Senior Credit Underwriter: Lead Risk & Mentorship

Watercress Financial Group; Des Moines (IA); Hybrid; USD 39,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Monthly performance bonus (up to 7.5%)

Structured mentorship and training

Job summary

Watercress Financial Group is seeking a Senior Credit Underwriter in Des Moines, IA, to make complex risk-based decisions and lead underwriting initiatives in a data-driven fintech environment. You will guide junior underwriters, support audits, and collaborate with risk, compliance, and product teams to refine guidelines.

Ideal candidates bring deep underwriting experience, strong risk framework knowledge, and a collaborative mindset suitable for a fast-scaling tech-enabled company.

Qualifications

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in finance, business or related field preferred.
• Minimum 1-2 years as Credit Underwriter II (or equivalent external experience).
• Expert-level credit analysis and decision-making skills.
• Strong working knowledge of lending guidelines, including DTI, LTV and credit scoring.

Responsibilities

• Conduct thorough, advanced credit analysis for complex loan files with high-dollar, layered risk.
• Act as a resource for challenging loan files and edge-case scenarios.
• Conduct second-level reviews on escalated or borderline applications.
• Recommend policy updates and enhancements to underwriting criteria.
• Provide mentorship and informal training to level I and II Underwriters.
• Serve as a point of contact for internal audits, compliance inquiries, and exception approvals.
• Lead quality control reviews and calibration of underwriter performance.
• Partner with technology teams to optimize underwriting tools and automation logic.
• Maintain superior accuracy to uphold high performance standards.
• All other duties as assigned.

Skills

Credit analysis

Decision making

Lending guidelines

DTI & LTV

Credit scoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance or related field

Associate degree in finance or related field

Job description

Watercress Financial Group is seeking a Senior Credit Underwriter in Des Moines, IA, to make complex risk-based decisions and lead underwriting initiatives in a data-driven fintech environment. You will guide junior underwriters, support audits, and collaborate with risk, compliance, and product teams to refine guidelines.

Ideal candidates bring deep underwriting experience, strong risk framework knowledge, and a collaborative mindset suitable for a fast-scaling tech-enabled company.