Head of Disputes

Cardless•San Francisco, CA

10d•$140,000 - $190,000•Onsite

About The Position

We're looking for an experienced disputes professional to own our disputes function end-to-end. Right now, disputes are handled by an external BPO — your job is to take ownership of that operation, drive quality and outcomes, and build the in-house capability that scales with us as we grow. You'll report directly to the COO and work closely with Fraud, Compliance, Engineering, and our banking partners to make sure we're handling disputes accurately, efficiently, and in line with Reg E, Reg Z, and network rules. This is a heads-down, build-it-yourself role today — with a clear path to building and leading a team as volume grows.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in credit card disputes, chargebacks, or a closely related function
Deep working knowledge of Reg E, Reg Z, and dispute rules, tools, and timelines across all three major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) — and experience owning compliance adherence, not just awareness of the rules
Experience overseeing or partnering with BPO operations on disputes or servicing
Strong analytical skills — you can pull dispute data, identify patterns, and turn them into actionable recommendations
Comfortable working cross-functionally with Compliance, Fraud, Engineering, and external banking partners
Clear, precise written communication — you can write a dispute policy as clearly as you can write an escalation summary
San Francisco-based and in-office 5 days a week

Nice To Haves

Experience at a card issuer, fintech, or bank is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Own the disputes function end-to-end — strategy, policy, BPO oversight, and complex case resolution
Manage and audit our BPO disputes operation, driving quality, accuracy, and SLA compliance across programs
Build the internal disputes playbook: policies, SOPs, decision trees, and escalation paths
Handle complex and high-value disputes directly — fraud claims, merchant chargebacks, billing errors — in compliance with Reg E, Reg Z, and Visa/Mastercard network rules
Ensure full compliance with Reg E, Reg Z, and Visa/Mastercard dispute rules — owning adherence end-to-end across timelines, provisional credit, and required cardholder communications
Partner with Fraud, Compliance, and Engineering to address root causes of dispute volume, improve tooling, and build automation that reduces manual handling at scale
Monitor chargeback ratios and dispute metrics across programs and escalate trends to leadership
Work with our sponsor bank and card networks on dispute-related requirements and escalations
Hire and develop an in-house disputes team as volume and complexity grow