Investment Manager, Dual Use & Space · Main Sequence · Sydney
Come build the industries that define the next century with us.
We are looking for somebody to come help us focus on bridging the gap to space and dual use investments. We think that somebody could be you.
A letter from the hiring manager
Why I'm excited about this role
Hello,
I am incredibly excited about this role because it sits at the unique intersection of planetary-scale challenges and frontier science.
At Main Sequence we aren't looking for traditional investments. We are hunting for the deep tech breakthroughs that will bridge the gap to space, build sovereign resilience, and carry real dual-use applications.
This role sits at the critical intersection of our Space challenge area and our dual-use investment strategy. You will bridge deep tech breakthroughs in space with sovereign capability, making sure commercial innovation contributes directly to national security and resilience. That focus lets you shape industry-defining businesses that work in both commercial markets and high-stakes defence environments, moving fluidly between the lab and the boardroom.
With over 70 companies in our portfolio, a significant number are already active across both commercial and Defence applications. Research commercialisation is one of our core tenets. What makes this opportunity thrilling for me, and hopefully for you, is the chance to uncover hidden intellectual property inside Australian universities and research hubs, and then help architect the next generation of industry-defining businesses.
You will be at the forefront of identifying emergent technologies that offer both massive commercial value and critical national security benefit. We operate with a global mindset: the companies that win will be internationally focused from day one.
I'm looking for someone who spends their nights obsessing over sovereign resilience and their days thinking about how to take innovations from the lab to the launchpad.
If you are driven by a genuine passion for deep tech and want to make a lasting impact on Australia's role in solving global challenges, I'd love to hear from you.
Come join us and help solve the [im]possible.
The role
Investment Manager,
Dual Use & Space
The Investment Manager at Main Sequence occupies a unique position at the intersection of planetary-scale challenges and frontier science. You will help manage the full investment lifecycle, from hunting for the next deep tech breakthrough to helping a founder and their team navigate the complexities of scaling a business.
You’ll be focusing on dual use investments and Bridge the gap to space. You will also get the opportunity to work alongside our investment team to architect the next generation of industry-defining businesses across our other challenge areas: Decarbonise the planet, Feed 10 billion people, Reach humanity scale healthcare, and Enable the next intelligence leap.
Investing
Lead the sourcing and end-to-end evaluation of high-conviction opportunities. This includes driving deep technical and commercial due diligence, financial modelling, and market synthesis to validate the viability of deep tech technologies.
Thesis Development
Collaborate with the investment team to refine and execute investment strategies. You will be responsible for staying at the cutting edge of trends in orbital infrastructure and sovereign capability (dual-use) across all our challenge areas.
Ecosystem Engagement
Serve as a primary bridge between the firm and the Australian research landscape. You will cultivate and maintain deep-rooted relationships with Australian universities, research institutions, CSIRO, and innovation hubs to identify "hidden" intellectual property ready for commercialisation.
Portfolio Support
Act as a strategic advisor and primary point of contact for portfolio companies. You will provide the guidance, network access, and operational support necessary to help founders navigate the journey from lab to global scale.
Firm & Co-investor Relations
Support the firm's growth by contributing to building a co-investor network and maintaining high-value relationships.
AI Fluency
Comfortable using AI tools as part of how you work, with a point of view on where AI creates value in deep tech. You will help evolve how we measure impact, ensuring our internal processes are as innovative as the companies we back.
Who you'll work with
A few of the companies we back in this space
From launch vehicles and satellite buses to earth observation, secure comms, and navigation. You would be working directly with founders like these, and finding the next ones.
About you
From the lab to the launchpad.
You've spent your nights obsessing over sovereign resilience and your days thinking about how to bridge the gap between the lab and the launchpad. You know the global space ecosystem, you know how Defence buys, and you can see where a commercial technology also carries strategic weight.
You want to help grow the organisations that will define the next century.
Space domain knowledge
You understand the global space ecosystem from launch to earth observation, you know the key players, and you know how Australia's ecosystem fits into the global picture.
Defence domain knowledge
You understand how Defence procurement operates and what it takes to get a product or company into a Program of Record, or you've seen that world first-hand from inside a multi-year, POR-funded program.
An investing background or exposure
You understand how the startup investing cycle operates, either through raising capital inside a startup yourself, or through working closely with early-stage and high-growth companies (Seed through Series D) as they've raised.
A relevant engineering or STEM qualification
A Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering, Physics, or a related field, ideally with a bias toward aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or systems engineering, backed by real industry experience applying it.
A "dual-language" capability
You move fluidly between the lab and the boardroom, navigating both commercial markets and the strategic needs of national security, with a sharp focus on where commercial innovation strengthens sovereign resilience.
Emotional intelligence and real trust
You build trust quickly, especially in hard or high-stakes moments, whether that's with a PhD researcher, a government official, or an institutional investor.
A genuine passion for deep tech
A commitment to Australia's role in solving global challenges through sovereign innovation.
Why join
What you're stepping into
Work that defines the next century
Every company you back and help scale is attacking one of the hardest problems on the planet. This is not incremental work. This is generational.
Shared upside
You will share in the upside of what we build together. Your success is tied directly to the success of what you help create.
Australia's deepest relationships
Access to Australia's deepest relationships across deep tech, space and defence: universities, CSIRO, government, primes, and the global deep tech ecosystem. The kind of network that takes decades to build alone.
The team
What our team loves about working here
"I love working with and helping smart, driven people build the new frontier industries. Very few other roles allow you to be at the forefront of so many technology disciplines while using them to solve difficult problems facing the world today."
LinkedIn →
"My favourite part of working at MSV is being part of a close-knit team of highly engaged, talented people and driving systems level change at the edges of technological advancement."
LinkedIn →
"I love the autonomy to build deep knowledge and connections in areas I find interesting and supporting founders who are making it happen. You get to see a portfolio company's full life cycle and journey and be a part of making their big vision happen."
LinkedIn →Let's talk
Ready to back what's next, together?
Let us know if you are interested in having an initial chat.
We'd love to have a conversation with you.