Consumer Credit Lead - Cards

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
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