About The Sterling Group
Since 1982, The Sterling Group has partnered with management teams to grow and build winning businesses in the industrial sector. Today, Sterling manages over $9 billion in assets under management across two private equity strategies—Middle Market and Lower Middle Market—targeting partnerships with industrial companies of varying sizes.
Over 75% of Sterling’s past partnerships have been with family-owned businesses and corporate carve-outs, where we bring our hands-on operational expertise to unlock growth. Our investor base includes some of the largest and most respected global institutional investors.
Our strategy is predicated on acquiring good businesses that are under-managed or under-performing their potential and that have substantial opportunities for strategic and operational improvements. Through our Seven Levers Methodology—Human Capital, Strategy, Execution, Commercial, Operations, Technology, and M&A—we consistently deliver results across multiple market cycles.
On past realized investments, Sterling has generated a return of 3.0x gross invested capital, with over 70% of that return driven by organic EBITDA growth. We believe our ability to fundamentally improve strategy and operations is what differentiates Sterling and drives value creation for customers, employees, and investors alike.
Vice President, Portfolio Technology
Role Summary:
A technology M&A professional who adds capacity to Sterling's technology function across new deals and the portfolio. The role supports IT diligence (analysis, findings, deck preparation) and drives technical programs across portfolio companies, including post-close initiatives, vendor and tool evaluations, and integration/separation work. The hire enables Sterling to support technology value creation across a growing portfolio. Reports to the technology operating partner.
Key Responsibilities:
- IT Due Diligence
- Support new-deal IT and cybersecurity diligence alongside external partners: review architecture, infrastructure, enterprise applications, custom software, security posture, IT org, data/analytics, and technical debt
- Contribute structured findings and cost estimates, and prepare diligence decks
- Technology Integration and Separation Support
- Plan and execute technology integration across: teams, systems, infrastructure, applications, and data
- Support carve-out and separation activities for divestitures, including TSA scoping, standing up standalone IT capability, and disentangling shared systems
- Drive 100-day and IMO/SMO technology workstreams, coordinating across deal teams, portco leadership, and external partners
- Portfolio Value Creation
- Build technology roadmaps with the technology operating partner, deal teams, portco technology leaders, and external partners
- Drive post-close technology programs and modernization initiatives across portfolio companies with the support of external partners where appropriate
- Support system implementations including ERP, financial consolidation tools, CRM, HRIS, MES, data warehouse and BI across the portfolio
- Lead vendor and tool evaluations against a security-first framework; support build-vs-buy analysis
- Track project status, manage timelines, and report progress to the Operating Partner and deal teams
- Evaluate, pilot, and deliver AI and automation tooling to drive efficiency across portfolio companies and Sterling's internal operations, working with internal teams and external partners to build and deploy solutions
- Security and governance
- Apply a controls-oriented, security-first mindset across diligence, value creation, and integration work
- Support IT governance, compliance, and vendor risk workstreams across the fund and portfolio
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline (Computer Science, MIS, Engineering, or related)
- 5–8 years of experience spanning IT/technology consulting, IT M&A diligence, or a hands-on technology delivery/architecture role
- Demonstrated experience with IT due diligence and/or post-merger technology integration
- Strong grounding in core enterprise technology: infrastructure, cloud, applications/ERP, cybersecurity fundamentals, data/analytics and BI
- Excellent oral and written communication and the ability to produce executive-level deliverables
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams across a portfolio with limited oversight
Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior experience in private equity, management consulting (technology practice), or a corporate development / IT M&A function
- Experience working with middle-market portfolio companies
- Experience working with industrial, manufacturing, and distribution businesses
- MBA or technical master's a plus, not required
Experience Level:
- Mid-level individual contributor with roughly 5–8 years of relevant experience. This is a hands-on execution role focused on delivering technology programs directly across the portfolio while coordinating internal teams and external partners. The right candidate manages multiple concurrent workstreams across deals and portfolio companies and moves comfortably between strategic framing and hands-on delivery.
