Risk Manager

About Betterment

a Betterment is a leading, technology-driven financial services company that offers investing, savings and retirement solutions for retail investors and investment advisors as well as financial wellness solutions, including a 401(k) for small and medium-sized businesses. Our team is passionate about our mission, to empower people to build wealth with confidence and ease. We’re headquartered in NYC and offer hybrid NY-based positions (four days/ week in-office, with no required office days during the summer and winter holidays).

About the Role

This role sits on our Risk Management team — a small second line-of-defense (2LOD) function responsible for enterprise risk management (ERM) and effective challenge across operational risks such as third-party risk, fraud and identity theft, operational errors, and business continuity. The team partners closely with Engineering and with other risk disciplines including Security, Compliance, Legal, and Operations.

As a Risk Manager, you will own a portfolio of risk processes, perform risk assessments, and consult with management to keep our risk posture strong as the business grows. You will use AI and automation tools throughout your work to build context quickly, analyze data, and communicate risk clearly.

This role is based out of our NYC office. Below we ve reflected the base salary range for this position. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of Betterment’s total compensation package for employees.

New York City: $140,000-$155,000

This job may also be eligible for variable compensation in the form of a company incentive bonus.

A Day in the Life

Own a portfolio of risk processes end to end, where success comes from a high degree of ownership over outcomes.
Proactively monitor risks related to third-party vendors.
Follow up on open issues to drive management attention and timely remediation.
Provide effective challenge feedback to product managers on new products and features.
Operate and monitor the results of control testing and monitoring processes.
Run SQL queries and reports, using AI tools for efficiency and automation.
Document complex business processes.
Provide evidence to auditors and examiners.
Partner across the second line and with Engineering, Security, Compliance, Legal, and Operations to assess and communicate risk in a way that earns buy-in.

What we’re looking for

4+ years of experience in financial services with exposure to one or more operational risk areas — for example, third-party risk, fraud, incident management, identity theft, records retention, audit fieldwork and reporting, and/or governance.
Intellectual curiosity and the ability to build context quickly in unfamiliar risk areas, supported by the team and by AI tools.
Proficiency using AI and automation tools to identify, document, and communicate risk management activities.
Strong, concise written and verbal communication, including the ability to deliver effective challenge while preserving partnership.
Good judgment in ambiguous situations with limited information, while always doing what is best for our customers.
Comfort working with data (e.g., SQL, spreadsheets) to test controls and support conclusions.
Professional certifications such as the CISA are a plus, but no license is required.

Join a team built on these core values

We change lives

Be a part of a community of innovators working to transform financial outcomes for real people. Your work will make an impact, always laddering up to our mission; to empower people to build wealth with confidence and ease strong.

We set audacious goals

We set them for the company, our customers, and ourselves, and we won’t stop until we reach them. We don’t just show up; we give our all, then celebrate our wins.

We value all perspectives

When we collaborate, we re at our best. We believe diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes and strive to uphold our supportive and inclusive community.

We simplify financial services

We’re financial services pioneers, always finding new ways to improve, optimize, and enhance. Constant improvement is in our DNA.

Our Commitment to Your Total Well-being:

We offer a competitive suite of benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage; life and AD and D insurance; short- and long-term disability; infertility support and WPATH-aligned transgender health benefits; an Employee Assistance Program (EAP); transit benefits and FSA and HSA options
Ownership: Equity for all employees, including new hire and refresher grants.
Time: Flexible paid time off, paid parental leave, and a fully paid four-week sabbatical in your sixth year.
Growth: Company-paid professional coaching for all employees.
Wealth: Day-one 401(k) match plus matching on qualified student loan payments.

What happens next

We’ll take a few weeks to review all applications. If we’d like to spend more time with you, we’ll reach out to arrange next steps, which will include 3-4 sets of meetings with your future colleagues.

In the interview process, we’ll look to learn more about your skills, experiences, capabilities, and motivators. Many of our questions will be aimed at understanding how you might operate here at Betterment. Depending on the role, we may ask you to complete a case study exercise or technical assessments, as we want to collect a robust set of data points to better inform our decisions.

On average, it takes us around 3-5 weeks to make a hiring decision, depending on your availability and sense of urgency. As a best practice, we aim to interview at least 2-3 final round candidates before making a hiring decision. Please note that, as we usually receive an overwhelming number of applications for open positions, we’re unable to offer individual feedback during the interview process.

We recognize that interviewing for a new role is a big deal. We appreciate you considering Betterment as the next step in your career, and our Recruiting Team is here to support and advocate for you through the interview process!

Betterment is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates upon request. If you need accommodations at any point throughout the interview process, please reach out to your recruiter.

Please note that in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Come join us!

We’re an equal opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. We strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex, gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services, predisposing genetic characteristic, domestic violence victim status, arrest records, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.