Senior Model Risk Management Jobs in Orinda, CA (NOW HIRING)

Lead is a banking infrastructure platform trusted by the most innovative companies to power complex financial products. We enable fintechs to offer compliant, programmable services like payments, lending, and digital assets at scale. Banking has moved beyond traditional institutions and is now embedded directly into everyday experiences, meaning companies need modern infrastructure that is safe, secure, and operationally sound.

Today, Lead is one of the only API-first, developer-focused partner banks with the financial, regulatory, and legal expertise required to help fintechs succeed. We operate offices in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, and New York City, and an FDIC-insured bank in Kansas City.

The Risk team helps Lead innovate responsibly by identifying and managing risk across the business. They own oversight of our strategic third-party partners, risk governance across the enterprise, and engagement with our federal and state bank examiners, which is key to maintaining regulatory credibility. Partnering with Product, Program Management, Compliance, Financial Crimes, Legal, and Information Security, they build and maintain the frameworks that allow new products, partners, and technologies to launch safely. Success on the team requires a relentless pursuit of operational excellence, embracing emerging technologies, and pragmatic application of risk and control expertise to both routine and novel problems.

• Deliver Advanced Risk Assessments: Execute high-priority quantitative and qualitative risk assessments on complex fintech partner programs, expertly managing tight deadlines and competing analytical priorities.
• Execute Fintech ERM Programs: and support the Enterprise Risk Management framework for fintech partners, by actively tracking, analyzing, and monitoring complex risk issues (e.g., third-party risk, model risk management, operational resilience), while providing feedback to continuously improve on our oversight processes.
• Provide Robust Credible Challenge: Serve as a subject matter expert to provide rigorous, credible challenge to risk assessments performed by internal business lines, ensuring strict adherence to ERM methodologies, program and regulatory standards.
• Analyze 4th-Party Risk Ecosystems: Conduct the risk analysis and due diligence for 4th-party vendors, while building and maintaining the 4th party vendor register ecosystem.
• Execute 1LoD Partner Risk Oversight: Serve as the First Line of Defense (1LoD) for fintech partners’ TPRM and ERM programs; review program effectiveness, monitor ongoing compliance, and collaborate with partner teams to track and support necessary remediation when gaps are identified.
• KRI Management & Risk Reporting: Track, monitor, and analyze Key Risk Indicators (KRIs within established frameworks). Synthesize complex data into clear, actionable reports and dashboards illustrating risk exposure and portfolio trends for senior leadership and risk committees.
• Risk Project Delivery: Successfully manage the execution of multiple high-visibility, in-flight risk initiatives simultaneously, effectively aligning diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Relationship Management: Cultivate deep, collaborative, and consultative relationships with internal business lines and risk counterparts at Lead’s fintech partners, balancing a strong risk culture with a client-enablement mindset.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Experience: 4+ years of direct experience in risk management, compliance, or internal audit, specifically within third-party risk management (TPRM), risk & control self-assessments (RCSA), or risk reporting.
• Domain Expertise: Proven experience in the Fintech, Payments, or Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) sectors (e.g., card issuing, ACH/payments, loan origination via bank sponsorship models) is highly preferred.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Familiarity of banking regulations and supervisory guidance relevant to third-party risk and bank-fintech partnerships (e.g., OCC, Fed, FDIC guidances).
• Advanced Risk Frameworks: Strong command of the risk management lifecycle, including risk identification, control design, control effectiveness testing, and building scalable risk metrics.
• Data & Analytics Skills: Strong proficiency in utilizing data to build risk dashboards and synthesize metrics.
• Execution & Proactive Drive: Highly self-motivated and organized professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment; demonstrates strong ownership over their work and deliverables and proactively manages work priorities.
• Communication & Influence: Exceptional communication and presentation skills; confident in providing credible challenges to internal functional areas and fintech partners and able to present complex risk topics clearly to senior management and external clients.
• Problem Solving: Proven ability to analyze ambiguous, complex risk issues and translate them into structured, actionable, and trackable milestones within a remediation plan.
• AI Leverage & Critical Discernment: Comfortable utilizing AI tools to accelerate workflows, paired with exceptional reading comprehension and writing skills to critically evaluate, refine, and validate all outputs; understands that AI is a guide, but final quality and accuracy require human oversight and sharp analytical thinking.

• At Lead, we design our benefits to support company culture and principles, to foster an efficient and inspiring work environment, and to create the conditions for our team to give their best in both work and life
• Competitive compensation, based on experience, geographic location, and role
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, 401k Matching, and other wellness benefits, including FSA, HSA and HRA
• Paid parental leave
• Flexible vacation policy, including PTO and paid holidays
• A fun and challenging team environment in a dynamic industry with ample opportunities for career growth

Lead Bank is proud to have an inclusive culture committed to ensuring equal employment opportunity in all employment decisions regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, veteran status or any other legally protected status.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. Pay is based on a number of factors and may vary depending on geographical market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Zone 1: 122719 - 137500 (SF/Bay Area, NYC, Seattle)

Zone 2: 105761 - 124725 (Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, LA, San Diego, DC)

Zone 3: 89250 - 105000 (Other US Metros)