Director, Payment Risk Operations

Maxio • ,

6d • Remote

About The Position

Maxio Payments is one of the fastest-growing parts of our business. In just over three years we've built an embedded payments offering from the ground up — and we're doubling down. We recently launched the first native B2B surcharging engine on the market, and we see a clear path to tripling the volume processed on our platform over the next two to three years.
We're looking for a Director, Risk & Payments Operations to take what we've built and lead it into its next stage. Reporting directly to the CFO, you'll set the risk strategy and appetite for Maxio Payments and own the function end to end — underwriting, transaction monitoring, card scheme compliance, and the broader risk operations that keep the business safe, scalable, and ahead of the market. You'll inherit a team of three and shape how it grows as volume scales.
This is a rare role for a rare profile. You bring real depth in payments risk — but you've also spent time inside a B2B SaaS or software company, so you understand the kind of merchant base and growth curve we operate against. You've led a risk function or major risk domain before, and you're ready to own one outright. Just as important, you come in with a builder's mindset: you look at a fast-scaling payments business and get energized by building the frameworks, systems, and team that will carry it through its next order of magnitude. You may be doing a version of this job today at another software company. Here, you'll have the mandate to build and the seat to shape strategy.

Requirements

• A blend of payments/risk depth and B2B SaaS/software fluency — you've worked in payments risk, and you understand how a software company's merchant base and growth model actually behave.
• 8+ years in payments, risk management, or financial services operations, including 3+ years leading risk or payment operations teams or functions.
• A track record of owning a risk function or major risk domain — setting policy and appetite, not just executing against someone else's.
• Hands-on expertise in underwriting, credit risk, fraud prevention, and transaction monitoring — ideally in an embedded payments, PayFac, or platform context.
• Working knowledge of card brand rules, sponsor bank guidelines, NACHA, and payment processing systems.
• A builder's mindset — comfortable operating where the playbook doesn't fully exist yet, and motivated by scaling systems and teams rather than just running them.
• Strong analytical skills; fluency in Excel/Google Sheets and reporting tools; Salesforce or comparable CRM experience a plus.
• Board-ready communication — clear and credible across executive, partner, and technical audiences.
• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

• Salesforce or comparable CRM experience a plus.

Responsibilities

• Set and own Maxio Payments' risk strategy, appetite, and policy framework in partnership with the CFO — balancing sound risk management against the growth ambitions of a fast-scaling payments business.
• Own the full risk function — underwriting, transaction monitoring, dispute and fraud management, and compliance — along with the operating model and systems that scale it.
• Direct credit and risk decisioning across the merchant lifecycle, and own the policies, thresholds, and KYC/KYB standards that govern it as the portfolio grows.
• Own the standards, tooling, and escalation paths for surfacing credit, fraud, and compliance risk early — and lead the response when it counts.
• Own compliance with card brand rules, sponsor bank requirements, and applicable regulations (NACHA and others), and serve as Maxio's senior point of contact for banking, processing, and network partners.
• Design and implement the tooling, automation, reporting, and playbooks that let us triple processed volume without tripling risk — or headcount.
• Be the risk voice in the room with the CFO, executive team, sponsor banks, and the board — shaping decisions, not just reporting them.
• Lead, mentor, and grow the team (currently three), and define how the function is structured and staffed as the business scales.
• Partner with Product, Sales, Customer Success, Partnerships, and Finance to grow the business responsibly, turning risk from a gate into an enabler.

Benefits

• You'll own an entire function at one of Maxio's fastest-growing lines of business — with the mandate to set its strategy and build its team.
• You'll be the risk voice in the room with the CFO, the executive team, and the board.
• You'll build and scale, not just maintain, as we grow toward 3x processed volume.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director