SVP Underwriting

Cornerstone Home Lending; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Cornerstone Home Lending is seeking a Senior Vice President of Underwriting to provide strategic and operational leadership for underwriting across lending channels. The role emphasizes scalable processes, sound credit decisions, and regulatory compliance while supporting growth.

The SVP will collaborate with Sales, Operations, Capital Markets, Product, Risk, Compliance, and Technology to elevate customer and employee experiences in a complex, matrixed organization.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive mortgage underwriting experience, with 7+ years in leadership roles.
• Bachelor's degree in business, Finance, or related field preferred.
• Experience in agency, government, and investor underwriting guidelines.
• Strong knowledge of regulatory requirements and risk management practices.
• Proven ability to lead within a complex, matrixed organization.

Responsibilities

• Set and execute a forward-looking underwriting vision aligned with growth and risk tolerance.
• Lead enterprise-wide collaboration across Sales, Operations, Capital Markets, Product, Risk, Compliance, and Technology.
• Oversee underwriting execution across products and channels for consistency and scale.
• Drive modernization of processes, tools, and operating models to improve efficiency.
• Develop and mentor senior underwriting leaders and successors.

Skills

Underwriting leadership

Strategic leadership

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder management

Mortgage underwriting

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or finance

Job description

Who we are:

Cornerstone Home Lending, a division of Cornerstone Capital Bank, is a unique national home lender with a reputation of amazing service, customer satisfaction, employee retention, and happiness. We employ people who are passionately committed to Cornerstone's Mission, Vision & Core Convictions. Our brand is known for on-time closings - a key core conviction of Cornerstone. We have successfully navigated our company through many industry cycles and changes in regulations.

We honor God by using our talents to make a positive difference in the lives of our Team Members, Clients, Shareholders, Communities, and the People who provide services to us.

Who we are looking for:

The Senior Vice President (SVP), Underwriting provides strategic and operational leadership for the underwriting organization, driving performance, scalability, and consistency across all lending channels. This role is accountable for building a high-performing organization that delivers sound credit decisions, maintains regulatory compliance, and supports the company's growth objectives.

The SVP leads enterprise-wide collaboration across Sales, Operations, Capital Markets, Product, Risk, Compliance, and Technology to continuously enhance underwriting capabilities, improve efficiency, and elevate both the customer and employee experience within a complex, matrixed organization.

Key Responsibilities:

Enterprise Leadership & Strategy

• Set and execute a forward-looking underwriting vision aligned with corporate growth, risk tolerance, and long-term strategic priorities.
• Serve as a key member of the executive leadership team, contributing to enterprise decision-making and cross-functional strategic initiatives.
• Lead transformation efforts that improve scalability, consistency, and operational resilience across all underwriting functions.
• Champion continuous improvement through modernization of processes, tools, and operating models.

Organizational Growth & Performance

• Build and evolve a high-performing underwriting organization capable of supporting multi-channel growth and changing market conditions.
• Establish clear performance frameworks, KPIs, and accountability measures that drive quality, speed, and productivity.
• Optimize organizational structure, capacity planning, and resource allocation to align with production demand and business priorities.
• Drive operational excellence by improving cycle times, decision quality, and customer outcomes.

Risk, Credit, and Governance Leadership

• Cultivate a disciplined, enterprise-aligned credit culture that balances risk management with production and customer expectations.
• Provide executive oversight of credit policy interpretation, exception management, and emerging risk trends.
• Lead collaboration with Risk, Compliance, and Quality Control to proactively identify issues and implement sustainable solutions.
• Ensure strong governance, transparency, and alignment with agency, investor, and regulatory expectations.

Operational Excellence & Innovation

• Oversee end-to-end underwriting execution across all products and channels, ensuring consistency and scalability.
• Partner with Technology and Product teams to advance automation, decisioning tools, and workflow optimization.
• Lead readiness and integration efforts for new products, investors, and strategic initiatives.
• Continuously evaluate and improve underwriting processes to reduce friction and enhance throughput.
• Develop and mentor senior underwriting leaders, building a strong leadership bench and succession pipeline.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning across the organization.
• Ensure alignment between performance management, incentives, and organizational objectives.
• Promote engagement and professional development to retain top talent and strengthen organizational capability.

Enterprise Collaboration & Stakeholder Partnership

• Drive strong, solution-oriented partnerships with Sales, Processing, Closing, Secondary Marketing, Product, and Technology teams.
• Act as a key escalation point, resolving complex issues while balancing risk, service, and business needs.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives that enhance the end-to-end loan lifecycle and improve organizational alignment.
• Communicate underwriting performance, strategic priorities, and risk insights clearly to executive leadership.

What you'll need to be successful:

• 10+ years of progressive mortgage underwriting experience, with 7+ years in leadership roles.
• Bachelor's degree in business, Finance, or related field preferred
• Proven ability to lead within a complex, matrixed organization and drive enterprise-wide transformation.
• Experience in agency, government, and investor underwriting guidelines (Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, etc.).
• Strong knowledge of regulatory requirements, compliance standards, and risk management practices.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling high-performing teams in dynamic environments.
• Track record of delivering measurable improvements in quality, service levels, productivity, and operational efficiency.
• Exceptional executive presence, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with delegated underwriting authority and investor relationships.
• Exposure across multiple lending channels (Retail, Wholesale, Correspondent, Consumer Direct).
• Leadership experience in technology enablement, workflow automation, or digital transformation initiatives.
• DE (Direct Endorsement) and/or SAR designation, where applicable.

What we offer:

Because we recognize and reward hard work, we offer a competitive salary, Medical, Dental, Vision, , Accidental Death, Long-Term Disability, Short-Term Disability, FSA, HSA, 401K, Basic Life, Voluntary Life, and Paid Parental Leave benefits, as well as the opportunity for a performance based bonus based on position and department.