Asia Lead, Corperate Development & Strategic Investments

About Hydra Host

Hydra Host is a US-based distributed GPU cloud company building the compute backbone for the next generation of AI workloads. We provide bare-metal and orchestrated GPU capacity to enterprise, sovereign, and hyperscale customers globally. As we expand into Southeast Asia, we are standing up a dedicated corporate development function to pursue M&A, joint ventures, co-investment structures, and strategic partnerships across the region’s rapidly growing digital infrastructure landscape.

Role Overview

We are seeking an early-to-mid career professional to serve as our inaugural Asia lead for corporate development, M&A, and strategic investments. This individual will be the tip of the spear for Hydra Host’s transactional activity in Southeast Asia: sourcing, structuring, and executing deals that expand our GPU infrastructure footprint and deepen our relationships with sovereign entities, data center operators, and local technology platforms.

This is not a passive strategy role. We want someone young, hungry, and deal-oriented who can operate with significant autonomy in a fast-moving market. You will report directly to the Managing Director of Capital and interface regularly with the CEO and external advisors.

Core Responsibilities

• Deal Origination & Pipeline Management. Proactively identify, source, and cultivate M&A targets, JV partners, co-investment opportunities, and strategic alliances across Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines).
• Transaction Execution. Lead all phases of deal execution—from initial screening and financial modeling through due diligence, negotiation, structuring, and closing. Manage external advisors (investment banks, legal counsel, accounting firms).
• Structured Finance & Investment Structuring. Design and evaluate creative transaction structures including asset-backed facilities, project finance arrangements, GP/LP co-investment vehicles, earnouts, and hybrid equity/debt instruments tailored to the region’s regulatory and commercial realities.
• Sovereign & Institutional Engagement. Support engagement with sovereign wealth funds, government-linked entities, development finance institutions, and institutional investors as strategic partners or co-investors in GPU infrastructure projects.
• Market Intelligence. Maintain deep situational awareness of the Southeast Asian data center, cloud, and AI infrastructure landscape—competitive dynamics, regulatory developments, subsidy/incentive programs, and emerging players.
• Integration & Value Creation. Partner with operations and engineering teams on post-close integration planning. Track value creation milestones and report on portfolio performance.
• Internal Reporting. Prepare board-quality investment memos, deal approval packages, and pipeline updates for the Managing Director of Capital and executive leadership.

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are specifically looking for a candidate at the Associate / Senior Associate / Vice President level (3–8 years of post-undergraduate experience) who combines financial rigor with commercial instinct and regional fluency.

Background & Experience

• 3–8 years of experience in investment banking (M&A or leveraged finance), private equity / growth equity, structured finance, infrastructure finance, or corporate development.
• Buy-side experience strongly preferred—private equity, infrastructure funds, sovereign wealth fund direct investing, or project finance platforms.
• Demonstrated deal execution experience: at minimum 2–3 closed transactions where you played a substantive role in modeling, diligence, negotiation, or structuring.
• Exposure to Southeast Asian markets is a strong advantage. Familiarity with regulatory environments in Singapore, Malaysia, or Indonesia is particularly valuable.
• Experience with technology infrastructure, data centers, telecom, or digital economy sectors is a plus but not strictly required—strong financial fundamentals and commercial judgment are what matter most.

Technical Skills

• Advanced financial modeling (DCF, LBO, accretion/dilution, project finance models, comparable analysis).
• Comfort with structured products—asset-backed facilities, SPV structuring, waterfall mechanics, and inter-creditor arrangements.
• Strong working knowledge of M&A transaction mechanics (SPA negotiation, rep & warranty frameworks, purchase price adjustments, escrow/holdback structures).
• Competent with due diligence management across financial, legal, tax, and operational workstreams.

Soft Attributes

• Entrepreneurial disposition—comfortable building from zero in a region with limited existing infrastructure.
• Strong written and verbal communication. Ability to produce institutional-quality memos and presentations.
• Cross-cultural fluency. Ability to build trust with counterparties across diverse Southeast Asian business cultures.
• Self-directed. Able to manage complex workstreams without heavy oversight.
• High integrity and discretion with sensitive commercial and financial information.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, engineering, or a quantitative discipline from a reputable institution.
• MBA, CFA, or equivalent advanced credential is a plus but not required at this level.