Sr. Fraud Analyst

Betterment; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage;

Equity for all employees

Flexible paid time off, sabbatical

Company‑paid professional coaching

Day‑one 401(k) match

Job summary

Betterment is seeking a Senior Fraud Analyst in New York City to own customer risk rating, KYC, and fraud monitoring models, partnering with Data, Compliance and Product to shape controls and monitoring.

You will design rules, advise leadership on model performance, and work with Engineering on data harvesting and rule implementation, with duties based in our NYC office. This is a critical role in protecting our platform and customers from evolving threats while balancing user experience.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years in fraud prevention, analytics, and financial crime in fintech, banking, brokerage, or payments.
• Advanced SQL and ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Familiarity with fraud patterns, controls, and KYC/KYB processes.
• Strong communication and project-management skills.
• Collaborative, cross-functional problem solving with Ops, Data, Eng, Compliance, Product.

Responsibilities

• Set up and perform continuous rule performance monitoring
• Utilize data analytics to refine rules and reduce false positives
• Design new rules to address emerging fraud patterns and detect suspicious activity
• Identify and remedy control gaps
• Orchestrate fraud monitoring through the full customer journey across payment rails, funding flows, logins, and behavioral signals
• Strengthen case management process
• Partner with Engineering for data harvesting, analytics, and rule implementation
• Lead cross-functional projects from problem definition through implementation and post-mortem, ensuring stakeholders are aligned on goals, timelines, and outcomes
• Identify, implement, and assess vendor solutions
• Maintain and enhance customer risk rating, signup, and related fraud scoring models
• Define clear model performance metrics (e.g., detection rate, false positive rate, lift) and establish monitoring to track drift over time
• Identify friction points, customer abandonment, and true cost of fraud prevention in partnership with Customer Experience
• Reduce account locks, enable faster money movements, and lower ID request rates without increasing fraud
• Increase customer greenlight passes and ensure manual reviews provide strong controls
• Partner with Data/Analytics to build dashboards that surface fraud KPIs, trends, model health, and control coverage for stakeholders
• Create recurring reporting packages for FraudCo and Risk leadership, translating complex analysis into clear recommendations

Skills

Fraud analytics

SQL

Data interpretation

KYC/AML knowledge

Communication

Tools

Fraud detection platforms

Data governance tools

Job description

About Betterment

Betterment is a leading, technology‑driven financial services company that offers investing, savings, and retirement solutions for retail investors and investment advisors as well as financial wellness solutions, including a 401(k) for small and medium‑sized businesses. Our team is passionate about our mission to empower people to build wealth with confidence and ease. We’re headquartered in NYC and offer hybrid NY‑based positions (four days a week in office, with no required office days during the summer and winter holidays).

About the Role

Betterment’s Risk Operations team plays a critical role in protecting our platform and customers from fraud and financial crime. As a Senior Fraud Analyst, you will be the analytical owner of our customer risk rating, KYC, and fraud monitoring models, using data to shape how we detect, prevent, and respond to emerging fraud trends.

You will partner closely with Data, Compliance, and Product to design controls, build monitoring, and regularly advise leadership on model performance, threats, and residual risk. This role is based out of our NYC office.

Salary

New York City: $135,000 – $160,000

Variable compensation in the form of a company incentive bonus may also be eligible. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors including location, experience, and performance.

Responsibilities

• Set up and perform continuous rule performance monitoring
• Utilize data analytics to refine rules and reduce false positives
• Design new rules to address emerging fraud patterns and detect suspicious activity
• Identify and remedy control gaps
• Orchestrate fraud monitoring through the full customer journey across payment rails, funding flows, logins, and behavioral signals
• Strengthen case management process
• Partner with Engineering for data harvesting, analytics, and rule implementation
• Lead cross‑functional projects from problem definition through implementation and post‑mortem, ensuring stakeholders are aligned on goals, timelines, and outcomes
• Identify, implement, and assess vendor solutions
• Maintain and enhance customer risk rating, signup, and related fraud scoring models
• Define clear model performance metrics (e.g., detection rate, false positive rate, lift) and establish monitoring to track drift over time
• Identify friction points, customer abandonment, and true cost of fraud prevention in partnership with Customer Experience
• Reduce account locks, enable faster money movements, and lower ID request rates without increasing fraud
• Increase customer greenlight passes and ensure manual reviews provide strong controls
• Partner with Data/Analytics to build dashboards that surface fraud KPIs, trends, model health, and control coverage for stakeholders
• Create recurring reporting packages for FraudCo and Risk leadership, translating complex analysis into clear recommendations

Qualifications

• Experienced Fraud Professional: 3–5+ years in fraud prevention, analytics, and financial crime (fintech, banking, brokerage, or payments). Must have direct experience with fraud patterns/controls (e.g., ATO, ACH/transfer, card fraud, KYC/KYB, synthetic identities).
• Data‑Driven & Technical: Advanced SQL is required. Comfortable framing analytical questions, designing experiments, and interpreting model/rule performance.
• Familiarity with the fraud ecosystem, including solutions, capabilities, and challenges.
• Model/Control‑Oriented: Understands fraud stack components (risk models, rules, signals) and can design monitoring for model drift, data quality, and control failures. Knowledge of KYC/AML, customer risk rating, and step‑up authentication/verification.
• Strong Communicator & Project Driver: Excellent communication; can translate complex analytics and risk trade‑offs to technical and non‑technical audiences. Comfortable presenting to senior stakeholders and panels. Demonstrated end‑to‑end project management skills.
• Collaborative & Practical: Enjoys cross‑functional problem‑solving (Ops, Data, Eng, Compliance, Product). Balances fraud loss, customer experience, and efficiency. Stays current on emerging fraud trends and brings new ideas.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage; life and AD&D insurance; short- and long-term disability; infertility support and WPATH‑aligned transgender health benefits; Employee Assistance Program; transit benefits; FSA and HSA options.
• Equity for all employees, including new hire and refresher grants.
• Flexible paid time off, paid parental leave, and a fully paid four‑week sabbatical in your sixth year.
• Company‑paid professional coaching for all employees.
• Day‑one 401(k) match plus matching on qualified student loan payments.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Betterment is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates upon request. We are an equal‑opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. We strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex, gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services, predisposing genetic characteristic, domestic violence victim status, arrest records, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.