Operational Risk Manager (Technology & Payments Operations)

Zero Hash; United States; Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Flexible PTO

Equity ownership

WFH setup

Learning stipend

Mental health program

Job summary

Zero Hash is seeking an experienced Operational Risk Manager to build and own the firm’s operational risk framework from the ground up. You will design the loss event taxonomy, establish the RCSA program across all lines, and own the loss event database with rigorous root-cause analysis.

Your work will quantify tail risks using FAIR-based scenario analysis and report findings to the CRO and Risk Committee. You will closely collaborate with Engineering during post-incident reviews, ensuring

Qualifications

• 5+ years in operational risk, including 2+ years in a dedicated OpRisk role at a regulated financial institution or regulated fintech/payments/crypto firm
• Experience quantifying operational scenarios; FAIR preferred
• Experience building RCSA narratives, scenario summaries, and board reports
• Program-level loss event management: taxonomy, database design, root cause analysis
• Ability to connect patterns across incidents to drive structural fixes

Responsibilities

• Design and implement the operational risk framework: loss event taxonomy, business line ownership, and integration with enterprise risk
• Build and own the loss event database and ensure material failures are captured, categorized, and root-caused
• Design and run the RCSA process across all business lines; produce outputs for risk reporting
• Run FAIR-based scenario analysis on top operational risks and present to Risk Committee and board
• Independently test key operational controls on an annual cycle and report findings to CRO and Risk Committee
• Be Risk’s presence in the Engineering post-incident process and escalate recurring patterns

Skills

Operational risk management

RCSA methodology

FAIR methodology

Incident lifecycle

Quantitative risk analysis

Board reporting

Root cause analysis

Open FAIR certification

Job description

• Zerohash moves money and digital assets for banks, brokerages and payment companies, on infrastructure that has to work 24/7
• When something breaks, partners and their customers feel it
• We’re hiring our first dedicated Operational Risk Manager to make sure we learn from every failure and fix the causes, not just the symptoms
• You’ll build the operational risk discipline from the ground up: the framework, the loss event database, the RCSA methodology and the scenario program
• You’ll sit inside the Engineering incident lifecycle, and report to [the Head of Risk], with direct access to the CRO and Risk Committee
• Our risk program is quantitative and built on FAIR, so your work will be measured in dollars and likelihoods, not red-amber-green
• This role is for someone who has noticed a pattern others missed and got the organization to fix it
• If your past work was mostly running assessments on a schedule, it is probably not the right fit
• Operational risk is bottom-up and event-driven; enterprise risk is top-down and strategic
• Separating them properly is how institutional-grade risk programs are built, and you will own the first of the two
• Design and implement the operational risk framework: loss event taxonomy, business line ownership model, and integration with the enterprise risk program
• Build and own the loss event database. Make sure every material failure is captured, categorized and root-caused, and that patterns across events get escalated and fixed
• Design and run the RCSA process across all business lines. Facilitate, challenge results, and produce outputs for risk reporting
• Run FAIR-based scenario analysis on our top operational risks: settlement failure, infrastructure outage, third-party dependency failure and payment disruption. Quantify tail outcomes and present them to the Risk Committee and board
• Independently test key operational controls on an annual cycle and report findings to the CRO and Risk Committee
• Be Risk’s presence in the Engineering post-incident process: review post-incident reviews, challenge root causes, track remediation to completion, and *escalate* recurring patterns

Benefits

• Excellent healthcare + dental + vision coverage. Zero Hash covers roughly 100% of employee premiums
• 33 Days Flexible PTO
• Equity ownership
• WFH setup
• Learning & Development Stipend
• Mental health and wellness program

You’ve built or substantially owned an RCSA methodology, not just participated in one, and produced results for a risk committee or board5+ years in operational risk, including 2+ years in a dedicated OpRisk role at a regulated financial institution or a regulated fintech, payments or crypto firm. 7+ years is typical for this roleExperience quantifying operational scenarios. FAIR is ideal; a comparable quantitative method you can translate to FAIR is fineProgram-level loss event management experience: taxonomy and database design, and root cause analysisClear writing. RCSA narratives, scenario summaries and board reports are core deliverablesA specific story of connecting a pattern across incidents that were treated as isolated, and driving a structural fix against resistanceExperience working with Engineering or Technology teams on incidents, postmortems or technology risk. You can read a technical incident writeup without being an engineerFamiliarity with the Basel operational risk event taxonomyExperience at a digital asset, payments or fintech company with complex technology-dependent operationsOpen FAIR certification or equivalent hands-on FAIR practice