RiskIntelligenceLead

About the Role Forward's Risk and Compliance Operations is scaling to support 45x merchant volume without 45x headcount. The only way that works is if the function gets smarter faster than it grows. That is what this role exists to build. The Risk Intelligence Lead owns the analytical core of RCO. You will build the intelligence layer that powers decision-making across the function: dashboards that surface trends, patterns, and anomalies before they become incidents; AI-assisted workflows that compress review time and reduce manual effort; SQL infrastructure that turns raw operational data into forward-looking signals; and the automation that systematically eliminates the manual work that does not need to be manual. What makes this role distinct is where the intelligence comes from. You do not study the operation from a distance - you sit in it. Reviewing alerts and cases, working through merchant applications, understanding the day-to-day rhythm of the work is what gives you the pattern recognition to build systems that actually work. The best analytical infrastructure is built by someone who has lived the friction, not just modeled it. This is a build role at a company scaling fast. The person who does this well will shape what the RCO function looks like at 10x, 20x, 50x - and will grow directly with it. Key Responsibilities Own the Day-to-Day Merchant Lifecycle Manage the merchant application review queue: evaluate onboarding submissions for accuracy, completeness, and risk indicators - including multi-layered KYB verification (legal structure, beneficial ownership, UBO identification, PEP and sanctions screening) and Enhanced Due Diligence for high-risk merchant segments. Apply risk-based profiling: stratify incoming applications by geography, industry, transaction profile, and ownership structure - calibrating review depth to risk tier (standard, elevated, EDD) rather than applying uniform scrutiny to every application. Oversee bank account linking and verific