Head of Risk

At Nickel, we’re building the financial infrastructure for America’s core industries. Our customers manufacture and supply the goods and services that keep this country running. Their financial operations are just as demanding and high stakes. But they’re stuck using tools built for coffee shops and eCommerce.

Nickel launched in 2024 with the first industrial-strength accounts receivable and payments platform. For the first time ever, businesses can send and receive high value transactions up to $1M using card, ACH, wire, and even checks, both domestically and internationally. All in one place.

Today, Nickel is #1 easiest-to-use payments platform in America (ranked by G2) and is one of the fastest growing fintechs. Thousands of businesses from millworkers to medical device distributors rely on Nickel to move $1B+ annually.

You’ll be joining at an inflection point.

Payments is the entry point that puts Nickel at the center of every financial workflow from credit decisions to payroll. We’re building a new category of financial products that America’s core businesses depend on and replacing the banks, lenders, and horizontal fintech tools that are holding them back.

We’re investing in the people bold enough to build it with us.

Nickel has raised $16M from top investors, including Conversion Capital, Brewer Lane Capital, Nine Four Ventures, Stage 2 Ventures, StanleyBlack&Decker, Nichole Wischoff and operators from Stripe, Cash App, Toast and more.

About the Role

As Nickel’s Head of Risk, you will own the risk infrastructure that underpins every transaction on our platform and build the team that’ll enable us to scale. Nickel processes thousands of transactions per day across domestic and international card, ACH, wire, check, and more. Our customers are industrial businesses with high value transactions. Their livelihood depends on payments clearing on time and without disruptions.

Payment reliability is not a nice to have. It’s core to what we do.

This role exists because we are growing fast and the stakes are high. You are not inheriting and maintaining a finished system. You are building one from the ground up.

We have invested in modern tools across identity verification, KYC, KYB, AML, and BSA, and have processed over a million transactions with a strong track record of minimizing losses. You will take ownership of that foundation, codify the systems and processes that make it scalable, and serve as the final decision maker on which merchants belong on the platform, what limits they operate within, and how their risk profiles evolve over time. You will also be Nickel’s primary point of contact with our banking partners, card networks, and fraud solution vendors.

You will report directly to the CTO and work closely with Product, Engineering, and Operations. This is an in-person role based in New York City.

What you’ll do

• Own merchant underwriting: Define approval criteria, set risk tiers, and establish processing limits and monitoring thresholds for each merchant on the platform
• Scale transaction monitoring: Build the systems and processes that can monitor 100x the current volume across card, ACH, wire, check, and international rails, keeping controls ahead of volume growth
• Own the dispute lifecycle across all payment rails, building scalable processes for customer communication, investigation, arbitration, and collections
• Be Nickel’s primary point of contact with banking partners, card networks, and fraud solution vendors. Manage relationships, respond to reviews and audits, and ensure our risk program meets external requirements
• Own core risk metrics across all payment rails and bring clear, data-backed recommendations to leadership

What you’ll need

• 6 to 10 years of experience in payments risk, fraud, or underwriting at a payment facilitator, fintech, or acquiring bank with ownership of real loss metrics
• Hands‑on experience with merchant underwriting, including evaluating applications, setting limits, and building the criteria behind approval decisions
• Deep fluency across multiple payment rails including card (Visa/Mastercard), ACH, and wire. You understand how risk and fraud behave differently on each and what the relevant network rules require
• Experience managing chargebacks and ACH return disputes, including working knowledge of Reg E, Reg Z, and card network dispute frameworks
• Operated in a risk function at an early‑stage or high‑growth company
• Familiarity with tools such as Plaid, Persona, Alloy, Sardine, Middesk, etc.
• Experience with large‑ticket transactions and B2B payments
• CAMS or CFE certification, or active pursuit

Join us if you’re energized by

• Insane growth: Grew 12x in 2025 and handles $1B+ of transactions for thousands of customers. You will lay the risk and compliance groundwork to help us scale in 2026 the evolution of this proven product while defining what comes next.
• Real businesses, real impact: Our customers aren’t faceless corporations. They’re small businesses whose success directly impacts what Americans pay for housing, goods, and everything in between. The products you design will have a real economic impact
• Category Defining Product: We’re building a groundbreaking new product category that replaces multiple outdated financial institutions and tools with one seamless experience
• Low ego team: We value strong opinions and believe that the best ideas can come from unexpected places. Every voice is treated equally at Nickel, no matter your role or area of expertise.
• In person work: We’re based in Dumbo, Brooklyn and in the office 5 days a week

Compensation

Base: $140,000–$180,000

Equity: 0.15%–0.3%

Life at Nickel

• Competitive Pay & Benefits: Backed by world‑class investors, we offer strong salaries plus equity so you share in our success.
• Fully Covered Health Insurance: We provide top‑tier health, dental and vision insurance cover 100% of the premiums
• Room to Grow: We’re building a team of ambitious, high‑performing people who will grow with the company. As Nickel scales, so will your role, responsibilities, and compensation.
• Other benefits include fully compensated lunch, gym and wellness stipends, and off‑sites in incredible locations