***No agencies or 3rd party Recruiters please. Thank you! ***

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.

Talent Development & Leadership Culture

• 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.

What to do next:

If Cornerstone sounds like the place for you (and if you have the qualifications, drive, and passion to match), we invite you to become a member of our winning team! And remember, once you're a part of our Cornerstone team, we'll continue to invest in you as a valuable asset to our company. As many of our team members can tell you, there's something special about working at Cornerstone.