Remote-First: Lead, Financial Model Risk & Validation

Affirm; Boulder (CO); Remote; USD 164,000 - 245,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care coverage

Flexible Spending Wallets

Time off

ESPP (employee stock purchase plan)

Job summary

Affirm is a remote-first company seeking a Lead Validator for Finance and Analytics models within the Model Risk Management team. You will perform independent validations of ALM, forecasting, and other financial models, leading high-complexity engagements and communicating findings to senior stakeholders.

The role requires 4–6 years in model validation or related finance analytics, strong Python/SQL skills, and a quantitative degree.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of professional experience in related technical areas such as model development, model validation, quantitative finance, or data analytics — with meaningful exposure to financial and/or analytics model validation
• Deep and broad knowledge of corporate finance, treasury, ALM, and/or actuarial/statistical forecasting
• Experience in credit underwriting, credit risk management is a plus
• Proven ability to work with scripting languages (e.g., Python) and large-scale datasets (e.g., SQL); comfort reviewing models built in Excel, Python, Databricks, or similar environments
• Experience with statistical modeling, time-series forecasting, simulation, and/or machine learning techniques as applied to finance and analytics use cases
• Detail-oriented and intellectually curious about data, models, and business context; skilled at critical thinking and structured problem-solving
• Extraordinary interpersonal and verbal/written communication skills — able to influence model owners, present to senior stakeholders, and navigate cross-functional remediation

Responsibilities

• Perform independent challenges of financial and analytics quantitative models — including ALM, allowance/loss forecasting, loan transition models (LTM), corporate financial planning models, take-up and engagement models, and related decision-support analytics — through rigorous validation and ongoing monitoring
• Lead end-to-end validation engagements on high-complexity, high-criticality models
• Identify model weaknesses, limitations, and opportunities for improvement; articulate findings clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Collaborate with model owners and stakeholders across Finance, Quantitative Research, and Growth Analytics to remediate validation findings and strengthen model governance
• Partner cross-functionally to implement and maintain the company's MRM framework
• Partner with Internal Audit, Internal Controls, Accounting, and Compliance to ensure timely resolution of audit, regulatory, and examiner requests

Skills

Python

SQL

Time-series forecasting

Machine learning

Statistical modeling

Data analytics

Education

BS/MS/PhD in a quantitative field

Tools

Databricks

Excel

Job description

Affirm is a remote-first company seeking a Lead Validator for Finance and Analytics models within the Model Risk Management team. You will perform independent validations of ALM, forecasting, and other financial models, leading high-complexity engagements and communicating findings to senior stakeholders.

The role requires 4–6 years in model validation or related finance analytics, strong Python/SQL skills, and a quantitative degree.