Underwriting Manager — Retail Residential Mortgage
About The Position
The Opportunity A federally chartered mortgage bank with a nationwide retail residential footprint is looking for a seasoned underwriting leader ready to step into a well-established, high-performing team — not a build-from-scratch situation. This is a true player/coach role where your technical underwriting expertise and leadership instincts will directly shape credit quality, turn times, and team development at scale. If you've built your career in retail residential underwriting and you're ready for a platform that offers federal preemption, deep product breadth, and a direct line to senior credit leadership, this one deserves your attention. Why This Opportunity This lender's federal charter isn't just a detail — it translates into multi-state agility, a robust product menu, and an institutional infrastructure that gives underwriting leadership the tools and authority to actually lead. You'll inherit a stable, experienced team of underwriters rather than starting from zero, and you'll have meaningful access to senior credit leadership — the kind of visibility that drives career trajectory. Add a full benefits package and a performance bonus structure that rewards strong leadership, and this is a role worth having a real conversation about.
Requirements
- Five or more years of recent, continuous experience in retail residential mortgage frontline underwriting leadership — your most recent role must be in this space
- Demonstrated tenure and stability
- Deep, working mastery of conventional agency guidelines (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) and government products (FHA, VA) — You should be able to navigate AUS findings and manual underwrites with equal confidence
- Hands-on proficiency with Encompass LOS
- Proven leadership experience managing or mentoring other underwriters, including coaching through difficult files and delivering constructive feedback
- Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States
Nice To Haves
- DE, SAR and/or LAPP authority
- Experience with USDA, FHA 203(k), jumbo, construction or non-QM product lines
Responsibilities
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of retail residential underwriters — managing daily production, quality metrics, and pipeline turn times
- Partner cross-functionally with sales, processing, and operations leadership to keep file flow moving efficiently and exceptions resolved quickly
- Own the escalation queue — making sound, defensible credit decisions on elevated or exception files while documenting reasoning clearly
- Drive calibration sessions and ongoing training to keep the team aligned on agency guidelines, investor overlays, and internal credit policy
- Identify workflow inefficiencies and collaborate with ops leadership to implement process improvements that protect both speed and quality
- Serve as a credit culture ambassador — modeling sound judgment, clear communication, and a commitment to compliant, borrower-focused lending
Benefits
- full benefits package
- performance bonus structure
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Education Level
No Education Listed
