Risk Manager

About the role

Kafene is revolutionizing the lease-to-own space. We're the point-of-sale powerhouse making flexible lease-to-own accessible to everyone—prime and non-prime customers alike. Our secret weapon? Cutting-edge AI and machine learning that analyzes 20,000+ data inputs in real-time, empowering retailers across furniture, appliances, electronics, tires, and durable goods to say "yes" to more customers. The numbers tell our story: over $500 million in sales and counting. But we're just getting started. Our 150-person team spans NYC headquarters, Wilmington, and remote talent across the globe—all united by a culture that thrives on collaboration, innovation, and genuine support. We don't just talk about great workplace culture; we deliver it. That's why Built In named us a Startup to Watch and Forbes recognized us as one of the Best Startup Employers.

What You’ll Do

• Leverage multiple and complex data sources such as Bureau information, alternative data, consumer behavior, the macro environment, and portfolio performance metrics to perform quantitative analyses, classification/decision-tree analyses and/or machine learning modeling to understand root causes and/or potential business opportunities
• Translate data into meaningful insights, and design, implement and iterate on strategies to drive profitable business growth
• Review findings with senior management, like CRO and CEO
• Design and manage A/B tests, pilot programs, and controlled experiments to evaluate new strategies, including defining test populations, randomization logic, and success criteria
• Build and maintain dashboards and reporting infrastructure to enable real-time monitoring of strategy performance across key metrics
• Monitor our acquisition and portfolio performance related to consumer or merchant credit risk, fraud risk, lease amount, term, channel, and other important metrics across the account lifecycle
• Monitor both internal and macroeconomic performance to define risk appetite and ensure healthy businesses under different environments
• Partner with technology, product, and cross-functional teams to ensure timely and quality implementation with diligent test validation
• Track the performance to ensure that it meets expectations

What You’ll Bring

• Master’s degree in a quantitative discipline such as Statistics, Operations Research, Economics, Engineering, Data Science, or other STEM majors
• Minimum 2 years in the financial industry in an analytical function
• Experience in credit risk strategy/collection areas is a plus
• High Proficiency in business reporting and analytical tools such as Power BI and Tableau
• High-level proficiency in Python, SQL, SAS or other data mining and analytical tools
• Familiarity with any decision tree analysis tool, like Enterprise Miner, is a plus
• Experience of extracting business insights from data analysis and assembling them into clear business insights or recommendations in the financial service/consumer lending industry

Compensation and Benefits

• Base Salary: Earn a competitive base salary $95,000-$130,000
• Healthcare: We prioritize your well-being by covering 80% of medical, dental, and vision insurance costs, including coverage for your spouse, children, and other dependents
• Retail Benefits: Begin planning for your future from day one with our 401k plan
• Paid Time Off: We understand the importance of work-life balance. That's why we offer flexible paid time off days starting from day one of your employment