Lead Risk Analyst - Denver

The Lead Risk Analyst will spearhead our risk management and fraud prevention efforts, ensuring that our fintech platform maintains the highest standards of security and compliance as we scale. In this role, you will own the monitoring and analysis of transaction activities and customer behaviors to detect fraud, mitigate risks, and protect both the company and our clients from losses or regulatory issues.

As an early hire focused on risk, you’ll establish the policies, tools, and procedures we use to keep our payment system safe. This includes everything from analyzing patterns in transactional data for suspicious activity, to fine‑tuning our risk scoring algorithms, to ensuring we meet compliance obligations like KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti‑Money Laundering) regulations.

On a daily basis, you will review alerts generated by our transaction monitoring systems (for example, flags for unusual transfer amounts or frequency, identity mismatches, etc.). You’ll investigate these alerts in depth: using internal dashboards and databases to gather information about the users or transactions in question, and deciding on the appropriate action (such as holding a payout, requiring additional verification, or clearing a false alarm).

You will work closely with our Technical Lead for Data Science to continuously improve the risk models and rules – providing feedback on what patterns you’re seeing, and helping to test model updates. Additionally, you’ll handle the compliance side of risk analysis: overseeing KYC and watchlist screening results for new customers, and making sure we follow proper procedures if any user hits a sanctions list or raises red flags.

Because this is a leadership role in a startup context
, you will also be setting up the risk management framework that future analysts will follow. This means documenting policies (risk scoring criteria, investigation steps), selecting and implementing fraud detection tools as needed, and training other team members on risk‑aware practices. You will liaise with external partners or regulators if required, perhaps in the event of fraud incidents or audits. Over time, as our volume grows, you may build and manage a small team of risk analysts.

The role is full‑time in Denver, CO (with remote flexibility) and comes with a combination of salary and equity. It’s an exciting opportunity to shape the risk culture and systems from the ground up at a rising fintech startup.

Transaction Monitoring & Analysis – Continuously monitor ongoing transactions and account activities through our risk dashboards and automated alert systems. Analyze transactions that trigger fraud alerts or fall outside normal patterns (e.g., unusually large ACH transfers, multiple rapid attempts from the same account, mismatched user details) and determine whether they are legitimate or fraudulent/suspicious.

Investigation & Case Management – Conduct detailed investigations into suspicious accounts or activities. Gather all relevant data (user profile, linked bank accounts, transaction history, device info, etc.) to build a case. Document your findings and conclusions in an organized manner. Decide on actions such as freezing transactions, suspending accounts pending verification, or reporting incidents.

Risk Rule & Model Tuning – Work with our data science and engineering team to refine the risk scoring models and business rules. Provide insight into the efficacy of current rules (false positives/negatives) and suggest new rules or thresholds based on your investigations. For example, you might notice a pattern of fraud that slips through and recommend a new rule to catch it.

Test changes to risk logic in a sandbox environment and validate improvements.

KYC/Onboarding Oversight – Review the results of customer due diligence processes. Ensure that all new customers (businesses or individuals) have passed KYC checks, and any that trigger warnings (e.g., on watchlist/OFAC screenings or identity verification discrepancies) are given proper attention. Work with the Customer Success and Support teams to request additional documentation or clarification from…