Boulevard

Director, Payments & Risk Operations

Boulevard$180K — $200K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Finance & Insurance
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years in operations, 7+ years in payments or fintech, preferably with PayFac experience
  • Experience building AI-native decisioning systems and workflows
  • In-depth knowledge of payments, fraud, and risk underwriting
  • Proven track record in managing portfolio performance metrics
  • Ability to evolve operations from manual to systematized oversight
  • Experience managing external partnerships in payments and compliance.

Responsibilities

  • Own the full lifecycle of payments operations from onboarding to disputes
  • Define metrics for operational performance like approval rates and loss rates
  • Create a scalable system for continuous improvement in payments decision-making
  • Transform payments processes into AI-focused operations
  • Develop and implement workflows and real-time decisioning tools
  • Manage risks and performance in the payments portfolio
  • Collaborate with internal and external partners to ensure compliance.

Benefits

  • 401(k) match alongside medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
  • Flexible vacation policy for work-life balance
  • Fully remote work environment with a monthly work from home stipend
  • Family planning resources and support programs
  • Equity in the company for employees
  • Learning and development opportunities through Boulevard Bucks program.
Full Job Description
Come do the best work of your life at Boulevard.

Boulevard is redefining how salons and spas run their businesses, and payments are core to that mission. Our integrated payments platform processes billions of dollars annually, is scaling rapidly, and underpins the trust our customers place in us every day.

Boulevard Payments is an industry-leading vertical payments platform. We are a registered payment facilitator processing billions annually and growing rapidly. This role owns the operating system behind that engine: merchant onboarding, underwriting, transaction monitoring, disputes, and payments operations.

This is a senior, high-impact position responsible for operational payments performance and scalability. It sits in the center of operations, risk, and revenue growth. You will own the build-out of a truly AI-native payments operation - where automation is the default and human judgment is reserved for what machines can't handle - while driving ARR growth and margin.

What you'll do here:

Payments Operations System
  • Own the full lifecycle: onboarding, pricing, underwriting, monitoring, disputes, and support
  • Define and operate against core metrics: approval rates, loss rates, false positives, time-to-decision
  • Build a highly instrumented, scalable system with clear feedback loops - including monitoring for decision quality, and failure modes - and drive continuous improvement

AI, Automation & Decisioning
  • Reimagine the payments operations stack as an AI-native system, where humans manage exceptions, not volume
  • Build and deploy agent-based workflows, LLM-assisted investigation tools, and real-time decisioning at scale
  • Continuously raise the bar for what AI-forward operations looks like in a PayFac context
  • Partner with Product and Engineering to ship internal AI tooling that compounds over time, as well as select external vendors

Portfolio Performance
  • Own portfolio-level losses, balancing growth, protection, and customer experience
  • Thoughtfully evolve Boulevard's risk appetite and control frameworks in partnership with the GM Fintech
  • Design and refine underwriting and monitoring strategies; proactively identify and address emerging risks

Partner Management (Internal & External)
  • Ensure adherence to applicable regulations, card network rules, and PayFac requirements
  • Partner with Legal and Compliance to maintain strong control frameworks, audits, and reporting
  • Manage relationships with acquirers, processors, and banking partners; represent Boulevard credibly in external risk discussions

Cross-Functional & Team Leadership
  • Serve as the central accountability point for Payments Operations across Product, Engineering, CX, Sales, and Finance
  • Translate operational insights into product and policy improvements
  • Lead a high-performing team across underwriting, risk, and compliance ops - evolving from manual processing to system oversight and exception handling

What you'll need to thrive:
  • 10+ years in operations, with 7+ years in payments, fintech, and/or risk; significant PayFac experience strongly preferred
  • Demonstrated success building AI-native decisioning systems - agent workflows, rules engines, ML-assisted approaches - that improved outcomes
  • Deep expertise in payments, acquiring, and/or risk underwriting, fraud, chargebacks, and transaction monitoring
  • Proven track record of owning portfolio-level performance with clear accountability for loss rates, approval rates, and operational efficiency
  • Proven ability to lead operational evolution - moving teams from manual workflows to system oversight
  • Senior-level experience engaging with external partners (acquirers, processors) and cross-functional partnerships across Product, Engineering, Legal, and Compliance

At Boulevard, we work hard to structure compensation in a way that balances internal equity with local market competitiveness, and we're happy to share a good-faith estimate of the base salary range for this role. For U.S. based candidates, the anticipated base salary range is $180,000 - $200,000 per year. In addition to this base compensation, this role may be eligible to participate in a variable compensation program. Final compensation will vary based on a variety of factors which include but are not limited to applicable experience, location, and final leveling.

In addition to the wonderful people you'll get to work with and challenging projects that'll push you - Boulevard is here to make sure you're always at the top of your game emotionally, mentally, and physically.
  • We've got you covered with a 401(k) match plus dental, medical, vision, and life insurance.
  • Take a break whenever you need with our flexible vacation day policy.
  • Fully remote so you can choose where you want to work. You'll receive a work from home stipend every month.
  • ♥ Family planning resources and specialized support programs.
  • Equity: get ahead on the ground floor and grow with Boulevard.
  • Boulevard Bucks Learning and Development program allows employees to explore businesses in the market we serve.


We recommend following our official LinkedIn page to stay up to date on all things Boulevard life!

About Boulevard

Boulevard Brewing Company is a brewery located in Kansas City, Missouri. The Brewers Association currently ranks the American arm of Boulevard's parent company, Duvel Moortgat USA, as the 12th largest craft brewery, and the 18th largest active brewery in the United States based on 2014 sales volume. Boulevard is the largest craft brewery in the state of Missouri. Boulevard's beers are available in select markets across the United States and Canada. In 2013, Boulevard was acquired by Duvel Moortgat Brewery. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but industry publication Beer Business Daily estimated the sale price exceeds $100 million.
Learn more about Boulevard
Industry
Founded
2016

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