Senior Director, Payment Services Authorization Optimization

The Company

PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. 

We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.

We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards.  Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade. 

Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day.  We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.

Job Summary:

This job develops and articulates a clear vision and strategy for risk management, collaborates with stakeholders, inspires and leads teams, monitors risk exposure, and provides industry-leading guidance. It involves ensuring compliance and safeguarding the organization’s reputation.

Job Description:

Essential Responsibilities:

• Develop and articulate a clear vision and strategy for risk management aligned with PayPal's overall strategy.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to assess and mitigate risks impacting operations and assets.
• Inspire and lead teams to implement long-term sustainability and financial stability strategies.
• Monitor and evaluate risk exposure to ensure compliance and safeguard the organization’s reputation.
• Provide key inputs and guidance as an industry leader to influence decision-making at the executive level.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 12+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.

What You Will Do

●      Set a Platform-Level Authorization Vision: Define the "Positive Payment Experience" at PayPal. Articulate a long-term vision for authorization as a strategic platform, balancing high-impact conversion with principled credit and fraud mitigation.

●      Build Merchant-Grade Experiences on Deep Technical Foundations: Lead the creation of payment flows that feel simple and fast for consumers and merchants. Drive clarity on where friction is protective and where automation can improve user experience without compromising safety.

●      Own Payment Authorization Strategy Across the Payment Stack: Develop and execute a multi-year strategy spanning ML-driven issuer-behavior models, 3DS and identity authentication step-up policies, and retry logic. Use signals to reduce false positives and improve decision quality at a global scale.

●      Shape the Enterprise Narrative on Payment Integrity: Act as a senior, credible voice on authorization and network rules. Align executive teams around a shared mental model for why authorization investments are foundational to PayPal’s success.

●      Collaborate & Coordinate Across Business Lines: Drive alignment and innovation across PayPal’s business lines to maximize merchant sales conversion and authorization rates for the benefit of its two-sided network.

●      Drive Ecosystem and Industry Leadership: Represent PayPal externally as a leader in payment security and network standards. Participate in industry forums and standards bodies to influence the future of global payment integrity.

●      Own Business and Operating Outcomes: Carry full accountability for authorization rate improvement metrics (bps lift by region, MCC, and merchant segment). Establish operating mechanisms that ensure contribution margins remain positive while meeting delivery commitments.

Key Responsibilities

●      Optimize authorization rates, by aligning focus and initiatives across the organization around a positive user experience.

●      Own issuer and network operational relationships and push for direct data sharing, ensuring alignment with network rules to prevent assessments or ecosystem friction.

●      Execute strategies to minimize exceptions and advance best practices across the branded and PSP (Braintree/PPCP) businesses.

●      Navigate the authorization and fraud trade-off by utilizing AI-driven optimization to increase CNP approval rates while slashing fraud and dispute rates.

●      Own budgets, KPIs, and operating rhythms, including internal stakeholder and executive readouts.

Qualifications & Experience

●      15+ years of experience building and scaling payment systems, with senior leadership responsibility at global payment networks.

●      Substantive experience at global organizations, with a proven record of maximizing authorization rates while protecting the PayPal ecosystem.

●      Deep technical fluency in payment infrastructure, including understanding of approval and exception code logic.

●      Expert knowledge of network decline codes, transaction reattempt standards and network authorization rules.

●      Demonstrated ability to drive business growth by treating risk as an enabler of long-term, sound business growth.

●      Exceptional collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex authentication, authorization, credit, fraud and general-risk concepts to senior stakeholders and partners.

Why This Role

Payment conversion and authorization are not just metrics — they are the lifeblood of our two-sided network. This role offers the opportunity to define how trust and seamless experiences coexist at global scale, shaping the future of agentic commerce and digital identity for years to come.

Subsidiary:

PayPal

Travel Percent:

0

-

The base pay for this role will depend on where you work and the relevant experience and expertise you bring. The expected range of pay for this role by location is:

Primary Location | Pay Range:

San Jose, California | ($218,000.00 - $323,950.00 Annually)

Additional Location(s) | Pay Range:

No other locations are assigned to this requisition currently.

Additional compensation for this role may include an annual performance bonus, equity, or other incentive compensation, as applicable.

PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding. When making an application directly, we will never ask you to share passwords, one-time passcodes (OTP), or verification codes.  Any such request is a red flag and likely part of a scam. All communication regarding your application will come from official PayPal email domains. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please report it immediately.  To learn more about how to identify and avoid recruitment fraud please visit https://careers.pypl.com/contact-us. 

For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.

Our Benefits:

At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset-you. That’s why we offer comprehensive, choice-based programs, to support all aspects of personal wellbeing—physical, emotional, and financial—delivering meaningful value where it matters most. We strive to create a flexible, balanced work culture with a holistic approach to benefits, including generous paid time off, healthcare coverage for you and your family, and resources to create financial security and support your mental health.

Who We Are:

Click Here to learn more about our culture and community.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion 

PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.  In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.  If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at paypalglobaltalentacquisition@paypal.com.

Belonging at PayPal: 

Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.

Any general requests for consideration of your skills, please Join our Talent Community.

We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don’t hesitate to apply.