Credit Risk Underwriting Specialist

Tri Pointe Homes Holdings•Scottsdale, AZ

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

Tri Pointe Connect, the mortgage affiliate of Tri Pointe Homes, is seeking a Credit Risk Underwriting Specialist to join its Credit Risk Department in Scottsdale, Arizona. This hybrid role works from the Operations Center in Scottsdale and is in the office Monday through Wednesday. The specialist conducts loan-level underwriting reviews, credit-quality audits, lending-authority reviews, and third-party vendor oversight for Conventional, Government (FHA/VA/USDA), Jumbo, and Non-QM products. The position supports high-quality, salable, compliant loans and strengthens risk governance through detailed file audits, income validation, data-integrity checks, defect trending, and second-level underwriting oversight. The role also supports credit policies, audit and calibration frameworks, vendor performance assessment, and executive-level reporting. The specialist identifies and escalates repurchase exposure, defect trends, risk indicators, data inconsistencies, and potential misrepresentation concerns to the Director of Credit Risk. The position may require after-hours work.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
At least 5 years of recent credit-risk audit and/or mortgage-underwriting experience across Conventional, Government (FHA/VA), Jumbo, and Non-QM products.
Strong understanding of agency guidelines, investor overlays, regulatory compliance, manual underwriting logic, and ATR/QM requirements for non-agency products.
Advanced tax-return analysis, self-employment income reconstruction, and rental-income evaluation skills.
Strong communication and audit-documentation skills, both written and verbal, including the ability to clearly articulate nuanced credit-risk concerns.
Demonstrated ability to explain discretionary decisions and findings when reviewing loans for audit.
Detail-oriented, with a strong focus on accuracy.
Ability to perform effectively under strict deadlines in a dynamic environment.
Ability to meet the physical requirements described: sedentary work for extended periods, up to four hours; frequent repetitive hand use for typing and computer work; auditory ability to communicate in person, on calls, or in meetings; and visual acuity for reading documents and computer work.

Nice To Haves

Government underwriting designations such as DE or VA Automatic; SAR is preferred.
Experience with Encompass.

Responsibilities

Conduct in-depth audits and re-underwrites across Conventional, Government, Jumbo, and Non-QM loans for compliance with agency, investor, and internal guidelines.
Recalculate income using agency and investor methodologies, including complex self-employed income, rental income, and K-1 analysis, and assess layered-risk borrowers.
Validate AUS findings (DU/LPA) and confirm alignment of data among the loan origination system, AUS, and supporting documentation.
Perform second-level underwriting reviews for new underwriters seeking initial lending authority and existing underwriters seeking expanded authority in products such as FHA, VA, and Jumbo.
Document findings, recommend lending-authority approvals, and provide coaching feedback when skill gaps are identified.
Maintain calibration standards so lending authority aligns with company credit-risk expectations and investor requirements.
Audit and evaluate domestic and offshore third-party QC vendors conducting pre-funding, post-closing, and targeted audits.
Verify that vendor findings are accurate, consistent, and aligned with agency and investor requirements and internal credit standards.
Maintain vendor performance logs, participate in calibration calls, and support scorecard development.
Identify and escalate repurchase exposure, defect trends, risk indicators, data inconsistencies, and misrepresentation concerns to the Director of Credit Risk.
Support development of internal credit policies, audit matrices, income guides, scorecards, and calibration frameworks.
Contribute to executive-level reporting, trend dashboards, defect analytics, and quality insights.