation's largest portfolios of solar with integrated storage, capable of providing dispatchable power to 17 million Americans, day and night. With over a decade of industry leadership and strategic investment from KKR and EIG, Avantus delivers affordable, reliable clean energy solutions that meet America’s growing energy demand.





ABOUT THE POSITION


We are seeking a highly motivated and organized candidate for the Associate, Project Finance position. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound industry knowledge, superior communications, and detail-oriented organizational skills.


The Associate would support a team of Project Finance professionals who source, negotiate, and execute project sales and structured financings, including whole or partial cash equity sales, construction financing, back leverage debt, and tax equity financing. The position requires an individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment, constantly collaborating with various internal and external teams to meet project and transaction deadlines. The individual would ultimately be responsible for supporting day-to-day execution of these transactions and performing analysis on the market and investors to develop project-specific valuations and economic sensitivities.





ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES


Project Valuation and Modeling:



Able to work independently and collaboratively with a cross-functional team.
Own every aspect of the project financial model for both mid-stage and late-stage development assets, including significant time working on project offtake bidding and structuring.
Monitor the debt, tax equity, and cash equity markets for appropriate valuation techniques and pricing
Prepare and explain capital structure sensitivities, becoming intimately familiar with the potential capital permutations and value levers
Understand the various development, construction, and operational inputs to the model, working closely with cross-functional experts in various functional groups such as Origination, Land Acquisition, Development, Construction, Engineering/Optimization, Storage, Interconnection, etc.

Transaction Support:



Support (and eventually lead) various aspects of a project sale and financing, including but not limited to:
Due Diligence
Process Timelines
Data room Management
Term Sheet and Transaction Document Support
Market/Transmission Reports
Appraisal and Cost Segregation Reports
Insurance Consultant Reports
Project Closing activities
Support Project Finance lead on marketing of project capital structure to outside parties, interacting with lenders, tax equity investors, infrastructure funds, and strategic buyers
Preparation and delivery of materials for Investment Committee and Risk Committee review and approval

Transaction Monitoring:



Support projects that are in construction or operational and financed by Avantus, including construction loan draws, refinancing activities, consent processes, financing document compliance, and modeling
Apply learnings from closed financial transactions and Avantus’ operational project portfolio to revise financial underwriting assumptions for development asset modeling and pricing

Marketing Analysis:



Macroeconomic analysis, including impacts of tax law change, interest rate environments, and broader sector trends
Monitoring of the power markets, including structured energy transactions, to help ensure project finance ability and valuation

Cross-Functional Support and Collaboration:



Support other functional areas in ways such as:

PPA Pricing and Finance ability analysis
Design/Engineering Optimization
EPC and O&M Contract Negotiations
Corporate FP&A Rollup analysis
Lease vs. Buy analysis



Other Responsibilities:



Support transaction team in various approval stage-gate and committee review processes
Manage various tracker and tool updates and dissemination, as needed




REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS



Minimum 1-2 years of project finance, corporate finance, or investment banking experience in renewable energy or similar industry
Familiarity with project finance structures, including tax monetization, tax credit financing, construction financing, and back-leverage; 
Demonstrated ability to work with cross-functional teams, including managing the financial, legal, and internal review 
Strong communication skills with proven track record in building relationships and working in cross-functional collaborative teams
Comfortable working in a fast-moving and dynamic environment 
Familiary with various discounted cash flow analysis, including pre-tax, after-tax, unlevered, and levered returns




NICE TO HAVES



Experience creating project marketing materials, including teasers, CIMs, and managing data rooms
Demonstrated ability to bring closure to complex and high value business transactions under tight timeframes; investment banking experience a plus




#LI-Hybrid

Avantus offers competitive compensation with an excellent benefits package, including 401(k) matching; comprehensive medical and dental plan options; and flexible PTO. We are an equal-opportunity employer.

The base salary range for this full-time position is listed below (plus bonus and benefits). Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position in California. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the applicable location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus and benefits.


Pay Range$118,097—$138,938 USD