Head of Fraud Operations (m/f/d)

Cello; London; Remote; GBP 45,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fintech company is seeking a Senior Payments Monitoring Specialist to join their new team focused on fraud detection and real-time payment monitoring. This remote role requires expertise in payments monitoring, with responsibilities including incident management and collaboration with internal teams to enhance fraud detection capabilities.

Benefits

Competitive remuneration

Remote-first flexibility

Continuous learning budget

Company card for meals and meetups

Qualifications

• 3+ years in payments monitoring or fraud operations.
• Strong skills in SQL and Python.
• Excellent communication skills in English.

Responsibilities

• Monitor live card transactions and identify suspicious activity.
• Lead incident response for payments-related issues.
• Use SQL and Python for fraud pattern analysis.

Skills

Fraud Detection

Incident Management

Data Analysis

SQL

Python

Communication

Job description

ABOUT US

Since 2020, Pliant has been on a mission to rethink credit cards and empower companies to grow by providing a smart way to pay that scale with their business. With our app and API-based solutions, Pliant allows companies to issue physical and virtual credit cards, automate payment processes, track spending, and seamlessly integrate these data into their finance stack.

Pliant is growing quickly. With our expansion into 30 international markets, we believe that people, passion, and diversity are the key ingredients to our future success. Our growing team of 180+ Plianteers come from 35 nationalities and work remotely or in a hybrid environment from our headquarters in the heart of Berlin. And we’re looking for more talented and committed people to join us on our journey!

ABOUT THE ROLE

️ Are you a payments and fraud monitoring expert who thrives in fast-paced environments where every transaction tells a story?

Do you want to be part of a team that's building real-time defenses against phishing attacks, brute force testing, and transactional anomalies — all while scaling from Europe and the UK into the US?

We're building a new team focused on Payments Monitoring — and we’re looking for a Senior Payments Monitoring Specialist - freelance/remote (m/f/d) to help drive that mission forward.

This is a remote role, open to candidates based in Europe or Cyprus, with a fixed daytime shift — ideal for individuals experienced in fraud detection, real-time payment monitoring, and incident management.

Shift information: This role follows a fixed schedule, five days per week, including both weekdays and weekends as part of a rotating roster.(Please note: A second shift may be introduced later in the year, for which we will conduct a separate hiring round.)

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Payments Monitoring & Real-Time Alert Response

• Monitor live card transactions, payment flows, and behavioral patterns to identify suspicious activity such as phishing, brute force attacks, velocity anomalies, and fraud rings.
• Respond to live fraud and system alerts, triage incidents, and execute rapid investigations.
• Define and improve alert thresholds, logic, and rule-based or statistical models to increase signal quality and reduce noise.

Incident Management & Root Cause Analysis

• Lead real-time incident response for payments-related issues and fraud escalations.
• Work with engineering, information security, and compliance teams to investigate root causes and implement permanent fixes.
• Document incidents, develop playbooks, and participate in post-mortems to strengthen operational resilience.

Data-Driven Risk Detection

• Use SQL and Python to investigate transaction flows, analyze alert logs, and uncover underlying fraud patterns.
• Collaborate with data and engineering teams to iterate on fraud models and contribute to detection logic and alert effectiveness.
• Provide reporting and insights to stakeholders on fraud patterns, attack vectors, and system gaps.

Internal Collaboration & Stakeholder Communication

• Act as the payments monitoring SME for internal teams, including Customer Relations, Compliance, Engineering and Product.
• Coordinate with third parties like processors, acquirers and card schemes to resolve incidents and implement scheme-required controls.
• Support go-to-market operational readiness for new geographies (e.g., US launch) by defining fraud detection standards and monitoring capabilities.
  

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• 3+ years in payments monitoring, fraud operations, risk analysis, or fintech security — ideally with a PSP, issuer or a FinTech firm.
• Deep familiarity with card payment flows, authorization patterns, and fraud types (e.g., phishing, card testing, BIN attacks, social engineering).
• Experience managing incidents under pressure and communicating clearly during high-severity situations.
• Strong skills in SQL and Python (or similar), with a proven ability to extract actionable insights from payment data.
• Prior involvement in fraud rule design, model evaluation, or risk scoring is a strong advantage.
• Experience working with ticketing systems, fraud platforms and monitoring tools.
• Structured, detail-oriented, and proactive — capable of identifying issues before they escalate and continuously improving detection systems.
• Excellent communication skills in English; comfortable collaborating across multiple time zones and teams.
  

WHAT WE OFFER

• A pivotal role in one of our most critical new teams, with high visibility and real impact on product safety and customer trust
• Competitive remuneration and remote-first flexibility
• A team culture that values ownership, curiosity, and technical excellence
• Flat hierarchy and transparent communication in a collaborative and fast-paced fintech environment
• Company card with a monthly allowance for lunches, coffee, and team meetups
• Continuous learning budget and opportunity to grow as the function scales