Chargeback and Abuse Risk Analyst

Topstep•Chicago, IL

10h•$80,000 - $90,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chargeback and Abuse Risk Analyst is an independent decision-maker and subject matter expert on card disputes and payment abuse. The primary work of this role is judgment. Classifying abuse, building evidence strategy, and making enforcement recommendations that carry direct financial and legal consequences for Topstep. This role works closely with cross-functional partners on pattern identification, enforcement decisions, and process improvement.

Requirements

2 + years working chargebacks, payment disputes, or payments abuse in a role requiring independent case judgment or transferable work experience.
Strong command of card network chargeback rules across Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
Demonstrated ability to classify ambiguous abuse scenarios and make defensible enforcement recommendations without a predetermined framework to follow.
Pattern-recognition capability. Connects signals across accounts, timeframes, and chargeback types to identify coordinated or systemic abuse.
Metrics-driven work style; demonstrated ability to drive unstructured problems to resolution independently and cross-functionally.
Excellent analytical skills with superb attention to detail. Case documentation is clean, complete, and holds up under review.
Strong written and verbal communication; able to present findings and recommendations clearly to leadership and cross-functional partners.

Nice To Haves

Experience with pre-dispute alert platforms (Ethoca, Verifi, RDR) is a meaningful differentiator.
SQL or Looker proficiency.
Fintech, E-commerce, or Payments experience.

Responsibilities

Exercise independent judgment to classify chargebacks and abuse cases across all defined categories where outcomes are not predetermined and classification carries enforcement consequences.
Develop and own evidence strategy for chargeback representment. Determining which facts are procedurally relevant under card network rules and building advanced evidence packages.
Make enforcement recommendations on high-risk and abuse-flagged accounts, including traders flagged for chargeback or refund abuse activity; prepare case summaries that are defensible.
Conduct root cause analysis on complex chargeback to identify the true nature of a case beyond the stated reason code.
Identify and surface abuse patterns across accounts, timeframes, and chargeback types; contribute findings to the abuse classification framework and policy development.
Manage escalations and serve as a subject matter consultant to internal teams on complex or cross-functional chargeback matters.
Support the pre-dispute alert review process. Evaluate alerts, apply classification logic, and escalate cases warranting enforcement.
Drive process improvements through data-driven recommendations; partner with program leadership, Product, and Engineering to implement changes.
Work the active chargeback queue across multiple processors. Applying the judgment and evidence standards above to each case.