Associate, M&A and Business Development

M&A And Business Development Associate

Lydian is an established energy development company specializing in the development and construction of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in North America. Lydian owns 14 assets in development, construction or under operation, consisting of both solar and storage, which reached or are expected to reach FNTP from 2024-2028.

Lydian is backed by Excelsior Energy Capital ("EEC"), a leading private equity fund manager with more than $1.5B in assets under management, that is exclusively focused on north American middle market renewables investing. Lydian's relationship with EEC provides several critical advantages, including access to (i) a specialized team of value-add investor-operators with decades of renewables development, construction, and transaction experience and (ii) committed discretionary equity capital, strong relationships with debt and tax equity investors, and deep experience structuring tax equity and project financings.

Lydian has built a team of seasoned, passionate energy infrastructure professionals with deep expertise in project development, construction, financing, and M&A. This is an opportunity to join a fully capitalized development platform that is running at full capacity, but still at an early-enough stage for you to have a real impact on company culture and commercial outcomes.

Job Scope

The M&A and Business Development Associate is a financial and analytical role responsible for supporting the execution of acquisitions, company growth initiatives, and financial modeling of solar and battery storage projects. The person will work in a highly visible, cross-functional environment with various internal and external stakeholders to screen, analyze and evaluate a variety of transactions including project and portfolio acquisitions across various stages of development, and support and guide M&A and Business Development analyst(s) through their work tasks. The person shall support the valuation and underwriting of investments through diligence and acquisition. They shall also support communications inside the firm, including investment committee memos, senior management presentations and post-approval tracking. The role requires experience in supporting due diligence on renewable energy projects as well as economic modeling of such projects. This role requires experience in managing third party deliverables necessary to close acquisitions.

Essential Functions

• Support the sourcing, evaluation, and execution of acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic partnerships across utility-scale solar, storage, and hybrid projects at various stages of development. Provide direction and development support to the M&A and Business Development Analyst's day-to-day responsibilities.
• Participate in all phases of the M&A lifecycle, including screening opportunities, coordinating diligence, structuring transactions, reviewing analyst's deliverables and supporting negotiations through closing.
• Interface directly with counterparties, investors, consultants, and internal teams to advance transactions and manage deal timelines.
• Coordinate and manage internal representatives as well as external counterparties to ensure timely delivery of diligence materials required for investment decisions and closing.
• Work within project-level financial models to evaluate investment opportunities, including detailed assumptions for revenue, operating costs, capital structure, and tax considerations.
• Analyze and coordinate with the Capital Markets team on project financing solutions (tax equity, debt, and sponsor equity), assessing impacts on project returns and capital deployment strategy.
• Lead analyst in performing scenario, sensitivity, and downside analyses across key financial model inputs and outputs.
• Support and review development and refinement of standardized modeling tools and processes to improve accuracy, scalability, and speed of underwriting.
• Evaluate development-stage assets for potential acquisition by assessing project and market risks, opportunities and challenges.
• Lead comprehensive due diligence across commercial, technical, financial, and regulatory workstreams, identifying key risks and mitigation strategies. Support M&A and Business Development analyst(s) in structuring due diligence strategies for efficient transactions.
• Synthesize diligence findings into clear, actionable insights for internal stakeholders and investment committees.
• Identify and communicate project-level risks (e.g., interconnection, permitting, revenue exposure, contractor risk) and incorporate into underwriting and pricing.
• Prepare and present management presentations and board materials to support capital allocation decisions.
• Track deal progress post-approval and support coordination of internal stakeholders through execution and closing.
• Perform analysis to support pricing strategies and long-term revenue streams.
• Work across a highly cross-functional organization (Development, Finance, Legal, Engineering, Construction, Origination) to progress transactions and resolve issues.
• Lead continuous improvement of internal tools, processes, and reporting frameworks that support investment decision-making, transaction execution and company growth initiatives.

Qualifications

• MBA or master's in finance, economics, energy, or a comparable field preferred
• 2-4 years' experience in M&A, corporate finance, project finance, renewable energy development and experience with investment analysis in a deal environment
• Experience working directly on renewable energy project M&A transactions and/or business development
• Strong quantitative, financial analysis and economic modeling
• Deep understanding of renewable project economic models.
• Strong competency in Microsoft products, including Excel and PowerPoint
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills across all levels
• Highly organized and ability to track requirements and timelines for both internal teams and third parties
• Proven ability to mentor and guide analysts in their work duties

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are committed to equal-employment principles and are dedicated to diversity and the strength it brings to the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth), gender identity or expression, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, legally protected genetic information, marital status, veteran status, military status, sexual orientation or any other protected category or class that may be applicable.