VP of Credit Risk

Who We AreScratch Financial (“Scratch”) is a late stage venture-backed financial technology business based in Pasadena, California. At Scratch, everything starts and ends with our mission: being the payment partner of choice for veterinary practices and helping pet parents access the care their animals need without financial barriers. Driven by our award-winning technology, Scratch has become the fastest growing financing provider in veterinary care, with a partner network of 15,000+ practices across the U.S. and Canada.Scratch has 2 main products: Scratch Pay: Point-of-sale client facing lending, including a BNPL offering and longer-term payment plans Scratch Checkout: Payment processing that is integrated with the veterinary practice management software We are a company built on the foundation of transforming the way pet healthcare payments are done, and we are looking for innovators who share our commitment to shaping the future of veterinary care financing. If putting compassion first, helping tell the story of groundbreaking products and continuously learning & refining to achieve exceptional outcomes sounds like you, then we encourage you to apply.Position OverviewAs VP of Credit Risk, you'll own the credit strategy behind every lending decision at Scratch Pay. You'll lead our scoring models and the policy layer that sits alongside them, manage portfolio performance, and responsibly expand who we can say yes to, especially across near-prime and subprime segments, using alternative data and modern underwriting techniques. You'll operate hands-on in the models and data while building and leading the team that scales the function.We're looking for this role to serve as the general manager of Scratch Pay’s profitability. This is a high-ownership, cross-functional role: you'll set and execute the strategy for underwriting, collections, and loan performance.You'll report directly to the President and work closely with our SVP of Product to shape the borrower experience across our lending application and iOS/Android apps. If you're energized by owning a P&L, thrive at the intersection of data and strategy, and want to build something that matters — this role was designed for you.What You'll OwnLending P&L & Credit Strategy Serve as the GM for lending profitability: own the credit loss rate, approval rate, checkout conversion, unit economics, and yield across our loan portfolio Design and optimize the hard-cut / policy layer that sits alongside the score — knockout rules, eligibility criteria, and approval thresholds — using swap-set and champion/challenger analysis to tune the approve/decline boundary against approval-rate and loss targets. Define and continuously improve our underwriting criteria — credit policy, model inputs, decisioning logic — to optimize risk-adjusted returns Lead collections strategy, including segmentation, treatment paths, agency relationships, and recovery optimization Responsibly expand the approvable population into near-prime (and potentially subprime) by integrating and operationalizing alternative data: cash-flow / bank-transaction data, alternative bureau attributes, income and employment verification, and other non-traditional signals. Own portfolio performance management: loss forecasting, vintage and roll-rate analysis, early-warning indicators, and inputs to loss reserves. Monitor portfolio performance and drive rapid iteration when trends shift Product Partnership Partner closely with the SVP of Product to define improvements to our lending application and borrower-facing iOS and Android apps Bring a data-driven and risk-aware lens to product decisions: approval flows, offer presentation, repayment UX, and borrower communications Ensure compliance and regulatory considerations are built in from the start, not bolted on Build a rigorous test-and-learn engine (champion/challenger, controlled holdouts, A/B) so credit policy decisions are driven by evidence rather than intuition. Team Leadership Lead and develop a lean but high-performing credit risk team, with expected growth as the business continues to scale Develop your team's craft and careers while maintaining high standards for output quality Champion a culture of rigor and intellectual honesty (getting it right vs. being right) in how the company uses data AI & Operational Efficiency Identify and implement AI-powered tools and workflows to make the Credit Risk & Analytics function more efficient and scalable Evaluate and deploy best-in-class tooling for credit modeling, collections automation, data processing, and analytics delivery Stay current on the evolving landscape of fintech AI applications and bring relevant innovations to the team What We Are Looking ForMust-Haves Experience as a P&L owner at a consumer lending company: you've directly managed credit loss, yield, and portfolio economics and can speak to the decisions you made and their outcomes Deep, hands-on credit underwriting experience – not modeling i