VP of Credit Risk

Scratch Financial•Remote (CA, US), CA

7d•$250,000 - $275,000•Remote

About The Position

As VP of Credit Risk, you'll own the credit strategy behind every lending decision at Scratch Pay. You'll lead our scoring models and the policy layer that sits alongside them, manage portfolio performance, and responsibly expand who we can say yes to, especially across near-prime and subprime segments, using alternative data and modern underwriting techniques. You'll operate hands-on in the models and data while building and leading the team that scales the function. We're looking for this role to serve as the general manager of Scratch Pay’s profitability. This is a high-ownership, cross-functional role: you'll set and execute the strategy for underwriting, collections, and loan performance. You'll report directly to the President and work closely with our SVP of Product to shape the borrower experience across our lending application and iOS/Android apps. If you're energized by owning a P&L, thrive at the intersection of data and strategy, and want to build something that matters — this role was designed for you.

Requirements

Experience as a P&L owner at a consumer lending company: you've directly managed credit loss, yield, and portfolio economics and can speak to the decisions you made and their outcomes
Deep, hands-on credit underwriting experience – not modeling in the abstract, but real ownership of live underwriting decisions and the P&L outcomes they produce.
Proven track record building unsecured personal / consumer loan credit models end to end.
Experience managing analysts, with a track record of developing talent and building productive, high-output teams
Strong AI aptitude: you're already using AI tools in your workflow and have opinions on how they can make a credit/analytics function meaningfully more efficient
Deep fluency in credit risk concepts: underwriting policy, scoring models, vintage analysis, loss forecasting, collections strategy
Comfort working across functions: you've partnered with Product, Engineering, or Operations teams and know how to translate between risk and business priorities
Strong communicator who can present complex portfolio or analytics findings to non-technical stakeholders, up to and including board level
Knowledge of consumer lending regulation (TILA, FCRA, ECOA, UDAAP)
Deep fluency with the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) – their attributes, scores, and data quirks – plus working experience with additional and alternative data sources.
Pedigree from Capital One or a comparably innovative, test-and-learn consumer lender (e.g., Affirm, Upstart, Oportun, Discover, Synchrony, SoFi, Enova); someone who has worked inside a best-in-class underwriting culture.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a fintech or marketplace lender (point-of-sale lending, BNPL, or installment lending a plus)
Demonstrated alternative underwriting experience used to extend credit access to near-prime and subprime applicants.
Hands-on experience building or managing credit models (logistic regression, ML-based scorecards, etc.)
Familiarity with collections vendor management and agency relationships
Experience scaling an analytics team from small to multi-functional

Responsibilities

Serve as the GM for lending profitability: own the credit loss rate, approval rate, checkout conversion, unit economics, and yield across our loan portfolio
Design and optimize the hard-cut / policy layer that sits alongside the score — knockout rules, eligibility criteria, and approval thresholds — using swap-set and champion/challenger analysis to tune the approve/decline boundary against approval-rate and loss targets.
Define and continuously improve our underwriting criteria — credit policy, model inputs, decisioning logic — to optimize risk-adjusted returns
Lead collections strategy, including segmentation, treatment paths, agency relationships, and recovery optimization
Responsibly expand the approvable population into near-prime (and potentially subprime) by integrating and operationalizing alternative data: cash-flow / bank-transaction data, alternative bureau attributes, income and employment verification, and other non-traditional signals.
Own portfolio performance management: loss forecasting, vintage and roll-rate analysis, early-warning indicators, and inputs to loss reserves.
Monitor portfolio performance and drive rapid iteration when trends shift
Partner closely with the SVP of Product to define improvements to our lending application and borrower-facing iOS and Android apps
Bring a data-driven and risk-aware lens to product decisions: approval flows, offer presentation, repayment UX, and borrower communications
Ensure compliance and regulatory considerations are built in from the start, not bolted on
Build a rigorous test-and-learn engine (champion/challenger, controlled holdouts, A/B) so credit policy decisions are driven by evidence rather than intuition.
Lead and develop a lean but high-performing credit risk team, with expected growth as the business continues to scale
Develop your team's craft and careers while maintaining high standards for output quality
Champion a culture of rigor and intellectual honesty (getting it right vs. being right) in how the company uses data
Identify and implement AI-powered tools and workflows to make the Credit Risk & Analytics function more efficient and scalable
Evaluate and deploy best-in-class tooling for credit modeling, collections automation, data processing, and analytics delivery
Stay current on the evolving landscape of fintech AI applications and bring relevant innovations to the team

Benefits

Competitive base salary ranging from $250,000 - $275,000
remote-first company
office space in Pasadena available for use (which is stocked with snacks & various beverages)
unlimited PTO
covered healthcare
401k match
cell plan reimbursement
monthly recognition opportunities
learning platforms and resources for all to keep growing
equity retention policy
generous parental leave