Senior Analyst

We are hiring a Senior Analyst, Residential Underwriting Quality Assurance! Reporting To: Assistant Vice President, Quality Assurance Full-Time/Part- Time: Full-time Salary Range: $87,285 - $116,415 Posting Date: July 30, 2026 Closing Date: August 20, 2026 Hours of Work: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Grade: Office Location:      14.6 Toronto, ON Great location! Steps away from the main public transit station What we offer: Highly competitive compensation package which includes, base salary, bonus, benefits, and career advancement opportunities! *Eligibility for benefits is dependent on the terms of employment   The Opportunity:  Reporting to the Assistant Vice President, Quality Assurance, the Senior Analyst, Quality Assurance provides senior-level oversight of underwriting quality across manual, automated, and AI-assisted decisioning. The role is responsible for reviewing the quality and consistency of QA work performed by team members, supporting responses to investor, insurer, third-party lender, and external audits, and helping drive the accuracy, soundness, explainability, and documentation of underwriting decisions and AI-assisted outcomes in alignment with company, investor, insurer, and regulatory expectations. As underwriting processes increasingly include automation and AI-enabled tools, this role will help assess whether model inputs, outputs, human reviews, overrides, exception handling, and recorded decision reasons are complete, accurate, consistently applied, and appropriately supported. The Senior Analyst will identify trends, root causes, process gaps, and potential model or automation issues, and will escalate findings through the appropriate quality assurance, management, audit, risk, and governance channels to support continuous improvement in underwriting model performance and outcomes.                                                                                                                         How you will contribute: Play a key role in the QA testing of automated and AI-enabled underwriting processes, including helping to shape business and QA requirements, define test scenarios, and validate that automated outputs are accurate, explainable, consistently applied, and supported by the files. Assess the soundness of AI-assisted underwriting outcomes by reviewing data inputs, decision logic, output reasonability, human review activities, overrides, exception handling, and supporting documentationPartner with underwriting, technology, transformation, model risk/governance, and QA stakeholders to provide requirements feedback, identify control points, and ensure quality considerations are embedded into new or enhanced automation before implementation. Monitor AI-assisted underwriting results for recurring errors, inconsistent outcomes, unsupported decline or approval reasons, unexpected patterns, bias indicators, model drift signals, or other quality concerns, and escalate material findings with clear evidence and recommended actions. Facilitate QA training for new QA team members, underwriting new hires, and underwriting management, including guidance on QA expectations, tools, reporting, automated decision review, and the effective use of QA findings. Monitor investor, insurer, third-party lender, and company policy changes; conduct gap analysis; update QA test grids; and assist with policy manuals and change communications. Compile QA data, summarize findings, prepare reporting, and communicate themes, trends, risks, and recommended actions to management and key stakeholders. Assist with QA reviews during periods of increased volume or coverage needs and perform ad hoc reviews or other projects as assigned.   Skills and Attributes: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain QA findings, audit responses, AI-assisted underwriting outcomes, and underwriting quality themes clearly to a variety of audiences. Ability to collaborate effectively with QA team members, underwriting management, senior leaders, investors, insurers, auditors, and internal partners involved in automation, technology, model risk, governance, and transformation. Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, drive tasks to completion, and adapt to changing timelines. Sound judgment, discretion, and objectivity when handling sensitive, confidential, or complex underwriting, audit, automation, and model-related matters. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate evidence, challenge outputs where appropriate, identify risk patterns, draw supportable conclusions, and recommend practical improvements to strengthen underwriting quality and AI-assisted outcomes.   The experience you need: Minimum 5 years of quality assurance experience in mortgage lending, residential underwriting, audit, compliance, or a related risk oversight function. Strong understanding of residential mortgage underwriting policies, documentation standards, investor and insurer requirements, and quality assurance testing practices. Experience reviewing or supporting responses to investor, insurer, third-party lender, internal, or external audits would be considered an asset. Working knowledge of the Canadian regulatory framework relevant to model-driven and automated lending would be considered an asset, including OSFI Guideline E-23 on model risk management, FCAC market-conduct and consumer-protection expectations, applicable federal and provincial human rights codes governing prohibited grounds of discrimination in lending, and privacy obligations under PIPEDA and Quebec Law 25 where automated decision-making uses personal data. Depth of knowledge is expected to scale with the institution’s size, complexity, and risk profile. Practical understanding of AI-assisted, automated, or model-supported decisioning, including the ability to review inputs and outputs critically, assess whether stated reasons are supported, evaluate outcome reasonability, and recognize common risks such as bias, drift, overreliance, inconsistent treatment, weak controls, or unsupported conclusions. Experience contributing to UAT, QA test planning, control design, defect analysis, or post-implementation monitoring for automated or AI-enabled underwriting processes would be considered an asset. Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, and Outlook; Access, basic data-query, SQL, or reporting skills would be considered an asset. Experience testing FN Prime/Excalibur and third-party channels would be considered an asset. Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, build positive working relationships, handle conflict professionally, and approach issues with sensitivity, sound judgment, and accountability.   Working Environment and Physical Demands Analysis: Office environment Periods of high volume with tight timelines Long periods of stationary position/sitting Prolonged periods of repetitive movement (i.e. using a keyboard and mouse) Long periods of time in viewing a computer screen Multi-tasking may include speaking to customers on a telephone call while looking up information on a computer program.   Why join First National? Competitive Compensation  Comprehensive benefits program (i.e., Health Spending Account, Maternity and Parental Leave Top Up) Extensive training programs to set our employees up for success Modern office environment conducive to collaboration Supportive teamwork culture Opportunities to give back to the communities and work through events focused on a variety of charities Ongoing social events throughout the year   The team you’ll join: Founded in 1988, First National is one of Canada’s largest non-bank lenders. We provide residential mortgages exclusively through the mortgage broker channel and we are Canada’s largest commercial mortgage lender. First National has been consistently recognized as a great place to work and we are proud that our employee engagement feedback is higher than our industry partners.     We would like to thank all applications for their interest in this existing vacancy, but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.   First National is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusion regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender identity, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation and any other category protected by law.   First National supports requests for accommodation from applicants with disabilities; please contact Human Resources at accessibility@firstnational.ca should you need an accommodation at any point in the recruitment process.   #FNLOON