Job description
Affirm is reinventing credit to make it more honest and friendly, giving consumers the flexibility to buy now and pay later without any hidden fees or compounding interest.
We’re looking for a strategic and action-oriented Operations Risk Lead to join our Operations team and strengthen our risk management foundation as we scale. This role will serve as a key partner across Operations, Product, Engineering, Legal, and Compliance, owning the strategy and execution of incident and issue management while building risk frameworks that protect our customers, agents, and business.
You’ll champion the customer, merchant, and agent experience while navigating regulatory and operational complexity. Whether managing an urgent incident, evaluating systemic control gaps, or influencing cross-functional partners to prioritize fixes, you bring clarity, calm, and a solutions mindset. If you thrive in ambiguity, excel at cross-functional influence, and have a passion for operational rigor, this is the role for you.
What You’ll Do:
- Lead incident and issue management processes, ensuring rapid triage, root cause analysis, customer harm mitigation, and timely cross-functional remediation.
- Represent Operations in incidents of varying severity, offering both immediate response coordination and long-term control design recommendations.
- Build and maintain a scalable risk framework that prioritizes high-risk areas and drives control improvements in partnership with Product, Engineering, Legal, Compliance, and other teams.
- Collaborate with Legal and Compliance to support regulatory reporting and ensure all incidents meet applicable requirements.
- Establish and run control testing and risk assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of operational and technical controls.
- Develop tools and strategies to improve risk visibility, data normalization, and process automation.
- Provide concise risk reporting and status updates to senior leadership.
- Assess risk in technical systems, third-party vendors, and internal processes; define mitigation strategies and ensure timely execution.
- Foster a risk-aware culture and serve as a subject matter expert on operational and technical risk across the organization.
- Partner with your Manager and team members to support team morale, development, and shared purpose through active coaching and engagement.
- Lead and contribute to risk-related initiatives across cross-functional programs, audits, and regulatory reviews.
What We Look For:
- Bachelor’s degree in Risk Management, Business, Finance, or a related field.
- 5–7+ years of experience in operational or technical risk management, ideally within financial services or highly regulated industries.
- Deep familiarity with risk and controls frameworks, issue management lifecycle, and cross-functional risk mitigation.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex, high-stakes projects across technical and non-technical teams.
- Strong written and verbal communication, analytical thinking, and stakeholder engagement.
- Experience navigating regulatory requirements and supporting compliance readiness.
- Flexibility to support incident response and critical operations outside of standard business hours, including on-call rotations during peak periods.
- Certifications in risk management (CRMA, CIA, or equivalent) preferred but not required.
- Experience in the servicing space (e.g., customer support, fraud ops, dispute resolution) is a plus but not required.
Base Pay Grade - H
Equity Grade - 3
Employees new to Affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills.
Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents). In addition, the employees may be eligible for equity rewards offered by Affirm Holdings, Inc. (parent company).
CAN base pay range: $78,000 - $118,000
#LI-Remote
Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company! The majority of our roles are remote and you can work almost anywhere within the country of employment. Affirmers in proximal roles have the flexibility to work remotely, but will occasionally be required to work out of their assigned Affirm office. A limited number of roles remain office-based due to the nature of their job responsibilities.
We’re extremely proud to offer competitive benefits that are anchored to our core value of people come first. Some key highlights of our benefits package include:
- Health care coverage - Affirm covers all premiums for all levels of coverage for you and your dependents
- Flexible Spending Wallets - generous stipends for spending on Technology, Food, various Lifestyle needs, and family forming expenses
- Time off - competitive vacation and holiday schedules allowing you to take time off to rest and recharge
- ESPP - An employee stock purchase plan enabling you to buy shares of Affirm at a discount
We believe It’s On Us to provide an inclusive interview experience for all, including people with disabilities. We are happy to provide reasonable accommodations to candidates in need of individualized support during the hiring process.
[For U.S. positions that could be performed in Los Angeles or San Francisco] Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, Affirm will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
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