Credit Risk Manager, Auto Finance

About the Role

The Credit Risk Manager, Auto Finance serves as the senior credit and execution authority for all auto lending partners, acting as the real-time risk, product, and operational bridge between each partner and Pagaya. This role is critical to delivering a best-in-class dealer experience by enabling fast, informed credit and funding decisions while protecting portfolio performance.

This individual holds defined lending and funding authority to approve exceptions, waivers, and deal adjustments without reliance on centralized queues, ensuring speed to decision in high-volume environments. The role owns deal-level credit execution, exception governance, and funding resolution, while continuously feeding performance insights back to Pagaya’s product, risk, and engineering teams to improve product-market fit and scalability. 

This is a highly visible, hands-on role central to the success and long-term performance of the Pagaya–Ally auto partnership.

Key Responsibilities

Credit & Lending Authority

• Exercise delegated lending authority to approve credit exceptions, including LTV deviations, PTI buffers, pricing adjustments, rate concessions, and stipulation waivers within defined limits
• Provide real-time direction on deal restructuring required to generate approvals or improved pricing
• Track and evaluate the performance of loans approved with exceptions or waivers to validate risk outcomes and inform future credit policy
  
  

Funding Authority & Deal Resolution

• Extend credit authority into funding decision-making, including resolution of aged held offerings and minor funding issues
• Approve funding-related waivers (e.g., customer interviews, minor documentation gaps) when supported by borrower strength and deal structure

Pre-Stip Validation & Stipulation Governance

• Provide firm, upfront validation or clearance of stipulations prior to funding to reduce downstream friction
• Help design and manage the intake process for pre-stip validation (portal, workflow, or inbox), ensuring clarity for dealers and Ally teams
  
  

Product Development & Risk Intelligence

• Act as the primary feedback conduit between each partners underwriting, field teams, dealers, and Pagaya HQ
• Conduct win/loss and lost-deal analysis to identify take-rate opportunities, friction points, and competitive gaps
• Translate frontline insights into actionable recommendations for credit policy, approval logic, pricing, and operational workflows utilizing AI tools for consistency and repeatability
• Monitor early performance indicators including first-payment default, fraud trends, and exception outcomes
• Provide market level intelligence utilizing JD Power PIN and similar marketplace driver reporting tools

Exception & Operational Management

• Own day-to-day exception workflows and deal-level issue resolution
  Review daily AT files to identify failed loans, confirm prior approvals, and investigate unexpected declines
• Resolve escalated credit and operational issues directly with each partners stakeholders

Enablement & Stakeholder Engagement

• Deliver on-floor coaching, ad-hoc support, and formal training for partner staff
• Educate teams on best practices for exception submissions, stip management, and deal structuring
• Create a continuous feedback loop between partner operations and Pagaya’s product, risk, and technology teams
  
  

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in auto finance credit, underwriting, risk management, or funding operations
• Direct experience working with auto dealers and indirect lending platforms
• Demonstrated credit and funding authority in a high-volume lending environment
• Deep understanding of auto credit structures, exceptions, stipulations, pricing, and funding workflows
• Strong ability to interpret automated credit decisions and explain outcomes clearly to stakeholders
• Proven track record of balancing credit risk with dealer experience and operational efficiency
• Exceptional problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes across credit, data, and systems
• Strong communication skills and comfort managing escalated, high-impact conversations
• Data analytic skills highly preferred, including AI focused integration and market data platform experience
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities in real time
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with product, risk, operations, and engineering team