Principal, Payments Strategy & Operations

Role: Principal, Payments Strategy & Operations 

Reports to: Senior Director, Strategic Finance 

Location: New York 

Other: Full Time Position 

About the Company 

Fanatics Collect is a global product and technology group dedicated to revolutionizing the world of collectibles. Every single day our team of experienced product leaders, engineers, and operators obsesses over how to create the ultimate collector experience with our products: Topps.com, the direct to consumer ecommerce platform of the Topps brand, Fanatics Collect, the most trusted and dynamic collector focused marketplace, and our collector focused live shopping platforms, Fanatics Live and Voggt. 

We have the unique advantage of being backed by Fanatics - the world’s largest sports merchandiser, with more than 900 global sports relationships, 90+ million reachable fans, and exclusive licensing deals with the MLB, NFL, and NBA among many others - but we’re a nimble, ambitious team building products from the ground up. 

If you're passionate about building world class products and share our love for sports fans and collectors, Fanatics Collect offers an exciting opportunity to be part of a dynamic team creating the future of collecting. 

About the Role 

We are seeking a Lead, Payments Strategy & Operations to own the commercial, operational, and strategic performance of payments across Fanatics Collect. This role sits at the intersection of product, finance, risk, legal, and engineering, and is critical to optimizing our payments ecosystem. You will drive performance across all payment methods, manage vendor relationships, and lead cross-functional initiatives to create a seamless and trusted payment experience for collectors around the world. 

Responsibilities: 

• Own end-to-end payments performance across cards, wallets, bank transfers, FanCash, Loyalty rewards and alternative payment methods 
• Analyze customer payment behavior to reduce friction and improve conversion across checkout, deposits, and payouts 
• Partner with Product and Growth to optimize payment flows by segment, geography, and use case 
• Define and monitor key payments KPIs including acceptance, recovery, customer experience, and cost metrics 
• Evaluate and manage relationships with payment processors, gateways, orchestration platforms, and fraud vendors 
• Lead commercial negotiations and RFPs to ensure scalable and cost-efficient solutions 
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product on routing logic, retries, and build vs. buy decisions 
• Align priorities across Finance, Risk, Legal, and Compliance teams 
• Balance risk controls and compliance with a high-trust, low-friction customer experience 

Qualifications: 

• 6–10+ years of experience in payments, fintech, or e-commerce 
• Proven ability to improve authorization rates, reduce payment costs, and balance fraud and risk controls with customer experience 
• Strong cross-functional leadership and communication skills 
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and navigating complex systems 
• Expert-level Excel/Google Sheets skills for modeling and analysis 
• Strong analytics background with experience in payment performance metrics 
• Knowledge of payment processors, orchestration platforms, and fraud tools 
• Familiarity with BI tools (e.g., Looker, Tableau, Mode); SQL is a plus 
• Problem-solving mindset with ability to distill technical detail into business insight 
• Fluency with modern AI tools to support analysis and accelerate decision-making 

The salary range for this position is $168,750-$210,000, which represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training.

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally. 

Fanatics Collect is the leading global platform for collectors, providing a trusted place to seamlessly connect, buy, sell, trade and store collectibles. Today, Fanatics Collect is home to a marketplace that connects buyers and sellers through fixed-price listing and auctions, a vault where collectors can safely store their collections, and a live commerce platform, Fanatics Live, where collectors can join their community for live-stream shopping of collectibles.