Who We Are
Cross River builds the infrastructure behind the world’s most innovative financial products. Our technology and capital solutions power payments, cards, lending, and digital asset capabilities that move money safely, instantly, and inclusively — trusted by leading fintechs, enterprises, and disruptors across the globe.
Our mission is simple: to build the financial infrastructure that expands access and opportunity for all. Guided by a culture of collaboration, curiosity, and purpose, Cross River has been named one of American Banker’s Best Places to Work in Fintech year after year. Whether you’re designing code, solving regulatory puzzles, or developing strategy, you’ll join a team where innovation and integrity drive everything we do — and where your work helps shape the future of finance.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for an exceptional early-career operator to join the Corporate Strategy & Transformation team and help turn Cross River's strategic ambitions into reality. Reporting to the Head of Corporate Strategy & Transformation, you'll sit at the center of the bank's most important cross-functional initiatives — from AI adoption to international expansion — and play a hands-on role in driving them from idea to delivery.
This is a builder role. You'll spend little time producing decks and most time scoping problems, finding solutions, moving initiatives forward, and bringing people along. It's a rare chance to work directly with senior leadership on the questions that shape where the company goes next.
Responsibilities:
Drive AI adoption across the bank (~40% of time)
- Partner with the AI team and business-line leaders to identify high-value AI use cases — sitting with teams to understand where the real friction and opportunities are.
- Pressure-test and validate each opportunity: size the impact, gauge feasibility, and separate the genuinely transformative bets from the noise.
- Work hand-in-hand with product and technical teams to turn a validated use case into a working solution.
- Drive the change-management side hands-on — helping build the playbook, engaging stakeholders directly to explain what's changing and why it matters, turning skeptics into champions, and sustaining adoption through the messy middle of a rollout until it sticks.
Support hands-on, high-priority strategic initiatives (~40%)
- Support hands-on the execution of strategic bets like global expansion — helping select target geographies, shape entry and partnership models, and support partner negotiations and deal structuring.
- Do the real work alongside leadership rather than advising from the sidelines: scope and own discrete workstreams, proactively surface risks, and clear roadblocks before they become problems.
Support the corporate strategy agenda (~20%)
- Help shape Cross River's long-term strategy — pressure-testing where the bank should play and how it wins, and turning that into clear, defensible direction for leadership.
- Help translate executive vision into a clear, practical narrative the organization can rally around — breaking big strategic intent into concrete initiatives with defined owners and accountable timelines.
- Establish lightweight, repeatable ways to scan and synthesize external developments — partner moves, regulatory shifts, competitive activity — into clear implications for leadership.
- Look for opportunities to automate, templatize, and systematize the team's work so the function punches well above its headcount.
Qualifications:
Must-Haves
- ~2–3 years of relevant experience in strategy consulting, corporate strategy, or a strategy & operations role at a high-growth startup or scaling company — weighted toward operating and execution experience over planning.
- High emotional intelligence and real people skills. You build trust quickly, read a room, and bring busy or skeptical stakeholders along through change — comfortable engaging directly with everyone from analysts to executives.
- A genuinely AI-native way of working. You use AI tools fluently to multiply your output and move at exceptional speed — and you hold a high enough quality bar that what you ship is sharp, accurate, and trustworthy, never generic or half-checked.
- A builder's instinct. You'd rather put a rough working version in front of people than polish a plan; you default to "how could I automate or build this?"; and you likely tinker and build things outside of work too.
- Strong autonomy. You operate well with ambiguity and limited direction, take initiative without waiting to be told, and figure out what needs doing.
Nice-to-Haves
- Prior financial services, payments, or fintech experience.
- Experience working on change management for technology rollouts.
- Exposure to partnership/deal structuring.
#LI-KR1 #LI-Hybrid
Salary Range: $80,000.00 - $130,000.00
Cross River is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Cross River does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.
By submitting your application, you give Cross River permission to email, call, or text you using the contact details provided. We will only contact you with job related information.
Skills Required
- Approximately 2–3 years of relevant experience in strategy consulting, corporate strategy, or strategy and operations at a high-growth or scaling company
- High emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to build trust and influence stakeholders through change
- Fluent use of AI tools to increase productivity while maintaining high standards for accuracy and quality
- Builder mentality with an inclination to automate, develop working solutions, and experiment beyond formal responsibilities
- Strong autonomy and ability to operate with ambiguity and limited direction
- Prior financial services, payments, or fintech experience
- Experience with change management for technology rollouts
- Exposure to partnership or deal structuring
Cross River Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Cross River and has not been reviewed or approved by Cross River.
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials state it pays 100% of premiums for medical, dental, and vision for eligible employees and their families, and covers $100,000 life and $100,000 AD&D. Feedback often highlights this employer-paid coverage as a standout element of the package.
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Affordable Benefits — Fully covered health premiums reduce employee out-of-pocket premium costs and increase the perceived value of total compensation. Feedback suggests strong ratings for health, dental, and vision coverage.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Hybrid flexibility (role/location dependent), wellness budgets in some regions, and HQ amenities like a gym, cafe, shuttle, haircuts, and dry cleaning are highlighted in company materials. Learning and development support, an employee development fund, and volunteer opportunities are also featured.
Cross River Insights
What We Do
Cross River provides technology infrastructure powering the future of financial services. Leveraging a proprietary real-time banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards, lending, and crypto solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world’s most essential fintech and technology companies. Together with its partners, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC.
