Senior Network Operations Manager

Highnote Platform, Inc.; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Paid Time Off

401k program

Paid Parental Leave

Equity in Highnote

Home office stipend

Job summary

Highnote Platform, Inc. is seeking a senior operator to own network and processing functions, with deep expertise in issuing/acquiring, BIN/ICA management, and network certification.

You will engage with sponsor banks, product and engineering teams, and the networks to ensure seamless connectivity and compliance. You will personally manage network relationships, troubleshoot complex issues, and drive end-to-end processing improvements across multiple networks and banks.

Qualifications

• Over 10 years in payments or card processing, with 5–7 years owning network operations, connectivity, certification and settlement.
• Experience with acquiring and PayFac operations, not just issuing.
• Deep knowledge of Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AmEx and debit/ATM networks at message, BIN, settlement and certification levels.
• Meticulous handling of BIN and ICA setups, certification scripts, settlement files and reconciliation.
• Demonstrated ownership of high-stakes problems across networks, banks and teams.
• Strong communication bridging technical and business audiences.

Responsibilities

• Own health of direct and gateway network connections across issuing and acquiring networks.
• Lead migrations, drive setup timelines, processing and reporting to completion.
• Provision and manage Issuing and Acquiring BINs and ICAs; manage sponsor IDs.
• Run network certification for new connections and program types.
• Ensure network releases are compliant with operating rules; monitor and resolve non-compliance.
• Understand settlement schedules and value dates; coordinate with finance and engineering.
• Investigate processing exceptions and drive fixes with networks and internal teams.
• Support pricing strategy for network products and relationships with sponsor banks.
• Act as senior liaison between networks and banks when partners need mediation.

Skills

Network operations

Acquiring background

Network knowledge & connections

Detail oriented

Driven & tenacious

Communication

Job description

Founded in 2020 by a team of leaders from Braintree, PayPal, and Lending Club, Highnote is an embedded finance company that sets the standard in modern card platform management. As an all-in-one card issuer processor and program management platform, we provide digital-first organizations with the flexibility to seamlessly issue and process payment cards, embed virtual and physical card payments, and integrate ledger and wallet functionalities—empowering businesses to drive growth and profitability.

We’ve raised $145M+ and have grown our team to 140+ employees. Headquartered in San Francisco, we’ve managed to build one of the most advanced payments teams in the industry, with team members in 25+ US states.

Operating through our core values of customer obsession, executional excellence, intentional inclusion, we’re helping businesses grow for the future by creating the payment products demanded by tomorrow, with the ability to solve for use cases that don’t exist yet.

We are fast-moving, hands-on, and strongly believe everyone deserves a seat at the table. We believe we’re unlocking incredible opportunities that can change the future of payments, as long as we have the right people to make it happen.

Job Description

Highnote processes issuing and acquiring volume directly with the card networks. We run direct network processing connections across Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and debit & ATM networks, and we manage the full lifecycle of BIN and ICA provisioning, network certification, settlement and reconciliation across multiple sponsor banks.

We are hiring a senior, hands-on operator who already knows how payment networks and processing work from the inside, who has the personal relationships to pick up the phone and get answers from the networks, and who can run this function independently from day one. This is not a role you grow into. You have done this before at a processor, and you can own it now.

You will partner closely with our sponsor banks, our product and engineering teams, finance, and the networks themselves. You will often be the person translating between all of them, including doing network relationship management on behalf of bank partners who do not have that expertise in house. The work is detailed and unforgiving, and it rewards someone who is meticulous, driven and tenacious about chasing a problem all the way to resolution.

This function is central to how Highnote processes payments and how our subscribers and bank partners rely on us. As our issuing and acquiring volume grows, this role gives us the depth and senior ownership to keep scaling our network connections with speed and precision.

