Loan Underwriter (Construction)

Location: Downtown LA | Fully onsite, Monday–Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm | Direct hire (permanent)

About the role

The Loan Underwriter will provide comprehensive credit support covering both new loan underwriting and ongoing portfolio management, with a significant focus on commercial real estate and construction lending—including ground-up construction, renovation, and other commercial real estate development projects. The successful candidate will analyze and underwrite commercial credits and monitor an assigned portfolio after closing.

Responsibilities

• Underwrite and structure commercial real estate (CRE), owner-occupied, investor, and construction loan transactions by analyzing borrower financials, cash flow, collateral, property performance, repayment sources, and overall credit risk.
• Prepare comprehensive credit analyses, loan presentations, and recommendations for management and loan committee approval, identifying risks, policy exceptions, mitigating factors, and opportunities to enhance deal structure.
• Manage and monitor a commercial loan portfolio, including annual reviews, renewals, modifications, covenant compliance, financial statement analysis, and ongoing risk assessment.
• Underwrite and evaluate commercial construction projects by reviewing budgets, plans, permits, project feasibility, sources and uses, projected performance, and the financial strength of borrowers, guarantors, and project stakeholders.
• Oversee post-closing loan and construction portfolio performance by monitoring project progress, draw requests, inspections, budget variances, emerging credit concerns, and workout situations while collaborating with relationship managers to support client needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in commercial banking credit, underwriting, or portfolio management.
• Strong construction lending experience, preferably covering the full loan cycle from underwriting through funding, loan monitoring, and repayment or permanent financing.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word and Excel).

Pay

$85,000 – $105,000 base (dependent on experience).