About the role
Job Application for Consumer Credit Lead - Cards at Mercury Back to jobs New Consumer Credit Lead - Cards San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, Portland, OR, or Remote within Canada or United States Apply Build and scale the underwriting foundation for our new consumer charge card (0→1). Mercury is building a banking* stack for startups. We work hard to create the easiest and safest banking* experience possible to simplify entrepreneurs' and business owners’ financial lives. We’re launching a premium consumer charge card and are looking for a senior credit risk leader to help build and scale the underwriting strategy from the ground up - and own its performance as the portfolio scales. Our goal is to build a consumer charge card that delivers a premium experience while maintaining disciplined, data-driven credit risk. This is a hands-on, senior individual contributor role. You’ll take an initial strategic direction and turn it into a scalable, data-driven underwriting program, then monitor, refine, and evolve that strategy post-launch. You’ll play a key role in shaping how risk decisions translate into customer experience, product growth, and long-term portfolio performance. As the portfolio grows, this role is expected to evolve into team leadership. *Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. What You’ll Own: Build and operationalize the credit strategy Translate underwriting vision into formal credit policy and decision frameworks Define approval logic, segmentation strategy, and limit-setting methodology Establish portfolio guardrails aligned to loss targets and unit economics Design account management strategies across the customer lifecycle Develop early portfolio management approaches including exposure adjustments, servicing strategies, and input into collections processes as the portfolio matures Define portfolio monitoring frameworks and escalation triggers for emerging credit risk trends Build the data-driven risk engine Implement credit policy in our underwriting platform Evaluate and integrate key data sources (bureau, income, debt signals) Ensure decision logic is structured, testable, and scalable Partner with Engineering and Data to build monitoring and feedback loops Own portfolio performance post-launch Define and track core KPIs (approval rate, early delinquency, loss rate, exposure, utilization, etc.) Monitor vintage performance and segment behavior Recommend and implement strategy adjustments based on observed risk trends Present risk performance, insights, and recommendations to senior leadership Drive data-informed risk and growth decisions Use SQL to independently evaluate underwriting decisions and trade-offs Analyze drivers of credit performance and portfolio outcomes Partner with Finance on forecasting and risk-adjusted economics Drive cross-functional execution Partner with Compliance to ensure the underwriting program is well-documented and built to scale Work with Partnerships, Procurement, and Legal on evaluating and onboarding credit data providers Support broader risk initiatives across our business charge card portfolio during the build phase What We’re Looking For: 6+ years of experience in consumer credit risk. Ideal candidates will have 8–12 years of experience across banking, fintech, or unsecured consumer lending Experience launching or materially redesigning a consumer lending product Experience implementing credit policy within a decisioning or underwriting platform is strongly preferred Demonstrated experience owning risk strategy and monitoring portfolio performance Deep familiarity with bureau data and core credit risk metrics (approval rate, loss rate, vintage curves, etc.) Experience presenting risk insights and strategy recommendations to senior stakeholders Experience translating policy into production decision logic Strong SQL skills and comfort working directly with data Comfortable building in ambiguity and operating in a 0→1 environment Why This Role Is Unique: You’ll join before launch - when foundational decisions are made - and remain accountable for how those decisions perform in-market. You won’t inherit a mature portfolio. You’ll help define how underwriting works, how risk scales, and how this product earns long-term customer trust. As the consumer portfolio grows, this role has the potential to evolve into a leadership position responsible for building and managing a dedicated consumer credit risk team. The total rewards package at Mercury includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Our salary and equity ranges are highly competitive within the SaaS and fintech industry and are updated regularly using the most reliable compensation survey data for our industry. New hire offers are made based on a candidate’s experience, expertise, geographic location, and internal pay equity relative to peers. Our target new hire base salary ranges for this role are the following: US employees in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, or the San Francisco Bay Area: $207,800 - $259,800 US employees outside of the New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, or the San Francisco Bay Area: $187,00 - $233,800 Canadian employees (any location): $196,400 - $245,500 CAD Mercury values diversity & belonging and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All individuals seeking employment at Mercury are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities or special needs. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role. 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