Location: San Francisco Office preferred, with periodic travel to network and bank partner meetings

What you’ll be doing:

You will be a senior operational owner for everything network and processing related, including:

• Network connections and processing: Own the health of our direct and gateway network connections across issuing and acquiring, including single and dual message traffic. Lead and troubleshoot connection migrations, and drive setup timelines, message processing and reporting to completion.
• BIN and ICA lifecycle: Provision, configure and manage Issuing and Acquiring BINs and ICAs across the networks. Own sponsorship registration and the associated identifiers (PayFac IDs, acquirer and issuer, acquirer BINs, ICA, CID, BID, FTSRE, NSIF), and resolve BIN blocks and setup delays directly with the networks and banks.
• Network certification: Run certification for new connections and program types, including POS and card present and card not present test cases across the networks and debit rails.
• Network Compliance: Work with product & development teams on ensuring that the network releases(major and minor) for both issuing and acquiring are completed and as a processor we are compliant with network operating rules in all respects. Also, on an ongoing basis monitor any non compliance reported by the network or the bank partner and work on getting the non compliance resolved via development and/or variance.
• Settlement and reconciliation: Understand and manage settlement schedules and value dates, read and apply network settlement reporting and advisements, and work with finance and engineering so that settlement and reconciliation are correct across every sponsor bank.
• Transaction investigation: Investigate processing exceptions, reversals, auth holds and disputes using network research tools, determine root cause, and drive fixes with the networks and our internal teams.
• Network economics: Understand network fees and interchange, and support BIN and program pricing strategy so we price network products correctly for subscribers.
• Relationship management: Be a trusted, senior contact for the networks and for our sponsor bank partners, and act as the mediator between banks and networks when partners cannot manage those relationships themselves.

What we are looking for:

• 10+ years in payments or card processing, including at least 5 to 7 years directly owning network operations, connectivity, certification and settlement at a processor. You have come out of a payment processor and have lived inside the processing environment, so you understand network connectivity, certification, settlement and reconciliation from the operator's seat.
• Acquiring background: You have worked in acquiring. You understand merchant acquiring and PayFac operations, not just issuing, and you can speak to both sides of the transaction as a processor representative.
• Network knowledge and connections: You know how Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and debit & ATM networks like PULSE, Accel, STAR, NYCE, PLUS, Moneypass, Allpoint actually work at the message, BIN, settlement and certification level, and you already have working relationships with people inside the networks who you can reach directly.
• Detail oriented and meticulous: You work carefully and precisely with BIN and ICA setups, certification scripts, settlement files and reconciliation, where a small error creates real downstream problems. You catch those errors before they ship.
• Driven and tenacious: You take ownership of ambiguous, high stakes problems without being told how, and you stay on them across networks, banks and internal teams until they are fully resolved. You do not need a playbook handed to you and you do not let issues drift.
• Communication: You communicate clearly with both technical and business audiences, and you are comfortable being the translator between engineering, finance, sponsor banks and the networks.

Why Highnote?

• We’re a startup that allows for our employees to truly build from the ground up and impact every layer of our organization.
• We’re a team of payments obsessed individuals. While some of us come from the fintech world, some of us don’t. We value the varied backgrounds and the diverse perspectives of our employees.
• We’re small on hierarchy and big on growth. We’re a flat organization that allows everyone to have direct exposure to our leadership team. We are looking for builders who thrive in ambiguity.
• We’re backed by Oak HC/FT, Costanoa Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Westcap, and Pinegrove Venture Partners. Angel Investors include Bill Ready (CEO at Pinterest) and Renaud Laplanche (Co-Founder & CEO of Upgrade).
• Flexible Paid Time Off
• 401k program
• Paid Parental Leave: Up to 16 weeks paid leave for the birth parent, and up to 6 weeks paid leave for the non-birth parent
• Equity in Highnote
• Stipend to build out your home office; internet and phone reimbursement
• At Highnote we have built a total rewards philosophy that includes fair, equitable, geo-based compensation that is performance and potential based. Our compensation packages are competitive based on robust market research and are a combination of a cash salary, equity, and benefits. In compliance with the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the annual salary range for applicants is $175,000-$225,000.

Please note that positions located in San Francisco are hybrid and include core working days of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in office. We provide flexible work options based on distance from our downtown SF office. Highnote believes in the power of face-to-face, personal connection. As a result, we prioritize in-person candidates.

Highnote is a diverse and inclusive company committed to growing a diverse and inclusive team. We invite people from all backgrounds and identities to apply. We do not discriminate based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by US federal state or local laws, or the laws of the country or jurisdiction where you work. Additionally, we encourage everyone to share which pronouns you wish for us to use when addressing you (i.e.: she/her, he/him, they/them, etc).