M&A Research & Operations Lead (Private Equity / M&A Advisory) - A284

AI overview

Own the AI-driven research and lead generation engine to enhance M&A processes by sourcing thousands of verified targets weekly for informed investment decisions.

Industry

Operations

Work Arrangement

Remote (with required overlap during U.S. business hours)

Job Type

Full-time

Work Schedule

40 hours per week with consistent overlap during EST business hours

Locations:

  • Anywhere Remote (LATAM, Philippines, South America)

About Pearl Talent

Pearl works with the top 1% of candidates from around the world and connects them with the best startups in the US and EU. Our clients have raised over $5B in aggregate and are backed by companies like OpenAI, a16z, and Founders Fund. They’re looking for the sharpest, hungriest candidates who they can consistently promote and work with over many years. Candidates we’ve hired have been flown out to the US and EU to work with their clients, and even promoted to roles that match folks onshore in the US.

Hear why we exist, what we believe in, and who we’re building for: WATCH HERE

Why Work with Us?

At Pearl, we’re not just another recruiting firm—we connect you with exceptional opportunities to work alongside visionary US and EU founders. Our focus is on placing you in roles where you can grow, be challenged, and build long-term, meaningful careers.

About the Company

Our client is a tech-enabled buy-side M&A advisory firm serving private equity investors focused on acquiring essential services businesses across North America. The firm leverages data, automation, and proprietary research methodologies to identify high-quality acquisition targets at scale. Operating in a fast-paced, experimentation-driven environment, the company prioritizes speed, analytical rigor, and automation-first thinking to support investment decision-making.

Role Overview

The M&A Research & Operations Lead owns the firm’s AI-first research and lead generation engine that powers outbound acquisition efforts. This role blends deep business research, data analysis, and workflow automation to source, verify, and continuously improve high-volume acquisition target datasets. You will be responsible for building systems that surface actionable M&A insights while maintaining high data accuracy and operational efficiency. The work is highly autonomous, execution-heavy, and cross-functional, partnering closely with sales and investment teams. This role is ideal for a first-principles thinker who thrives in ambiguity, loves building systems, and instinctively automates everything possible.

Your Impact

You will directly influence deal flow quality by delivering thousands of verified, call-ready acquisition targets each week. Your work will improve connect rates, decision-maker accuracy, and pipeline contribution through better data, smarter scoring, and faster workflows. By building and refining automated research systems, you will increase operational leverage and reduce manual effort across the origination function. You will play a critical role in enabling informed investment decisions through high-quality research, analysis, and follow-through.

Core Responsibilities

AI-Driven Lead Generation & Research – 45%

  • Generate 2,000–2,500 qualified and verified acquisition leads per week across essential services sectors.
  • Identify, synthesize, and validate public and proprietary data sources to surface acquisition targets.
  • Develop proxy metrics to estimate business size, quality, and seller motivation using creative datasets.
  • Analyze outreach performance and refine qualification criteria based on connect-rate and conversion data.

Automation & Workflow Ownership – 35%

  • Build and maintain automated prospecting workflows using no-code and AI-powered tools.
  • Develop agents to scrape, clean, enrich, and verify business and contact data at scale.
  • Integrate multiple databases into unified lead scoring and routing workflows.
  • Automate verification and enrichment steps to maximize speed, accuracy, and consistency.

CRM, Data Quality & Sales Enablement – 20%

  • Manage Airtable-based CRM workflows supporting high-volume outbound activity.
  • Maintain ≥85% verification accuracy across phone and email datasets.
  • Prepare clean, call-ready datasets for daily outbound efforts and agent usage.
  • Collaborate with sales and investment teams to iterate on targeting logic and prioritization.

Requirements

Must-Haves (Required)

  • 3+ years of experience in B2B lead generation, deal sourcing, M&A research, or investment-related analysis.
  • Strong understanding of M&A, private equity, and business acquisition dynamics.
  • Hands-on experience with no-code automation tools such as Make.com, n8n, or Zapier.
  • Practical experience using LLMs for data extraction, enrichment, or workflow automation.
  • Familiarity with lead sourcing and business intelligence databases.
  • Strong analytical mindset with comfort working deeply with numbers and datasets.
  • Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal, including professional follow-ups.
  • Comfort stepping into outbound calls when needed, even if not the primary caller.

Nice-to-Haves (Preferred)

  • Experience in essential services industries (e.g., HVAC, electrical, fire safety, generators).
  • Exposure to private equity roll-up strategies and seller motivation analysis.
  • Experience working with buy-side M&A advisory or PE sourcing teams.
  • Basic Python or JavaScript skills for advanced automation or scraping.
  • Background in business intelligence, consulting, or investment analysis.

Tools Proficiency

Must-Haves (Required)

  • SourceScrub
  • RocketReach
  • ZoomInfo
  • Grata
  • Make.com
  • n8n
  • Airtable
  • GPT-class LLMs
  • Claude

Nice-to-Haves (Preferred)

  • Orum
  • Python-based scraping tools
  • AI agents and automation frameworks

Benefits

  • Competitive Salary: Based on experience and skills
  • Remote Work: Fully remote—work from anywhere
  • Performance Bonus: Based on data accuracy, reporting timeliness, and overall sales efficiency
  • Team Incentives: Recognition for maintaining 100% CRM hygiene and on-time reporting
  • Generous PTO: In accordance with company policy
  • Health Coverage for PH-based talents: HMO coverage after 3 months for full-time employees
  • Direct Mentorship: Guidance from international industry experts
  • Learning & Development: Ongoing access to resources for professional growth
  • Global Networking: Connect with professionals worldwide

Our Recruitment Process

  1. Application
  2. Screening
  3. Skills Assessment
  4. Top-grading Interview
  5. Client Interview
  6. Job Offer
  7. Client Onboarding

Ready to Join Us?

If this role aligns with your skills and goals, apply now to take the next step in your journey with Pearl.

Perks & Benefits Extracted with AI

  • Health Insurance: Health Coverage for PH-based talents: HMO coverage after 3 months for full-time employees
  • Global networking opportunities: Global Networking: Connect with professionals worldwide
  • Paid Time Off: Generous PTO: In accordance with company policy

Pearl Talent is a US-based start-up that helps the top 1% of talent worldwide land long-term roles at fast-growing companies in the US and EU. Founded by Monty Ngan and Isaac Kassab, Pearl Talent helps operators all around the Philippines, Latin America, and South Africa get staffed into companies backed by Y Combinator, Sequoia, a16z, General Catalyst, and more.We believe that even though opportunity isn’t created equal in the world, ambitious talent is.

View all jobs
Ace your job interview

Understand the required skills and qualifications, anticipate the questions you may be asked, and study well-prepared answers using our sample responses.

Operations Lead Q&A's
Report this job
Apply for this job