2027 M&A Associate, Richmond

About the Role

Harris Williams seeks to hire first-year associates to join the Richmond office across the following industry groups:

• Business Services
• Consumer
• Energy, Power & Infrastructure
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Industrials
• Transportation & Logistics / Aerospace, Defense & Government Services

Harris Williams will not provide sponsorship for employment visas or participate in STEM OPT for this position.

Why Harris Williams

• Meaningful impact from the start: As an associate, you will have a high level of exposure to clients and senior bankers, who will place value in your ideas and unique perspective. Associates are responsible for driving work forward, in partnership with analysts. With an industry-leading pitch win rate, you will see the full lifecycle of multiple client engagements, enabling you to develop into a well-rounded, trusted advisor.
• Join a leading firm in the most dynamic segment of investment banking: M&A and private capital advisory services are among the most intellectually rigorous and strategically important segments within banking. In this role, your work will directly shape the trajectory of the clients we serve.
• Learn from invested leaders: 83% of our managing directors were promoted from within the firm. They build their careers here, meaning they are uniquely invested in building yours.
• Collaborative work environment: Our goal is to unlock value in great businesses, and it starts by unlocking greatness in each other. We value a range of backgrounds and expertise, and we know our work is better when our teams inspire every individual to confidently contribute.
• Professional development: Your professional development is our top priority. New analysts and associates convene in our Richmond headquarters for a robust training program designed to build relationships, provide baseline knowledge of M&A, and prepare you for your first client engagement. This initial program is just the beginning of an extensive, structured learning experience.
• Comprehensive compensation and benefits program: Highly competitive compensation, pension, 401(k) matching, and eligibility for performance bonus amongst many other robust benefits.

Requirements

Harris Williams hires individuals who are motivated by challenge, demonstrated through academic performance and prior work experience. While no specific academic concentration is required, the following skillsets are desired:

• Learning agility: Curious and proactive in learning, applying new information, and incorporating feedback to develop quickly.
• Communication: Able to articulate ideas clearly and tailor message, tone, and detail to the audience, both verbally and in writing.
• Problem solving and data analysis: Able to identify trends in complex data sets, including through tools such as Capital IQ and FactSet, and articulate the impact of those patterns.
• Excel and PowerPoint: Understanding of Excel formulas, data validation, tables, and conditional formatting, and the ability to build clear, client-ready materials in PowerPoint.
• Accounting and finance: Working understanding of how the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet connect, with a willingness to deepen accounting, valuation, and financial modeling expertise over time.
• AI literacy: Comfort using and directing AI tools to improve output while retaining full ownership of quality, accuracy, and judgment.

What Makes a Harris Williams Associate

Associates who thrive at Harris Williams lead multiple workstreams while maintaining focus on quality. Our Associate profile is built around seven core competencies:

• Ownership: Drive work forward and own outcomes from start to finish, advancing tasks with accountability for the end result on tasks big and small.
• Collaboration and Relationships: Build trusted relationships across deal teams and firm colleagues, and model our One Firm culture by prioritizing the firm’s collective success.
• Communication: Articulate ideas clearly and confidently to every audience including in internal discussions and client and C-suite settings.
• Execution Excellence: Deliver accurate, high-quality, client-ready work products that reflect sound deal judgment and a high level of attention to detail.
• Growth Mindset: Grow continuously by seeking feedback and mentorship and deepening industry, market, and technical knowledge.
• Planning and Organization: Manage workstreams and deadlines to deliver consistent, on-time execution without sacrificing quality.
• Strategy: Translate data and analysis into actionable insight and a clear point of view that contributes to deal strategy and client recommendations.

Other Requirements

• Ability to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.
• This is an “on-call,” in-office role – associates respond quickly to emails and calls, attend deal team meetings in person, and are willing to work long hours.

Qualifications

Successful candidates must demonstrate appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities for a role. Listed below are skills, competencies, work experience, education, and required certifications/licensures needed to be successful in this position.

• Competencies: Analytical Thinking, Business Acumen, Customer Experience Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Effective Communications, Leadership, Marketing Strategy and Positioning, Market Research, Selling, Teamwork.
• Work Experience: Roles at this level typically require a university/college degree, with 5+ years of industry-relevant experience. Specific certifications are often required. In lieu of a degree, a comparable combination of education, job-specific certification(s), and experience (including military service) may be considered.
• Education: Master's degree.
• Certifications/Licenses: No required certifications or licenses.

Pay

Base Salary: $175,000.00 – $175,000.00. Salaries may vary based on geographic location, market data, and individual skills, experience, and education. This role is incentive eligible with payment based upon company, business, and/or individual performance.

Benefits

PNC offers a comprehensive range of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time employees include:

• Medical/prescription drug coverage (with a Health Savings Account feature), dental and vision options.
• Employee and spouse/child life insurance; short- and long-term disability protection.
• 401(k) with PNC match, pension, and stock purchase plans.
• Dependent care reimbursement account; back-up child/elder care.
• Adoption, surrogacy, and doula reimbursement.
• Educational assistance, including select programs fully paid.
• A robust wellness program with financial incentives.
• Paid time off, including:
  • Maternity and/or parental leave.
  • Up to 11 paid holidays each year.
  • 9 occasional absence days each year, unless otherwise required by law.
  • Between 15 to 25 vacation days each year, depending on career level and years of service.

About Harris Williams

We are a global investment bank specializing in M&A and private capital advisory services. Clients worldwide rely on us to help unlock value in their business and turn ambitious goals into reality. We approach every engagement with boundless collaboration, pooling expertise and relationships across industries, service offerings, and geographies. For over 30 years, our clients have trusted us to think strategically, execute precisely, and deliver premium outcomes to help them grow.