About HMA
HMA is a retail mortgage lender on track to fund $2 billion in originations this year across 37 licensed states. We're built on the belief that a great mortgage experience is the product of disciplined operations, modern technology, and leaders who know how to scale teams through both growth and complexity.
The Opportunity
We're hiring a Senior Vice President of Operations to own the engine that turns applications into funded loans. Reporting directly to the CEO, this leader will oversee Loan Intake, Loan Processing, Junior Processing, Underwriting, and Closing — leading five direct reports and an organization of approximately 80 operations professionals.
This is a builder's role. HMA is at the scale where every basis point of cycle time, every percentage of pull-through, and every well-designed workflow compounds into real competitive advantage. The SVP of Operations will set the operational vision, modernize our technology and AI capabilities, and develop the leadership bench needed for the next phase of growth.
What You'll Own
Process Optimization & Operational Efficiency
- Drive end-to-end ownership of the loan manufacturing process, from application through funding, with a relentless focus on cycle time, quality, and cost-per-loan
- Identify bottlenecks across intake, processing, underwriting, and closing, and design workflows that scale without adding headcount linearly to volume
- Establish operational SLAs and service standards that protect the borrower and referral-partner experience while improving margin
- Partner with Sales, Capital Markets, Compliance, and Secondary to remove friction at every handoff
Technology & AI Adoption
- Lead the evaluation, selection, and implementation of AI and automation technologies across the operations organization
- Build the business case for technology investments — including ROI modeling, change-management plans, and adoption metrics — and own the outcomes
- Stay ahead of vendor and platform innovation in mortgage technology, and translate emerging capabilities into practical wins for HMA
- Champion a culture where operations teams view technology as a force multiplier, not a threat
Leadership, Management & Coaching
This role requires a leader who can navigate organizational complexity with emotional intelligence — building trust and alignment across both tenured and newer team members, breaking down silos between functions, and earning credibility through consistency, transparency, and follow-through. Operational change lands differently depending on where someone sits in the organization, and the right leader brings the patience and presence to bring people along rather than run past them.
- Lead, develop, and hold accountable a team of five senior operations leaders, with indirect responsibility for an 80-person organization
- Build a coaching-driven leadership culture, including performance management standards, career development frameworks, and succession planning
- Recruit and retain top operations talent in a competitive labor market
- Set the tone for a high-trust, high-accountability environment where people do the best work of their careers
Project Execution
- Translate strategic priorities into clear, well-scoped initiatives with defined owners, milestones, and success metrics
- Drive cross-functional projects to completion, balancing speed with rigor and resisting the pull of the status quo
- Close the loop on every initiative — measured, validated, and either scaled or shut down based on the data
Data Analysis & Performance Management
- Own the operational scorecard: cycle time, pull-through, fallout, productivity per FTE, quality, and customer experience
- Build a culture of data-driven decision-making across the operations leadership team
- Surface insights from production data that inform staffing, training, technology, and policy decisions
- Partner with Finance and Analytics to ensure operations metrics tie directly to P&L outcomes
What You Bring
- Prior experience as an SVP, VP, or equivalent senior operations leader in retail mortgage lending
- A track record of leading the full loan manufacturing cycle — intake, processing, underwriting, and closing — at meaningful scale, with measurable improvements to show for it
- Experience designing and executing operational transformations rather than simply managing the status quo
- Genuine fluency with modern mortgage technology and a thoughtful point of view on where AI is heading and what it means for operations
- Strong analytical instincts and comfort building, reading, and acting on operational data
- A demonstrated ability to develop leaders and build benches, not just manage individual contributors
- High relational intelligence — the ability to build trust quickly across a diverse leadership team, earn credibility without relying on title, and create psychological safety for people who are navigating change. You lead by listening first.
- Sound judgment under pressure, particularly through volatile rate environments and shifting volume cycles
- A leadership style that is direct, coachable, and accountable
What Success Looks Like
In year one, the SVP of Operations will have stabilized and standardized the operational scorecard, delivered measurable improvements in cycle time and pull-through, launched at least one major AI or automation initiative with documented ROI, and strengthened the leadership team across all five functions. Beyond year one, this leader will be a core member of the executive team helping HMA scale toward its next volume milestone — efficiently, profitably, and with the operational discipline that growth demands.
