Director, Model Risk Management

PenFed Credit Union; Washington, Baltimore (District of Columbia, MD); Hybrid; USD 97,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

PenFed is seeking a Hybrid Director of Model Risk Management in Tysons, VA, to lead validation for consumer banking and fraud risk. The role drives independent review and governance across retail lending and mortgage portfolios, delivering strategic insights to senior leadership.

Successful candidates will have a strong quantitative background, extensive model validation experience, and clear communication skills. AI tools experience is a plus; US work authorization is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics is required.
• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in a quantitative field is preferred.
• 7+ years in quantitative modeling or related risk management in a financial institution.
• 3+ years in direct management or supervisory leadership role.
• Experience overseeing creation, adjustment, validation and monitoring of ML models.
• Familiarity with Bureau data, large databases, and open-source tools (Python).
• Strong regulatory knowledge and experience with SR 26-2, SR 11-7.
• Experience in governance/second-line risk management and audits.
• Excellent communication to senior management; ability to present complex topics.
• Experience using AI tools is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee the model validation function for credit and fraud risk.
• Contribute to governance standards for consumer banking models.
• Provide analysis and reports to senior management.
• Perform independent validation, pre-implementation checks, and ongoing monitoring.
• Maintain relationships with model users, owners, and governance partners.
• Improve quantitative modeling approaches, including agentic AI and ML.
• Stay aware of market trends and regulatory developments affecting MRMs.

Skills

Model validation

Quantitative modeling

Leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Effective communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics

Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in a quantitative field

Tools

Python

Job description

Job Overview

PenFed is hiring a (Hybrid) Director, Model Risk Management at our Tysons, Virginia location. The primary purpose of this position is to lead PenFed's Model Validation for Consumer Banking and Fraud Risk Management in the Model Risk Management program. The Director will focus on the validation and monitoring of performance for models critical to executive decision-making in the areas of consumer banking new acquisitions, marketing campaigns, fraud risk detection, consumer portfolio credit risk management, and membership risk management.

Responsibilities

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of job duties and the position will perform other duties as assigned.

• Lead and oversee the model validation function, providing independent review and effective challenge of models used for credit and fraud risk management across retail lending and mortgage portfolios.
• Contribute to the development and governance standards for consumer banking models in use at PenFed, leading to more optimal use of models and increased confidence in model outcomes.
• Provide clear and insightful analysis, feedback, and critique of models by way of written and/or oral reports to business units and senior management.
• Perform and lead independent validation of models in use at PenFed, including pre-implementation validations, change reviews, and ongoing monitoring, providing effective challenge to model design, methodology, data, outcomes and performance.
• Maintain effective relationships and communication channels with model users, owners, and governance partners.
• Continually improve and enhance quantitative modeling approaches and methodologies, including agentic AI and advanced machine learning, to promote alignment with industry best practices.
• Provide senior leadership to the department by maintaining awareness of evolving market trends which could impact the efficacy of modeling efforts, and remaining abreast of regulatory developments impacting PenFed's model risk management profile.

Qualifications

Equivalent combination of education and experience is considered.

• Minimum of Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics required.
• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in a quantitative field such as Finance, Economics, Mathematics, or Statistics preferred.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of experience in quantitative modeling, consumer credit risk management, consumer acquisition, fraud risk management, or model risk management within a financial institution.
• Minimum of three (3) years must be in a direct management or supervisory leadership role.
• Proven experience overseeing the creation, adjustment, validation, testing, monitoring, and documentation of advanced machine learning techniques.
• Strong familiarity with Bureau credit data, large database management, and advanced machine learning models, with the capability to evaluate and challenge work products built using open-source programming tools (e.g., Python).
• Deep understanding of regulatory lending compliance standards and industry model risk frameworks (e.g. SR 26-2, SR 11-7).
• Prior experience operating successfully within a formal governance or second-line risk management framework.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with regulatory bodies and managing model validation audit processes.
• Exceptional communication skills, with a proven ability to translate complex, highly technical subject matter into strategic, presentation-quality insights for senior management.
• Experience using AI tools preferred.

At the time of hire, applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position will supervise employees.

Licenses and Certifications

There Are No Additional Certifications Required.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to an indoor office setting with moderate noise.

Most roles require working in an office setting with moderate noise and the ability to lift 25 pounds.

Travel

Ability to travel to various worksites and be on-call will be required.

Pay Transparency

The anticipated starting salary range for this role is $97,400.00 - $216,259.00.

This position is eligible for an organizational performance based annual bonus, subject to board discretion and approval.

This position is eligible for an individual performance based annual bonus.

Benefits

At PenFed, we offer a robust benefits package designed to support you both personally and professionally. You'll have access to comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans; paid time off; and family-friendly benefits like paid parental leave, care support, and fitness center access. Financial wellness is encouraged through features like a 401(k) match, employee loan discounts, and fully paid life and disability coverage. We also support growth via education assistance, community involvement, and volunteer opportunities.

Our Purpose

Helping members achieve their dreams since 1935. Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is one of America's largest federal credit unions, serving 2.8 million members worldwide with $29 billion in assets. PenFed offers market-leading certificates, checking and savings, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, and a wide range of other financial services, always with members' interests in mind. PenFed is federally insured by the NCUA and is an Equal Housing Lender.

Equal Employment Opportunity

PenFed management will maintain and observe personnel policies which will not discriminate or permit harassment or retaliation against a person because of race, color, creed, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, military or veteran status or obligation, the presence of a physical and/or mental disability or medical condition, genetic information, sexual orientation, and all statuses protected by applicable state or local law in all recruiting, hiring, training, compensation, overtime, position classifications, work assignments, facilities, promotions, transfers, employee treatment, and in all other terms and conditions of employment. PenFed will also prohibit retaliation against individuals for raising a complaint of discrimination or harassment or participating in an investigation of same. PenFed will also reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can apply for a job or perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to PenFed. Contact human resources (HR) with any questions or requests for accommodation at [e-mail] .