Position Summary
Pinnacle Financial Partners is seeking a Managing Director, Lender Finance Underwriting to serve as a senior credit leader and underwriter for lender finance and specialty finance credit facilities ranging from $10MM to $150MM.
This role is responsible for end-to-end credit underwriting, structuring, and approval of complex specialty finance transactions and sits at the center of a relationship-driven, credit-focused platform. The Managing Director will partner closely with originations to deliver tailored financing solutions to non-bank lenders, specialty finance companies, and asset-based lenders, while ensuring disciplined risk management aligned with growth objectives.
In addition, this individual will oversee underwriting standards, mentor junior professionals, and play a central role in credit committee presentations and approvals.
Key Responsibilities
- Credit Underwriting & Structuring
- Underwriting of lender finance facilities, including warehouse facilities (consumer, commercial, fintech assets), asset-backed revolvers and other structured credit solutions.
- Perform detailed analysis of:
- Borrower financial performance and liquidity
- Collateral quality, dilution, and performance trends
- Advance rates, borrowing base mechanics, eligibility criteria, and concentration limits
- Structure credit facilities to optimize risk-adjusted returns, including covenants, reporting requirements, and control mechanisms
- Own preparation of clear, decision-oriented credit memos and present transactions to credit committee in partnership with the originations team
- Partnership with Originations & Clients
- Act as a strategic credit partner to deal teams (not a gatekeeper)
- Engage early in deal screening, structuring, and term sheet development
- Provide pragmatic solutions to support execution within defined risk tolerance
- Interface directly with clients, sponsors, management teams and intermediaries as a senior credit representative
- Credit Risk Leadership, Governance & Portfolio Transition
- Ensure alignment with firm-wide credit culture, policies and risk appetite
- Identify and mitigate key risks, including collateral volatility, concentration exposure, operational risk, and counterparty risk
- Partner with portfolio management to ensure effective transition from underwriting to ongoing monitoring
- Maintain high-quality underwriting standards across the platform
- Serve as a senior voice in credit committee discussions and decisions
- Cross-Functional Execution
- Collaborate closely with originations, legal, portfolio management, and operations to execute transactions efficiently
- Support negotiation of loan documentation and closing conditions
- Provide structuring guidance throughout transaction lifecycle, from deal screening to term sheet development and through closing
- Strategic & Platform Development
- Help build and scale Pinnacle’s lender finance platform, including credit frameworks, underwriting guidelines, and product capabilities
- Contribute to portfolio construction strategy, including industry focus and concentration limits
- Provide market insights on specialty finance trends, structures, and competitive dynamics
- Assist with hiring, development and mentoring of junior underwriters and analysts
- Deliver training on structuring, collateral analysis, and credit judgment and promote best practices in credit writing and presentation
- Foster a high-performance, collaborative underwriting culture while supporting scalable growth
Technical & Soft Skills
- Expertise in collateral-based lending, borrowing base mechanics, and advance rate analysis
- Strong financial modeling, structuring and risk assessment capabilities
- Deep understanding of legal documentation and intercreditor dynamics
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to balance risk discipline with commercial pragmatism
- Strong judgment in complex and ambiguous situations
- Comfortable operating on a lean, high-accountability team
- High ownership mindset with end-to-end accountability
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in lender finance, fund finance, or structured finance platforms
- Background working with non-bank lenders, fintechs, or specialty finance companies
- Prior experience building or scaling an underwriting function
Minimum Experience
10–15+ years in Asset-based finance, Lender finance / specialty finance, and/ or Structured or private credit
- Deep experience underwriting and structuring collateral-based credit facilities in the $10MM–$100MM+ range
- Proven experience presenting to and interacting with senior leadership and credit committees