Director, Internal Fraud Risk Detection

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

Position Overview

The Director of Internal Fraud Risk Identification & Rules Design plays a critical role in protecting our colleagues, customers, and brand from insider-driven fraud risks. Reporting to the Vice President of Rules Strategy, this leader will define and execute a comprehensive strategy to identify internal fraud threats, design and optimize detection rules, and enhance our overall internal fraud risk posture.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned fraud risk leader with deep analytical expertise, a strong understanding of insider threat dynamics, and a passion for using data-driven insights to shape proactive defenses. This role is both strategic and hands-on, requiring collaboration across Fraud Strategy, Technology, Compliance, and Operational Risk Management.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the VP of Rules strategy in driving enterprise-level efforts to identify and assess internal fraud risks across business units
• Partner with Operational Risk, Compliance, and Internal Audit to ensure alignment with the enterprise risk framework and regulatory expectations.
• Conduct post-incident analyses and lessons-learned reviews to strengthen preventative controls and policies.
• Own the design, development, and refinement of detection rules to prevent internal fraud, ensuring efficient deployment.
• Drive continuous improvement in rules precision through data analytics, machine learning insights, and root-cause analysis.
• Manage rule governance, including version control, documentation, and performance monitoring to ensure transparency and accountability.
• Partner with the VP, Rules Strategy to shape the long-term roadmap for insider fraud detection and rule intelligence.
• Identify and apply emerging technologies (e.g., AI/ML, behavioral analytics) to enhance early detection capabilities.
• Champion automation and process efficiency to strengthen fraud defenses while supporting operational excellence.
• Build and lead a team of data scientists, analysts, and rules designers, fostering an environment of curiosity, accountability, and continuous learning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Data Science, or related field required; Master's degree preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in fraud risk management, internal investigations, or enterprise risk, ideally within financial services.
• Demonstrated success designing and managing fraud detection rules or analytics within a large, complex organization.
• Deep understanding of internal fraud typologies, data-driven risk assessment, and control design.
• Expertise with analytics tools (e.g., SQL, SAS, Python) and rule-based decisioning systems.
• Strong risk judgment, with the ability to balance fraud prevention and operational efficiency.
• Excellent communication skills with experience influencing at senior levels and across functions.
• Lead with a growth mindset: Demonstrates curiosity and continuous learning in the face of evolving internal fraud landscapes.
• Build meaningful relationships: Collaborates effectively across various teams to achieve shared goals.

Salary Range: $123,000.00 to $215,250.00 annually + bonus + equity (if applicable) + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we'll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site .

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including, but not limited to, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

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Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for this position.