Multifamily Agency Deputy Chief Underwriter

GSE Multifamily Agency Deputy Chief Underwriter

Zions Capital Markets is the newest bank-sponsored dual license holder with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Backed by the strength and regional reach of Zions Bancorporation, we are establishing a disciplined, scalable multifamily lending business focused on delivering best-in-class execution to institutional and private real estate clients.

Team Overview

The GSE Underwriting team is responsible for evaluating, structuring, and approving multifamily transactions across both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs. As part of a growing platform, the team is central to defining credit standards, enhancing execution quality, and supporting the firm’s expansion in agency lending. The Deputy Chief Underwriter will help lead this function, support the Chief Underwriter, and provide senior credit judgment across the platform.

Role Overview

This position offers the opportunity to serve as a senior underwriting leader within a newly formed agency lending platform, with meaningful influence over transaction execution, credit discipline, team development, and underwriting standards. The Multifamily Agency Deputy Chief Underwriter will provide hands-on deal leadership, serve as a senior escalation point on complex credit matters, and help build the processes, controls, and best practices necessary to scale the platform responsibly.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide senior underwriting leadership across Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loan opportunities, ensuring alignment with applicable agency guidelines and internal credit standards
• Support the Chief Underwriter in establishing, maintaining, and refining underwriting policies, approval processes, credit standards, and quality control protocols
• Review, structure, and approve complex multifamily transactions, including transactions with nuanced sponsorship, market, collateral, cash flow, or execution considerations
• Serve as a senior credit resource and escalation point for originators, underwriters, capital markets professionals, closing, servicing, asset management, and other internal stakeholders
• Guide underwriting diligence, including cash flow analysis, risk assessment, third-party report review, market evaluation, sponsorship analysis, and transaction structuring
• Identify credit concerns early, develop practical mitigation strategies, and help facilitate efficient, well-supported credit decisions
• Review and provide guidance on comprehensive credit write-ups, approval memoranda, risk summaries, and other internal or agency-facing materials
• Mentor and develop underwriting professionals, helping build consistency, accountability, technical depth, and sound credit judgment across the team
• Maintain strong working knowledge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, program requirements, credit updates, and market practices, incorporating changes into underwriting decisions and procedures
• Partner with platform leadership to improve underwriting workflow, reporting, portfolio monitoring, audit readiness, and execution quality
• Participate in client, broker, consultant, agency, and internal stakeholder discussions as needed to support deal execution and business development
• Conduct or oversee on-site inspections as appropriate to evaluate property condition, management quality, and local market dynamics
• Take on additional leadership responsibilities as the agency lending platform evolves

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or relevant professional designation preferred
• Minimum of 10 years of commercial real estate underwriting experience, with significant multifamily agency lending experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to independently underwrite, structure, review, and approve Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac multifamily transactions
• Strong familiarity with agency lending structures, guidelines, approval processes, credit standards, and execution requirements
• Prior experience leading, mentoring, or supervising underwriting professionals preferred
• Proven ability to exercise senior credit judgment on complex transactions and communicate recommendations clearly to senior stakeholders

Skills and Capabilities

• Deep foundation in multifamily credit analysis, including sponsorship evaluation, market analysis, property operations, cash flow sizing, and risk mitigation
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to make informed, balanced credit decisions in time-sensitive environments
• Ability to lead through ambiguity in a growth-oriented, build-phase platform while maintaining discipline, consistency, and accountability
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with comfort presenting credit conclusions and recommendations to senior stakeholders
• High attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and a practical orientation toward process improvement and scalable execution
• Collaborative leadership style with the ability to work effectively across originations, capital markets, closing, servicing, asset management, compliance, and agency relationships
• Experience developing or refining underwriting frameworks, delegated authority processes, quality control practices, and portfolio monitoring tools is a plus

Location:

This role can be located anywhere in the U.S.

Pay Range (Depending upon relatable skills and experience): $200,000 - $275,000

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance – START DAY ONE!
• Life and Disability Insurance, Paid Paternal Leave, and Adoption Assistance
• Health Savings (HSA), Flexible Spending (FSA), and dependent care accounts
• Paid Training, Paid Time Off (PTO), and 11 Paid Federal Holidays
• 401(k) plan with company match and Profit Sharing
• Mental health benefits, including coaching and therapy sessions
• Tuition Reimbursement for qualifying employees
• Employee Ambassador preferred banking products