Lead Analyst, Credit Risk Strategy

Why USAA?

At USAA, our mission is to empower our members to achieve financial security through highly competitive products, exceptional service and trusted advice. We seek to be the #1 choice for the military community and their families.

Embrace a fulfilling career at USAA, where our core values – honesty, integrity, loyalty and service – define how we treat each other and our members. Be part of what truly makes us special and impactful.

We are proud to support active-duty military spouses. USAA roles may offer remote or hybrid flexibility for active-duty military spouses consistent with applicable policy and business needs.

The Opportunity

As a dedicated Bank Credit Risk Analyst Lead, you will have a strong background in credit risk strategy development forcard, consumer and deposits credit portfoliosto optimize profitable growth within risk appetite. You will own operational and compliance risk inherent in credit strategy. Additionally, you will track and monitor credit strategy performance as well as external factors impacting the credit risk exposure for bank portfolio products within the risk taxonomy.

You will use quantitative methods to identify credit risk, develop and deliver credit strategies, and monitor credit performance for consumer credit portfolios to optimize profitable growth within risk appetite. The incumbent will own and drive mitigation of operational and compliance risk inherent in credit strategy. Tracks and monitors internal and external factors impacting credit strategy performance for bank portfolio products.

This role is remote eligible in the continental U.S. with occasional business travel. However, individuals residing within a 60-mile radius of a USAA office will be expected to work on-site four days per week.

What you'll do:

• Leverages, applies and shares industry leading practices and analytical skills to identify risks and opportunities within the managed portfolio and translates results into strategic solutions with the delivery of credit risk strategies.
• Leverages banking product knowledge and critical thinking skills to lead analyses, identify root causes, and develop clear and concise recommendations to drive credit risk strategy development and influence senior decision makers.
• Leads and partners to deliver Bank credit risk strategies across lines of defense by effectively developing and improving complex analytical frameworks, analyzing data and processes, and clearly communicating insights/recommendations to key stakeholders and senior leadership.
• Leads the analysis of internal and external scores/data for use in identifying first party fraud.
• Leverages industry knowledge and competitive benchmarking to lead, inform, and influence credit strategy development.
• Proactively Identifies the need for and leads development of advanced and nuanced quantitative analysis based upon internal and external data sources to bring structure and clarity to ambiguous and challenging problems.
• Responsible for the development, management, and presentation of comprehensive risk and financial reporting in support of senior management and committee oversight of existing and emerging risks and escalates the quality and direction of credit performance to appropriate levels of management.
• Leads the design and execution of complex financial risk sensitivity analysis.
• Leads the creation and management of credit strategy infrastructure and ensures credit strategies are implemented as intended.
• Applies expert programming and analytical techniques to analyze credit data.
• Provides thought leadership, coaching, and mentoring to team members regarding analytics and risk management.
• Collaborates with key stakeholders to guide & facilitate teams in the development and implementation of key initiatives.
• Leads and coaches team to develop analytically derived insights and the lead to strategic plans with significant impact to business results.
• Coaches and mentors other analysts and acts as a thought leader within the analyst community.
• May have model ownership responsibilities and drive accountability for quantitative model requirement definition and/or implementation of advanced credit and/or financial modeling infrastructure.
• Ensures risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.

What you have:

• Bachelor's degree; OR 4 years of relevant education and/or experience.

• 8 years of experience in an analytical field or work focused on leading analytical projects, advanced analytics, and risk assessments or leading the analysis and interpretation of complex bank credit risk data to align to team strategy; OR an advanced degree in Business Management, Finance, Economics, Engineering, or in a Mathematical discipline and 6 years of experience in an analytical field or work focused on leading analytical projects, advanced analytics, and risk assessments or leading the analysis and interpretation of complex bank credit risk data to align to team strategy.
• Strong understanding of banking regulations, risk and/or compliance.
• Advanced presentation and communication skills.
• Advanced business acumen and attention to detail and accuracy.
• Advanced research and investigation skills and demonstrated good judgement in problem solving.
• Experience influencing cross functional stakeholders to action by communicating complex analytical insights and risk mitigating solutions.
• Experience developing and improving a variety of risk related reporting.
• Experience coaching and guiding peers on analytics, and/or risk management.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office products, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Advanced knowledge of data analysis tools including skills to develop analysis queries and procedures in SQL, SAS, or other business intelligence and analysis software applications for data segmentation, aggregation, and statistics (e.g., SPS or Visual Basic).
• Knowledge of federal laws, rules, regulations, and applicable guidance to include: FCRA, Reg B, UDAAP/UDAP, OCC Heightened Standards, OCC CREDIT RISK GUIDANCE.

What sets you apart:

• Proven ability to develop and communicate data-driven credit strategy recommendations and complex analytical findings to senior leadership and a diverse set of stakeholders, including Credit Risk, Pricing, Product, Legal, Compliance, Underwriting, and Operations.
• Extensive experience translating internal and external industry data into actionable credit and business insights, delivering complex analyses and strategic recommendations that drive informed decision-making.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and executing credit strategy experiments (e.g., A/B testing, champion/challenger frameworks, and other causal evaluation methodologies), rigorously evaluating outcomes, and continuously optimizing the risk-reward framework to improve portfolio performance.
• 6+ years of experience leveraging SAS, SQL, and other analytical programming languages such as Python to extract, transform, and analyze large-scale datasets, including integrating data across multiple sources, managing varying levels of granularity, resolving data quality issues, and performing advanced joins to create robust analytical datasets.
• Proven experience utilizing AI and LLM-based tools (e.g., GPT-powered copilots and similar technologies) to enhance coding productivity, accelerate analytical workflows, and develop intelligent agents and automation solutions that support risk assessment and strategic decision-making.
• Strong track record of identifying and addressing emerging or ambiguous risk challenges with limited historical precedent, including evaluating credit impacts driven by macroeconomic conditions and policy developments such as inflationary pressures, changes in student loan repayment and collection programs, and shifts in federal government employment.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing portfolio-level credit performance, proactively identifying risk and growth opportunities, and influencing strategy through partnership with senior leaders to achieve sustainable business and risk outcomes.
• Proven experience owning end-to-end credit strategy development, implementation, monitoring, and performance optimization across key customer segments and lending products.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and develop junior analysts while driving analytical excellence, fostering collaboration, and elevating team capabilities across complex credit initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously, navigate ambiguity, and deliver high-quality recommendations with limited direction.

Compensation range: The salary range for this position is: $164,780 - $314,960.

USAA does not provide visa sponsorship for this role. Please do not apply for this role if at any time (now or in the future) you will need immigration support (i.e., H-1B, TN, STEM OPT Training Plans, etc.).

Compensation: USAA has an effective process for assessing market data and establishing ranges to ensure we remain competitive. You are paid within the salary range based on your experience and market data of the position. The actual salary for this role may vary by location.

Employees may be eligible for pay incentives based on overall corporate and individual performance and at the discretion of the USAA Board of Directors.

The above description reflects the details considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job and should not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be performed in the job.

Benefits: At USAA our employees enjoy best-in-class benefits to support their physical, financial, and emotional wellness. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, 401(k), pension, life insurance, parental benefits, adoption assistance, paid time off program with paid holidays plus 16 paid volunteer hours, and various wellness programs. Additionally, our career path planning and continuing education assists employees with their professional goals.

For more details on our outstanding benefits, visit our benefits page on USAAjobs.com.

Applications for this position are accepted on an ongoing basis, this posting will remain open until the position is filled. Thus, interested candidates are encouraged to apply the same day they view this posting.

USAA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Originally posted on Himalayas