Head of Fintech Operations

Wealth management is a $545 billion industry in the US, yet remains archaic and inefficient with low technology penetration. 75% of financial advisors don’t offer digital communication beyond email, and 62% still build financial plans manually in Excel. This leads to a poor client experience and results in financial advisors spending over 70% of their time on non-client facing, manual work.

Savvy is changing that. We’re building the most advisor-centric platform in wealth management: a digital-first solution that modernizes human financial advice. Advisors who partner with Savvy tap into AI-powered software, automated sales and marketing, and seamless back office workflows to scale faster and spend more time with clients.

We’ve raised over $105M to date from Thrive Capital, Index Ventures, Canvas Ventures, Mark Casady (former LPL Financial CEO), and other top-tier investors. Our team is made up of repeat founders and operators who’ve helped build Airbnb, Square, Brex, Carta, Facebook, $200B+ RIAs, and more.

Savvy is at a pivotal point in its growth trajectory, having established strong product-market fit in providing a modern platform to financial advisors. We’ve surpassed $5.1 billion in AUM in less than three years, grown 600%+ in the last 18 months, and are entering the next phase of the company which involves rapid expansion of our product offering and continued revenue growth. Come help us scale!

The Role:

Savvy is looking for a Head of Fintech Operations to design, lead, and scale the operating backbone of a fast-growing, technology-enabled wealth management business. This leader will own all core operations across our RIA and introducing broker-dealer, ensuring that our supervision, service, and back-office workflows are compliant, efficient, and power delightful advisor and client experiences.

The right candidate is a proven leader who thrives in complex, cross-functional operating environments and has a track record of scaling systems, teams, and processes in high-growth settings. This individual will be expected to work closely with Savvy’s Engineering, Product, and Design teams to streamline RIA & B-D operations through the use of automation and AI.

This role is ideal for someone who combines strong operating judgment across financial services and regulated environments with a builder’s mindset and an instinct for automation, measurement, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities:

• Own and evolve the operating model for our wealth management platform across both RIA and broker-dealer entities, including service, supervision support, onboarding, maintenance, trading, and money movement.

• Foster a culture of innovation, white-glove support, and continuous improvement.

• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Product, and Advisory teams to drive innovation through all parts of RIA & B-D Operations.

• Act as a cross-functional operator across Platform Services, identifying inefficiencies, aligning stakeholders, and driving execution across Operations, Product, Finance, and Compliance

• Map, redesign, and standardize core workflows including:

  • client onboarding / ACATs / account opening

  • KYC/AML, suitability, Reg BI and advisory documentation

  • trading, rebalancing, cash management, and billing feeds

  • client service requests and lifecycle maintenance

  • advisor transitions and rep onboarding

• Remove friction between channels so advisors and clients experience “one firm,” not two regulatory models.

• Establish and manage the day-to-day operations of Savvy’s Broker-Dealer, including account opening, transaction processing, supervision, and trade surveillance.

• Partner closely with Savvy’s Engineering, Product, and Design teams to identify and implement appropriate platform improvements to support the growth of Savvy’s BD entity.

• Work closely with the CCO and FINOP to ensure adherence to FINRA rules and broker-dealer regulatory obligations.

• Maintain and update required supervisory procedures (WSPs) and coordinate with Compliance and Legal on regulatory filings and exams.

• Ensure seamless integration and reconciliation between clearing firm systems, CRM, portfolio management tools, and compliance systems.

• Implement supervisory tools and technology for broker-dealer oversight, including email and trade surveillance systems.

• Oversee client billing processes and ensure accurate, transparent fee structures.

• Own performance reporting, regulatory and compliance reporting.

• Maintain relationships with custodians and third-party tech providers; ensure proper data reconciliation.

• Translate operational needs into product/engineering roadmaps and drive delivery.

• Lead adoption and optimization of our tech stack.

• Identify automation opportunities and reduce manual work through tooling, integrations, and AI-assisted workflows.

• Define and monitor operational KPIs and SLAs (cycle times, error rates, NIGO rates, service quality, advisor satisfaction, and cost-to-serve).

• Implement strong operational controls and vendor oversight across custodians, clearing firms, and third-party providers.

Must have:

• 8–12+ years of progressive operations leadership experience, ideally within fintech, financial services, or other regulated environments. Direct exposure to RIA and/or broker-dealer operating models is preferred.

• Strong understanding of the practical differences between FINRA broker-dealer operations and SEC/state RIA operations, and the ability to build deeper domain expertise quickly.

• Proven record of scaling teams and processes in a high-growth setting (preferably in a high growth startup environment).

• Strong operator instincts: you’ve personally rebuilt workflows, reduced cycle time and error rates, and driven measurable operational improvements.

• Operator with hands-on experience partnering with Product and Engineering teams in a startup or high-growth fintech environment; comfortable translating business problems into scalable systems and automation initiatives.

• Excellent people leadership and cross-functional communication.

• Extensive experience using third party tools to power operations, including leveraging AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT/Claude, analytics copilots, automation) to speed up research, synthesis, and operational workflows.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-pressure, and often ambiguous environment

Nice to have:

• Series licenses (24/9/10) or prior registration as a principal.

• Active Series 7 and 66, Series 65, CFA or CFP. Willingness and ability to obtain required licenses if not currently held.

• Experience with multi-custodian and/or clearing firm environments.

• Familiarity with common Wealth Operations Tech stack.

• Prior responsibility for exam/audit operational readiness across both BD and RIA entities.

• Hands-on experience with client billing, performance reporting, compliance reporting and regulatory audits.

• Competitive salary and equity package

• Unlimited PTO + paid company holidays

• Access to holistic medical, dental, and vision plans

• Company 401(k), Commuter, and HSA/FSA plans

• NYC office in the heart of Manhattan

• Lunch and snacks provided in the office

• Access to virtual mental health care (Spring Health), vision related benefits (XP Health), and health concierge (Rightway) to help you find the right care

• Access to counseling for stress management, dependent care, nutrition, fitness, legal, and financial issues (Guardian WorkLifeMatters EAP)