Investment Banking Associate (Summer 2027 Start)

Investment Banking Associate — Fireclay Partners (Summer 2027 Start | In-Person | Downtown Kansas City)

About Fireclay

Fireclay Partners is a Kansas City–based strategic advisory firm focused on M&A and capital advisory across multiple industries, including industrials, energy and natural resources, financial and business services, technology, consumer, healthcare, and real estate.

The Opportunity

Join our investment banking team full-time in summer 2027. This role is intended for candidates completing an MBA by the start date who bring practical finance experience and are ready to take ownership of transaction workstreams. The role is in person at our downtown Kansas City office, with occasional client travel.

What You'll Do

• Build and review financial models, valuation analyses, and transaction scenarios, including DCF, comparable companies, precedent transactions, and accretion/dilution where relevant.
• Prepare client materials, including teasers, confidential information memoranda, pitch books, and management presentations.
• Coordinate buy-side and sell-side workstreams: diligence requests, data rooms, process tracking, and transaction deliverables.
• Conduct industry and company research; develop acquisition-target and buyer lists and assess strategic fit.
• Support senior bankers in client communication, business development, and coverage preparation.
• Guide analysts and interns, review their work, and maintain consistent analytical and presentation standards.

• What You Bring

• MBA completed or expected before a full-time summer 2027 start; December graduates are welcome when available for that start date.
• Prior practical experience in investment banking, M&A, corporate development, transaction advisory, private equity, or substantive corporate finance. A finance internship alone must demonstrate meaningful analytical and execution responsibility.
• Working command of accounting, valuation, financial modeling, and the M&A process; a clear commitment to investment banking.
• Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills, concise writing, sound judgment, and close attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines, work independently, collaborate with senior professionals, and coach junior team members.
• Availability to work full-time, in person in Kansas City, beginning in summer 2027.

• Working with AI at Fireclay

  AI is part of how we work. We use approved AI tools to support research, organize and synthesize information, develop and refine written materials, assist with analysis, and improve repeatable tasks. Team members are expected to combine these capabilities with financial knowledge and professional judgment to produce accurate, useful work efficiently.

  Strong practical proficiency with AI in a professional work environment is a requirement for this full-time role. You should be able to structure a task, provide appropriate context, refine prompts and outputs, and incorporate AI into a repeatable workflow that improves the quality and speed of your work. Familiarity with a chatbot alone is not sufficient. Be prepared to discuss concrete examples using public or non-confidential information.

  You remain accountable for every deliverable. Verify facts, sources, calculations, and assumptions; recognize unsupported or misleading outputs; and know when independent analysis or human review is required. Use only firm-approved tools and follow confidentiality and data-handling requirements. Never enter client, deal, personal, or proprietary information into an AI system without authorization. AI proficiency complements sound accounting, valuation, writing, and analytical skills.

  Why Fireclay

• Direct exposure to transactions and senior decision-makers.
• Multi-sector experience and the opportunity to develop deeper industry expertise.
• A small, entrepreneurial team with meaningful responsibility and ownership of deliverables.

• How to Apply

  Submit your résumé showing your MBA graduation month and year, relevant finance and transaction experience, and availability for a summer 2027 start in Kansas City.

  Fireclay Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to an inclusive workplace.